It is worthy of note that as the park and the visitors’ centre began to take shape, Gil Greenwood contributed much of the sale price of the property back to the building fund.
The acreage had to be converted from commercial zoning to parkland, and the committee had to go through a lot of paperwork to have the designation changed.
In October 2005, Megan Sangster and Haley Martin, who were both eleven years old and Grade 5 students at Mayerthorpe’s Elmer Elson Elementary School, conceived the idea of Kids 4 Cops. Their organization wrote letters and went on radio and national television in Edmonton challenging all students from every school in Canada to donate a loonie towards the Fallen Four Memorial.
In this endeavour, they were helped immensely by Megan’s mom, Heather Sangster, and Pat Lakeman, the detachment’s longtime office manager. These two women worked with the girls, helping them to form and register their society. They also set up and scheduled their fundraiser activities and their radio and TV appearances.
Megan and Haley were daughters of Mayerthorpe RCMP officers and had been close with the three local detachment members who were killed at Roszko’s farm.
Haley says, “There was a lot of work involved … especially at first … writing speeches and setting up exhibits for shows and fairs. But we had a lot of fun, too. Opening the cards we received from all over the country was really fun.”
Working with Katherine Lakeman, Katie Mattson, and Megan’s older sister Laura Sangster from Mayerthorpe High School, Kids 4 Cops raised approximately $200,000 towards the building of the Memorial Park. Their contribution to the success of the fundraising was so significant that their group was integrated into the society as a subcommittee.
It was this type of community effort and the assistance of hundreds of other avid volunteers that enabled the society to raise the funds required to create the Memorial Park.
After the land was purchased, the word began to spread that the society was going to build a park. PCL Maxam, a mammoth worldwide construction firm with offices in Edmonton, got in touch with Joe Sangster. Joe took the name of the firm to the society, and it was contracted for the job. PCL is the company that, while working on a building project near University Hospital in Edmonton, hoisted four large black ribbons high in the air on one of their cranes during the time of the RCMP National Memorial Service.
PCL assigned Matthew Greenwood as the supervising manager for the park and he worked closely with the group as the project developed.
Meanwhile, Margaret, Jurgen, Jim Martin, and Joe Sangster were travelling around the province, looking to hire a sculptor.
“Our committee wanted a Canadian to do it,” Colette says, “and, if possible, an Albertan.”
The sculptors they settled on were a husband and wife team named Don and Shirley Begg, who run Studio West Ltd. in Cochrane, Alberta, just west of Calgary. Their studio and foundry building encompasses 16,000 square feet on one acre of land. Inside the huge edifice there are three overhead bridge cranes that are used to move and position the extremely heavy statues that they create there.
The Beggs have many famous statues to their credit. One of their most imposing works is the 2,600-pound (1,180-kilogram) statue of Colonel James Macleod that graces the lawn outside of RCMP Headquarters in Ottawa. Macleod, who is portrayed mounted on his horse, was an early commissioner of the Northwest Mounted Police and the founder of Fort Calgary. The names of all the members of the RCMP who have died in the line of duty since the inception of the Force in 1873 are inscribed on the base of Macleod’s statue.
Another famous personage the Beggs have cast in bronze is Lord Strathcona (Donald Smith), who drove the last spike for the CPR at Craigellachie, British Columbia, in 1885. They also created the bronze of General Andrew Hamilton Gault, who founded the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry in 1914. His statue stands to the west of the magnificent National War Memorial located in Ottawa’s Confederation Square.
Initially, the Mayerthorpe committee commissioned Don and Shirley to produce fifty copies of On Guard, a sixteen-inch bronze Mountie in full uniform that the society could sell to help raise funds for the Memorial Park.
Margaret Thibault’s group was already sold on the Beggs’ artistry even before they produced the miniatures, but the authenticity and meticulous attention to detail they detected on those bronze miniatures confirmed the validity of their selection.
Early on, the sculptors recommended that the Mayerthorpe statues be created at life-size plus 10 percent. Apparently this would give the figures more impact. Shirley Begg says, “It gives the statue more presence.”
At the beginning of the process, the artists looked through countless family photograph albums of each fallen member, as well as official photos provided by the RCMP.
During their discussions with various family members, Shirley recalls, “There were many tears over many cups of tea.”
Jim Martin and Staff Sergeant Scott Beck from the Cochrane Detachment worked closely with the Beggs, providing uniform items such as belts, boots, breeches, and a Stetson. Don and Shirley also travelled to Calgary to confer with the artisans there who make the Mounties’ boots and hats.
“Details are very important to us … the marksmanship badges, the RCMP buttons and collar badges. We want that to be precisely accurate.”
Their next decision was to determine the various poses that each of the fallen four would assume. Don and Shirley discussed this together at length and finally came up with a recommendation that was approved by RCMP Headquarters in Ottawa.
Their idea was to portray the fallen members in the four positions of readiness looking outward from the four quadrant points of the compass. The stance assumed by each member would be determined by his seniority. Each man’s rank, name, and regimental number would be engraved on the bronze base of his statue.
Brock Myrol would stand facing south towards his hometown of Red Deer. As a recent graduate of Depot Division, Brock would be portrayed in the “stand easy” position, adjusting his kit and preparing for duty on his troop commander’s orders. His feet would be twelve inches apart.
Anthony Gordon would face west toward the Whitecourt Detachment, where he served. Anthony would stand in the “at ease” position, ready to be called to attention. His body is stiffened with his hands behind his back. The right hand is in the palm of his left hand, right thumb over left thumb. His fingers are extended and pointing towards the ground. His head and eyes are to the front, elbows in, and his shoulders back. His feet are twelve inches apart.
Leo Johnston would face north toward his hometown of Lac La Biche, Alberta. As the second-longest serving member of the four, Leo would stand “at attention,” ready for orders. His heels are together and in line, feet turned out in a “V” at a thirty-degree angle. His arms hang straight down from his shoulders, elbows close to the side, wrists straight. His fists are clenched at his sides with his thumbs placed at the seam of his trousers, pointing to the ground. His shoulders are back and square to the front. His head is up with his eyes looking straight forward.
Peter Schiemann would face east toward his hometown of Stony Plain, Alberta, and his birthplace of Petrolia, Ontario. As the most senior in experience of the four, Peter would stand in the “salute” position, a formal stance of respect and courtesy. From the attention position he has brought his right hand up for a salute. His arm is bent at the elbow. With his open right palm to the front, his fingers are extended and close together, with his thumb close to his forefinger. His fingers, wrist, and elbow are in line. His saluting hand is positioned so the brim of his Stetson is between his pointer and middle finger, and that part of the brim of the Stetson aligns with the outside corner of his right eye.
With all the research and planning at their disposal, the Beggs then discussed with each other the images they were about to create. When they came to a mutual agreement of that vision, the sculpting began.
Shirley explains, “We have a rather unique approach to our work.
We sculpt together. I start from one side, Don starts from the other, and we work towards each other. We like to think we use four hands to make our vision come to life.”
Don says their method works well for them. “We’ve been doing this together since 1970.”
The process sounds long and complicated.
First, it takes them approximately six months to sculpt a clay model.
Then it takes another two weeks to make a rubber mould from which they form a hollow wax pattern with a ceramic core.
Their final four to five weeks is spent casting the bronze from the clay model using what Don calls “the lost wax method.”
The total time involved in creating all four statues took well over two years.
The Beggs were also responsible for designing and casting the eleven doves that flew free from the top of the twenty-four-foot (78.6-metre) obelisk that would stand in the middle of the circular area from which the four Mounties faced outwards.
While the sculpting process was in progress, the society’s work in Mayerthorpe continued to move forward. In March 2006, the Alberta Lottery Fund gave the Memorial Society a grant of $300,000 for their park project. On February 8, 2007, the society turned the sod to officially initiate the building of the Mayerthorpe Fallen Four Memorial Park. In March, the Society was successful in applying for a major grant from the Canada, Alberta Municipal and Rural Infrastructure Funding program.
By October of 2007, the Visitors’ Centre was completed. This one-storey building is 3,000 square feet in size. One third of its space is allocated to an information centre where there is a digital guest book and a fifty-two-inch television that displays a power point scroll. Memorabilia such as books, tee shirts, pins, and mugs are on sale here. Another one-third of the building is used as a museum for the fallen four. Among the items displayed here are hundreds of cards and gifts from around the world that were sent in sympathy to the Mayerthorpe Detachment. These include teddy bears and dolls, woodcarvings, special moulded glass items, beautiful handmade quilts, and unique paintings.
One of the paintings that adorns a wall in the museum was done by a local artist, Deanna Jackson. It depicts four RCMP officers in red serge and Stetsons integrated with another Mountie on horseback, an RCMP bugler, and the Canadian flag.
Margaret Thibault says, “It’s so moving. The first time I saw it, I burst into tears.”
The remaining third of the building is set aside as a boardroom that is used by the society but also available as a community meeting place and a staging area for local weddings and other celebrations.
By June 10, 2008, the statue plinths were completed and the central obelisk installed. On July 3, the fallen four statues, each weighing 800 pounds, were manoeuvred onto their plinths.
The grand unveiling occurred on Friday, July 4, 2008.
This was a grand affair attended by 3,000 enthusiastic citizens. The luminaries on hand included the mayors of Mayerthorpe and Whitecourt; members of provincial and federal Parliament; RCMP Deputy Commissioner Bill Sweeney; Ed Stelmach, the Premier of Alberta; and the Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada.
Those most touched by the ceremony were the family members of the fallen four and the men and women who had served with the four Mounties and remembered them fondly.
Since that day, over 15,000 visitors have come to see the park and the statues and to pay tribute to the fallen four. Over 9,000 people have signed the guest registry in the park. Drivers travelling along Highway 43 can see the monuments and the obelisk from their cars. It’s an easy exercise for them to pull off the road and spend a few minutes among the statues.
But it’s more than just the casual drop-ins that are fuelling the interest in Mayerthorpe’s Memorial Park. Travel Alberta did a survey indicating that to date seventy percent of the guests at the park went there as a target destination. Only thirty percent were drive-by visitors.
Colette McKillop says, “Travel Alberta told us that the results of this survey are incredible. And I can see why. I mean, we’re not Niagara Falls or Jasper. It’s amazing. We started with just a plain prairie field. And we’re just tiny little Mayerthorpe.
“The most beautiful thing is that these visitors will no longer remember Mayerthorpe because of that Quonset hut. They leave here with the wonderful statues of the fallen four foremost in their minds.
“We’re so pleased that the interest has been strong and we hope that it continues to grow.”
Surely Colette need not be concerned about that. There’s every possibility that as time goes by, this site will become an attraction for Canadian families to visit … a historic place where parents and grandparents can bring their little ones and tell them about the sacrifice these four men made in the service of their country.
Another worthwhile Mayerthorpe memorial that continues to flourish is the annual charity hockey game between the Mounties and the Wranglers. The idea for the first game originated in a conversation among Jim Martin, Clayton Seguin, and Al Starman. All three of these members played for a local senior team named the Wranglers. The three Mounties wanted to form an RCMP team to play against the Wranglers so they could raise some money to make improvements to the arena.
“We thought we might be able to raise about $500,” says Martin.
They approached Lyle Johner about playing a fun game, he agreed, and the contest was scheduled for March 7, 2005. Martin formed a team that included himself, Seguin, Starman, Joe Sangster, Julie Letal, and Cindie Dennis (now Christians).
Opening ceremonies at the fallen Four Memorial Park in Mayerthorpe, July 4, 2008. (The Fallen Four Memorial Society)
Martin says, “Cindie was a really good sport. She wasn’t much of a skater and she certainly wasn’t a hockey player, but she gave it everything she had. From that first year right down to our most recent game, Cindie always gets the biggest applause from the fans.”
Peter Schiemann agreed to play. He had no hockey equipment and had to borrow everything but he was willing to give it a try. Leo Johnston was prepared to help out in any way he could.
Then, of course, the tragedy struck.
Jim remembers, “When that happened, the hockey game was the last thing on my mind. No one even thought the game was going to go. But somehow it did.”
With all the Mounties coming into town for the funerals, Martin was able to get a number of them to borrow equipment and play for the RCMP team. Chris Pittman, who had lived with Peter Schiemann, came back and suited up for the RCMP team.
When word got out that the game was going to be played, the interest in the venture spread like wildfire. Every media outlet in Edmonton covered the game live. CTV was there with their cameras. Radio station 630 CHED brought in Rod Phillips and Morley Scott, the announcers of the Edmonton Oilers, to broadcast the game play-by-play.
Jim says, “Playing that game was one of the best decisions we ever made. It pulled the community together. The place was jammed to the rafters. There wasn’t even any place for people to stand. That really tugged at my heart because it showed us that so many people cared.
“All the families of the fallen members were in attendance. There was a beautiful candlelight remembrance service before the game. It was wonderful.”
The game itself was a great release of tension and pent-up emotions.
“There was a lot of kidding around … I even think the RCMP team won. But that didn’t matter. There’s no doubt the Wrangler guys were lenient with us. They allowed us to score some pretty soft goals. It was just a lot of fun.”
In August 2005, the famed RCMP Musical Ride came to Mayerthorpe to help ease the community’s pain and thank them for their support. Many families from the town and beyond came out and joyously watched the thirty-two riders on their splendid black steeds execute their intricate manoeuvres.
But it was the RCMP hockey game against the Wranglers that became an ongoing annual event. In 2006, the game drew another sold-out crowd. This time RCMP members from all across Canada came t
o play. The Mounties had a roster of twenty-five players. The Oilers broadcast crew did another play-by-play.
Martin recalls, “We had a moment of silence before the game and a service where four children were escorted on the ice by local celebrities to light four candles on stands at centre ice.”
In 2007, the Fallen Four Memorial Society took over the sponsorship of the game. They initiated a sports memorabilia auction in conjunction with the game to raise money for the Memorial Park.
The next year, the crowd was as big as ever. Craig MacTavish, the Oilers’ head coach, handled the bench duties for the Mountie team. The Fallen Four Memorial Society had another sports memorabilia auction and all the proceeds went towards the park building fund.
When the Mayerthorpe arena burnt down in 2008, the game committee decided to hold the game in Edmonton at Rexall Place, the home of the Oilers. Northlands Coliseum donated the use of the facility and covered the cost of the ticket service. Craig MacTavish was back at the helm of the RCMP team, along with his assistants, Charlie Huddy and Pete Peters.
This game evolved into a gala event.
Donations for the auction of sports items arrived in droves. Don Cherry had one of his on-air garish jackets framed and signed and donated it to the cause. The Oilers contributed a full package that included four tickets for a game in the head coach’s private seats, autographed team jerseys, and a private tour of the Oilers’ dressing room. Sydney Crosby signed one of his jerseys and sent it to the auction. All of the Canadian NHL teams donated hockey sticks signed by their players. A travel agency donated a four-day holiday at the Fairmont Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.
Over two thousand fans attended the game, and the Memorial Society collected $25,000 for their building fund.
Jim Martin says, “In the future, we hope to have our arena rebuilt in Mayerthorpe and move the game back there. And we’ll keep playing the game as long as the people come out and support it.”
Those series of games are a marvellous example of how something wholesome and beneficial arose from a tragic event that shook the very soul of a small Canadian community.
The Mayerthorpe Story Page 23