From the Archives of Western Newspapers

Posted on July 18, 2025 by Sunny South News

By Samantha Johnson
For Southern Alberta Newspapers

July 18, 1890 – Moose Jaw Times

It is our painful duty to record the saddest occurrence that has ever taken place in Moose Jaw. During the thunderstorm of Tuesday evening last, Mr. Battel and his youngest daughter Bertha, along with the eldest son of Rev. McLean, were all instantly killed when they were struck by lightning. The storm of wind and rain accompanied by lightning was one of the worst that has ever visited this locality. Mr. Battel and the children were sitting around the table at his residence when the bolt, which appears to have come down the chimney, struck.

CPR officials should be congratulated on the fine garden they have growing that adds considerably to the beauty of Moose Jaw. The garden is contained within about two acres of the CPR reserve along the track and holds an abundance of flowers, vegetables and trees. We had the pleasure of being shown through the garden and some of the tree experiments taking place there will be beneficial to farmers in the district.

Most folks would find it hard to say how a picnic got its name. The custom is said to date from 1802 and originally those who intended to be present were to supply the edibles and drinkables. A list of the necessities was drawn up and passed around with each person picking out what they were willing to furnish, which was then nicked off the list. The open-air entertainment thus became known as the pick and nick.

July 15, 1908 – The Chronicle (Crossfield)

O. Shupe has bought a buggy and now the girls jump right in and don’t have to walk to ice cream parties anymore.

The looming shadow of the west on the national curtain has given rise to significant agitation in the maritime provinces. They aim at securing a constitutional amendment that will safeguard their current representation in Parliament. During the past 20 years, the maritime provinces have lost nearly a fourth of their federal representation. This might be unpleasant but is a condition that cannot be remedied by Parliament. To abolish the unit rule would be to provide by legislation that a voter in the maritime provinces has more power than a voter in other provinces.

Locals in Fredericton, NB are complaining that too much love making is taking place in their parks.

Eastern Canada and the USA are suffering under intense heat with many are perishing from exposure. In New York City, people are sleeping with their heads out of windows to access cool air with many falling out and onto the pavement with fatal results.

July 14, 1921 – Stony Plain Sun

A new use for the seaplane has been found on the Pacific coast by officials in the department of marine and fisheries working in cooperation with the air board officials at the Vancouver seaplane stations. The planes will carry fish eggs from the hatcheries to otherwise inaccessible parts of the coastline where the eggs can be placed in special boxes, invented by one of the fisheries officers, to complete hatching. Patrols are also being undertaken to circumvent fish poachers who stray into forbidden waters.

Dining saloons on trains running along the Argentinian railways are now being furnished with pianos.

Tokyo, Japan is to have an underground railway.

In New York state, 300 convicts from various prisons have been divided into honour gangs and been put to work building roads.

On account of the crime wave in Montreal along with the lack of police protection, insurance companies have advanced their rates from 25 to 100 per cent.