From the Archives of Western Newspapers

Posted on July 9, 2026 by Sunny South News

By Samantha Johnson
For Southern Alberta Newspapers

July 9, 1886 – Qu’Appelle Progress

Some sections of the country are making efforts to have the prohibitory clause in the Northwest Territories Act repealed. In response, The Toronto Star printed, “the agitation will not meet with much favour at this end of the Dominion, there being a strong determination here to keep the young Northwest sober and respectable. But when the Territories set up for themselves as provinces, they can do as they please.”

The Dominion cruiser Terror seized a Portland fishing schooner, which was formally detained at Shelburne, NS yesterday for an alleged violation of the fishing treaty. Authorities will not strip her until they’ve received instructions from Ottawa. Terror also seized two American schooners, which were handed over to the collector of customs.

Yesterday, no mail was received and the result was a dull day. The Progress has in mind to change the day of publication to fill the aching void; or, perhaps convert to a daily publication to shut out the foreign dailies. In the meantime, we await the settling down of the running of CPR to a regular schedule. Currently, there are 39 local papers published in Manitoba and the Northwest.

July 7, 1903 – The Brandon Daily Sun

In the spring, there was a rush of young Englishmen into Brandon and Dominion immigration officials erected a tent near the CPR tracks. This tent has now outlived its usefulness and should be removed. It has become a resort for loafers who seem undesirous of doing any work. The police authorities have received numerous complaints concerning the rowdiness of the men who currently make the tent their hangout.

The origin of the name forget-me-not comes from Germany. A knight and a lady were walking by the bank of the Danube when the latter asked for a tiny blue flower, which was growing in the stream, to be plucked for her. While undertaking this task for her, the knight overbalanced and fell into the river. Owing to the slippery blank and the weight of his armour, he was carried away by the current. He threw the flowers to shore and cried out vergissmeinnicht, or forget-me-not. This is why the flower is looked upon as an emblem of fidelity.

The representative for our city made a particularly brainy effort lately and the foolish resolution sums up his three years in the legislature. He proposes Manitoba adopt mechanical devices contrived for the purpose of making rain at unfavourable periods along with others that will prevent hailstorms. He states these devices are successfully being used in certain European countries.

July 10, 1913 – The Hanna Herald

It is believed a perfect skeleton of a human, dating at least 10,000 years old, has been found on the banks of a ravine about 48 miles north of the border in southern Saskatchewan. A farmer came into Regina with fossilized bones of prehistoric animals, which were examined by experts and confirmed to be extinct saurian reptiles. The human skeleton has not been fully unearthed due to the danger of its location, but it seems an investigation will ensue.

In Kansas City, six men worked two days in kneading and baking a loaf of bread weighing 398 lbs. and measuring four feet high by 13 feet long. Ninety samples of Oklahoma and Kansas flour was used to bake the loaf, which is to be exhibited in England.

Wolverton was, several years ago, a sleepy little village in Buckinghamshire. The Northwestern Railway Co. descended upon it, causing the village to transform into a busy town within a couple of days. On Monday morning, the place was invaded by mechanics, followed by their wives and children. By Wednesday night, no fewer than six thousand people had been added to Wolverton’s population.