The Amazing Alberta Time Travel Adventures of Wild Roping Roxy and Family Day Ray

by The Amazing Alberta Time Travel Adventures of Wild Roping Roxy

  Clem also announced that the World Championship Women’s Basket-ball game would be taking place on the exhibition grounds later that afternoon, featuring the Cleveland Favorite Knits and Edmonton’s very own Commercial Grads. With Clem’s encouragement, the hometown crowd started shouting, “Go Grads go! Go Grads go!”

  He next invited “the Big Four”—the original investors in the first Calgary Stampede, held in 1912—to come to the stage. Pat Burns of Burns Meats was first to the microphone. He got the crowd cheering by asking them if they were hungry. He had donated enough Alberta beef for two double hamburgers each. Pat also told the audience that a piece of the delicious birthday cake would make a great dessert. Roxy nudged Ray and told him that Pat Burns loved cake so much that for his 75th birthday in 1931 he had a 1.5-ton fruitcake baked and then divided into 15,000 slices!

  The wealthy ranchers George Lane and Archie McLean took the stage next, followed by A.E. Cross and his lovely wife, Nell, the daughter of Colonel Macleod. A.E. Cross was both a rancher and beer maker; his Calgary Brewing and Malting Company was one of Western Canada’s largest. He happily informed the audience that he had donated free beer for the adults at the celebration to wash down the hamburgers and cake. He also told them to enjoy the beer because, as of next July 1, 1916, no more booze would be sold in the province. Roxy whispered in Ray’s ear that alcohol was not permitted in Alberta between 1916 and 1923, due to Prohibition.

  Pat Burns’ gigantic 75th birthday cake!

  © Glenbow Archives: na-3496-13.

  The cowboy, Clem, then signalled to Wilf Carter, an energetic 11-year-old boy, to come out from behind the stage. Wilf stumbled to the front of the stage carrying numerous cowboy hats that were stacked up past his eyes. Clem took seven of the hats and handed them out to the group from Calgary. He then presented a special hat with a royal crest to Princess Louise.

  After the ceremony, Clem had Wilf perform his echo yodeling act with his blond haired 9-year old cousin Callie Jane. The audience was amazed. Jasper got so excited that he began to howl in unison!

  Following his performance, Clem instructed the audience to yell yahoo as loud as they could on the count of three. The loudest folks would receive the five remaining cowboy hats. The hats went flying into the crowd and, luckily, Family Day Ray jumped up at just the right moment and managed to grab one.

  After the group from Calgary left the stage, Clem Gardner removed the red bandana scarf he had around his neck and asked Princess Louise to blindfold him with it. He had her spin him around four times. Clem then took his rope and made it into a lasso. In less than thirty seconds he had roped no less than six apples off the lowest level of the cake and tossed them into the wide open mouth of his hungry horse, Tumbleweed. The crowd roared, cheering and applauding. Still blindfolded, Clem did a back flip onto Tumbleweed and galloped away yelling, “Yahoo! Happy birthday, Alberta!”

  Chapter 7

  One of a Kind Albertans

  Colonel Woods returned to the microphone and introduced 72-year-old William Van Horne, the past president of the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company, and the man who had convinced Prime Minister Sir John A. McDonald to establish the Banff National Park in 1885.

  Mr. Van Horne thanked the crowd for the warm welcome and assured them that he still had the railroad in his heart and always would. He also said that he was looking forward to attending a wedding on the Canadian Pacific train to Calgary the next day. Warrant Officer Ron Nixon of the 50th Canadian Infantry Regiment was marrying a beautiful girl from France named Genevieve Zimanyi. Genevieve was related to Armand Trochu, an officer from France who had founded the town of Trochu, Alberta, in 1903.

  He then asked the crowd if they wanted to meet this sharp-looking soldier and his beautiful bride to be. The crowd roared with excitement. Mr. Van Horne told them to look up into the sky.

  Sure enough, two bi-wing planes suddenly appeared. They were flown by none other than the famous Alberta World War I fighter pilots, Wilfred “Wop” May and Captain Freddie McCall, the fifth best flying ace in Canada, who received numerous honours including: the Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, Distinguished Service Order and British War Medal with Oak Leaf.

  The planes came roaring downward, and when they were less than 50 feet above the heads of the crowd, they flipped upside down, and the pilots, along with their passengers, waved to the audience. Roxy could see Freddie McCall’s name written in big red letters on the side of the first plane. Over the loud noise of the plane, she told Ray that, in 1919, Freddie took off from the rodeo grounds at the Calgary Stampede. His plane’s engine quit, but he managed to land right on top of the merry-go-round and walked away, uninjured!

  Freddie McCall’s crashed plane at the 1919 Stampede.

  © Glenbow Archives: na-1044-9.

  The planes then flew straight, so close together that the wings practically touched each other. Just when the audience thought they had seen it all, the warrant officer who was about to be married jumped from Wop May’s plane with his bride to be in his arms. He pulled his parachute and they floated gently down to the ground, landing precisely on the X that was painted on the stage two feet away from Mr. Van Horne. The couple shouted, “Happy birthday, Alberta!”

  Warrant Officer Nixon saluted Colonel Woods, and the colonel gave his fiancée a kiss on the cheek. He then asked the crowd if they were getting hungry yet. The 10,000 people shouted, “Yes sir, Colonel!”

  The colonel then invited 88-year-old Father Lacombe to say grace.

  Following the prayer, the colonel instructed a lady who worked for Calgary Petroleum Products, the company that had donated the cake, to climb the stepladder and light the candles. The Calgary Petroleum Company was the company that struck oil in Turner Valley on May 14th, 1914.

  When the candles were all lit, two young girls took the stage. One was 12-year-old Marian Leitch, the baby survivor of the rock slide that buried 76 people in the town of Frank, Alberta, on April 29, 1903; and the other was 8-year-old Fay Wray. As the girls led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday,” Roxy recalled that Fay was an Alberta-born actress who would star in many Hollywood movies, including King Kong in 1933.

  When the song was finished, Princess Louise Caroline Alberta climbed the ladder, took a deep breath, and blew out all 10 of the large candles—to the applause of the appreciative audience.

  While the cake was being cut and the hamburgers were being served, Colonel Woods introduced his good friend Senator James Lougheed, a prominent lawyer, politician, real estate developer and Calgary theatre owner. He was also the grandfather of Peter Lougheed, the man who would be premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985.

  The senator thanked all the volunteers who had made this special day such a big success and told them that they would be receiving free tickets to a performance at his 1500-seat Sherman Grand Theatre in Calgary—one of the largest theatres in Canada. Roxy knew all about Senator Lougheed and told Ray that the theatre had opened on February 5, 1912, and many of Hollywood performers appeared there, including the then 12-year-old Fred Astaire and the Marx brothers.

  She also told her brother that when Senator Lougheed was in Parliament in Ottawa, he had arranged for more than 17,000 hospital beds for the soldiers wounded in World War I. He had received a knighthood for his work and now bore the official title of Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George.

  Senator Lougheed then introduced his musical troupe, called the Rosicians, who had set up on the entertainment stage. He told the crowd that they originally came from Chicago but, in 1905, he bought a railroad car for $1700.00, loaded it up with all the actors, their costumes and sets, and headed north. They had been touring ever since.

  The troupe performed, and when their show ended, the colonel came to the microphone one last time to thank everyone for attending the party. He also invited them all back in 15 years to celebrate the province�
�s silver anniversary in 1930.

  The twins and Jasper left the Legislature grounds with the thousands of other delighted and happy people. For the rest of the afternoon, they rode the Toonerville Trolley along Whyte Avenue, shopped in the stores, and bought their Canadian Pacific Railroad train tickets for the trip to Calgary the next morning, bright and early at six o’clock.

  They returned to the Old Strathcona Hotel around eight, grabbed a quick bite to eat in the restaurant, and then went to their room. While Ray and Jasper played on the balcony, Roxy wrote in her diary about all the amazing things they had seen and done that day. They were in bed by 10:00.Tired though they were, excitement kept both twins awake for a few more minutes. They could hardly wait to find out what new thrills lay ahead in the second half of their time travel adventure.

  Chapter 8

  “All Aboard!”

  Roxy had set her alarm clock for 5:00 am sharp, and when it went off, she jumped out of bed with excitement. The same couldn’t be said for her brother, however, who was still sleeping like a log after the alarm. Roxy called for Jasper to help her out. Jasper grabbed the sheet and wool blanket on Ray’s bed and dragged them to the floor. He jumped up on the bed and started licking both Ray’s ears. That did it; Ray was in the shower in minutes. By 5:45 they had paid the two-dollar hotel bill and walked across the street to the train station.

  By the time the twins arrived, most of the passengers had already boarded the black steam train. The conductor was calling, “All aboard. Last call for passengers on the southbound train to Calgary!” Within minutes, the train was rolling out of the station.

  Roxy and Ray were lucky to find two seats together in the second-class section of the train. Between the spectators and soldiers heading home from the celebration, and those travelling and participating in the Calgary Exhibition and parade, the train was full.

  After an hour of sitting still, the twins got bored and decided to explore all the railcars. They started with the one that was the farthest back. The two railcars in front of the caboose were the smelly livestock cars. They contained no less than 30 head of cattle as well as two dozen horses that belonged to the mounted regiment on board the train.

  The next car was the third-class passenger car. These passengers had only paid 10 cents for their ticket. It wasn’t hard to see why they got such a good deal; the smell of the livestock was so strong that you would swear the cows and horses were sitting on the passengers’ laps. The railcar contained mostly buckaroos that worked as ranch hands on farms in the Edmonton area, and who were off to see their first exhibition. There were also many young men going to Calgary to enlist in the 50th Regiment to fight overseas. Ray talked to a couple of the buckaroos about his love of bull riding and also showed off his sharp-looking, brand-new cowboy hat that he had caught the day before.

  The twins and Jasper off to Calgary.

  The twins proceeded to the next railcar, which contained the soldiers returning home from the 10th anniversary celebration. As luck would have it, the soldiers from the 50th Regiment and 103rd Calgary Rifles Regiment were about to compete in the 1915 Alberta Regiments Arm Wrestling Championship finals. The finals should have taken place in Edmonton at the Prince of Wales Armouries the day before. But James Bailey, the official referee, had ruptured his appendix and had to have emergency surgery at the Edmonton General Hospital, which was opened by the Grey Nun Sisters in 1895. The competition had to be postponed.

  Referee Bailey’s replacement, Chris Leeson, boarded the train in Lacombe and asked the troops if they wanted to wait until they got to Calgary or if they would like to compete right there on the train. The soldiers voted unanimously to do battle on the train and proceeded to clear an area so that most of the soldiers could see the action.

  Representing the 50th Regiment was Private Henry Pattison, a lean 16-year-old soldier with red hair and freckles. He was coached by his dad, Private John George Pattison. The two were up against Corporal McKilty, a huge six-foot-eight Scottish weightlifter in a black T-shirt, and his coach, Sergeant “Fearless Fernandez” , from the 103rd Calgary Rifles.

  “Hey Ray,” Roxy said, “McKilty is as big as the largest Stampeder or Eskimo football player, and the young soldier doesn’t stand a chance!”

  “Arm wrestling is all in the technique. I’ve beaten guys twice my size!” Ray said.

  The referee shouted, “Okay soldiers, here are the rules: it’s the best two out of three rounds and the winning regiment receives the big silver 1915 Arm Wrestling trophy. The winner gets to carry the flag for his regiment in the Calgary Exhibition parade this afternoon. Any questions? On your mark, get set, go!”

  The first round was finished in seconds and ended with a loud thump as Corporal McKilty hammered Private Henry’s arm onto the table. The soldiers from McKilty’s regiment yelled and cheered for their guy. The ref shouted, “Round one goes to the 103rd team. Round two commences in three minutes.”

  Ray went up to the frustrated private and his coach, introduced himself, and told them he was an experienced arm wrestler. He then showed them several excellent arm wrestling moves that they could use to help defeat the huge corporal in the next round. The Pattisons thanked Ray for his tips, and Private Henry returned to do battle.

  In the meantime, the soldiers of the 103rd were so confident their guy was going to win that they started singing, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.” Fortunately, things turned out differently in the second round, thanks to Ray’s advice.

  Private Henry managed to beat the corporal in a gruelling seven-minute seesaw battle. The soldiers of the 50th jumped up with excitement after their underdog contestant won. The soldiers of the 103rd shook their heads in disbelief.

  After winning the round, however, there was bad news for the 50th regiment. Private Henry told the referee that he had to give the match to Corporal McKilty, because he had just dislocated his right thumb and could no longer compete.

  The ref shouted out, “Could I have your attention, men? It looks like the soldier from the 50th can’t arm wrestle again because of an injured thumb. According to page nine of the official Alberta Arm Wrestling Rulebook, a player’s coach can take his place, if and when an injury occurs.”

  Private Henry said that he actually had two coaches, his dad and Family Day Ray. He wanted Ray to take his place.

  The announcement caught Ray off guard but he was up to the daunting task, even though there was a good chance he was going to get his butt kicked by the refrigerator-sized corporal. The man’s biceps were the size of car tire inner tubes. Ray swallowed his nerves, took a deep breath, and made his way through the rowdy soldiers to the arm wrestling table.

  As Ray settled into his spot, the steely-eyed corporal was shouting to his fellow soldiers that he was going to take down the skinny kid in three seconds flat. He then grasped Ray’s much smaller hand and waited for the ref to start the countdown.

  “On your mark, get set, go!” The final round was under way, and McKilty wasted no time in trying to polish off Ray. Within seconds, the corporal had his arm on the offensive and was within two inches of declaring a victory. Ray, however, wouldn’t give up that easily and courageously fought to reverse the direction of the battle. In the meantime, soldiers on both sides of the railcar cheered wildly, while the big Scotsman’s face got redder by the moment.

  Family Day Ray taking down the Corporal.

  Ray got a lucky break when he felt a sneeze coming on. His sneeze was so loud that it caught McKilty off guard. Ray took advantage of this and, with all his strength, applied his one-of-a-kind hammer move to defeat the cocky corporal. Henry, his father, and the entire 50th regiment were ecstatic; they jumped for joy and celebrated by opening the railcar windows and firing their loaded rifles up into the blue Alberta sky!

  Before the twins left the railcar, Ray was presented with a 50th regimental gold pin by Lieutenant Colonel Mason and was made Honorary Officer
for the Day.

  Roxy told her brother that Private John George Pattison would receive the prestigious Victoria Cross, the highest medal awarded for bravery in World War I. The reason he had joined was to watch over his son, Henry.

  The next railcar, called “the Nettie Annabel Express,” was the one that Senator Lougheed used to transport the Rosicians entertainment troupe from show to show. They were a friendly group of performers who enjoyed hearing both Ray and Roxy sing. They were especially impressed when Ray sang Elvis Presley’s “Blue Suede Shoes” while shaking his hips like the King of Rock and Roll. Ray asked the performers if they liked rock and roll. When they said, “Rock and what?” it occurred to him that he had just put his foot in his mouth, because rock and roll wouldn’t be invented for at least another 25 years!

  Thumbs up after the big win!

  The next railcar was Roxy’s favourite; it was occupied by the Edmonton Commercial Grads basketball team. They had started playing in 1914. This car was also the coolest, because it was once used to transport giraffes to a zoo and had a 16- foot high ceiling. A small hardwood basketball court had been added. The railcar was loaned to the Grads so that they could practice on the way to the World Championship game in Calgary.

  Roxy introduced herself to the coach, Percy Page; the players sitting next to him who happened to be sisters, Daisy and Dot Johnson; and the team’s captain, Connie Smith. Roxy then told them she was a huge fan of the Grads and loved playing basketball herself. The coach told Roxy that she was certainly tall enough for the sport and would love to see her take a few shots at the net. Roxy was thrilled to be given the opportunity. She proceeded to sink three baskets in a row from the 15-foot line.