INTRODUCTION My interest in the commemorative benches in the Highlands and Bellevue communities was aroused as I noticed them and then as I either wrote or encouraged other people to write, about the memorials they had had erected for departed loved one.

It seemed to me there also had to something of interest in the history of the parks as well. I hope you find what I found interesting.

With the exception of one picture scanned from an article, all the photos are the author's; the articles from which information was gleaned have come from various sources but mainly from the City of Edmonton Community Service (thanks to Darrell Nordell for his help) and the City Archives, particularly Paula Aurini-Onderwater, where the staff is always polite and helpful.

In the Community Newsletter, first time around, the articles included pictures of the benches, this time; however, pictures will show what can be seen from the bench, that apart from sitting on is the purpose of the bench, surely! Words on the plaques will be included.

What also came to mind, as I visited the sites, was how blessed our two communities are with parks and benches (there are other benches as well as the commemorative ones). The sites are well maintained, and, obviously readily accessible, without charge. We should make better use of these facilities!

John Tidridge
jtidridge@interbaun.com

  780-474-1594   COMMEMORATIVE BENCHES

 

 

How to secure a Commemorative Bench

 

Steps in commemorating a special person or event under the City of Edmonton Benchmark Program include completing a data form, having the plan approved, providing script for a plaque and paying the cost of plaque and any bench refurbishing. Tax-deductible receipts are issued, and profits help preserve and develop city green spaces. For more information, call 311.

A different and longer process is required to name a park but the process begins with a call to 311.

From Highlands-Bellevue Highlights, November 2010-January 2011 edition

It is truly an experience to be able to talk with family members who can recount 80 years of living in the same house. The author sincerely thanks the Martells, senior and junior, the Craig family, and the Wheelers, for reminiscences. (Permission granted to use)

Stroll north on 60 th/58 th Street from 112 th Avenue and you'll notice a house that seems to be out of place in a sea of post-Second World War residences. The home was built in 1912, but apparently sat vacant until Clyde and Minnie Smith bought it in 1918. A photo taken in the 1940's shows it to be not so much out of place, as pretty well out of town.

To the north and east the photo shows a wall shows a wall of poplar and willow bush with no sign of neighbors. (The closest were at 61 st Street and 113 th Avenue.)

There's a small barn hidden away in the back, and a large vegetable garden. The Smiths kept a cow named Buttercup and a flock of chickens. The "spread" eventually became known as Buttercup Farm .

Clyde Smith held Edmonton's #1 auctioneer's licence for many years. Francis, one of the Smith's daughters, still lives close by, at 11227 -61 St. (The other children were Doris, Olive and Walter nicknamed Benny) Francis' son, Clyde Martell, lives with wife Maureen and son Scott at 11136 -61 St. Francis left the area in 1939 when she married policeman Henry Martell. But they moved back in 1942 into a suite in the Magrath Mansion coach house on 111 th Avenue while they built their new home at 11227 -61 Street. Officer Martell later became the first full-time golf pro at the Highlands course. Francis says that her grandparents, Gillan and Mary Armstrong also arrived in the Highlands in 1918 and resided at 11216 -60 Street, the present home of Jack Thomas and family.

When Clyde and Minnie Smith moved out of the big brown house at 11243 -58 Street in 1942, the Craig family - Herb and Bessie, with daughters Jean, Phyllis and Carol - moved right in. The girls attended nearby Highlands and Eastwood schools. Phyllis still lives in Edmonton, Carol resides in St. Albert, and Jean lives in Grenada, in the West Indies. Bessie Craig lives in a high-rise on Saskatchewan Drive, with a distant view of her former neighborhood.

The Wheeler family bought the house in 1962. Gordon Wheeler was 13 years old at the time. He later acquired the family home, and lives there with wife Vicki and daughters Chelsea and Brianne.

Over the past few years the Wheelers have been up to their necks in renovations work, including all new plumbing and wiring. Gordon notes that one of the original fuses controlled just one outlet, while the adjacent one handled 24!

Water in the early days came from an outside well. And a large cistern in the basement collected the rainwater from the downspouts, which was then hand-pumped to the kitchen sink.

The Wheelers have done much scraping to remove layers of enamel paint from fine old fir casings and other woodwork.

The house interior today would feel very much like the original "Buttercup Farm" of the Smiths: the dark stained fir window casings and ceiling beams in the dining room, the immaculate dark oak fireplace mantle and surround, and the precisely balanced sliding panel doors between dining and living rooms all maintain the original character of Edwardian gentility in the house.

The buttressed brick foundation walls appear as sound as they were in the summer of 1912, and if you proceed through the door in the south wall you'll find yourself in a short stairwell right inside the attached garage with the family van hovering just above your head!

The present exterior of the house is very little changed when compared with early photos. The old shed-roofed garage is gone, replaced by one in keeping with the character and detailing of the original house.

The big brown house has been home to just three families in its 81 years, but the methods of escape employed by the children are similar.

On warm summer nights, Gordon Wheeler sometimes went out through the back bedroom balcony and down the clothesline pole for an evening of freedom. The Craig girls left via the south bedroom windows, climbed onto the old shed-garage roof and then made a short jump to the ground - and a night on the town.

Getting the Park named: The story of getting the park named is worthy of mention. If the author had not actually experienced it he would not have believed it if he heard from anyone else. He originally thought that Wheeler Park would be a worthy name, Mrs. Vicki Wheeler, widow of Gordon, thought that Buttercup Farm Park would be more appropriate so the process began. An application form was requested and received from the Secretary of the Park Naming Board: to be completed permission had to be obtained from the Community League. It took five months (May to October) to get this done. The response was an approval but with the joiner that no funds could be allotted. The form was completed and submitted.

The form asked for a possible location for the sign, Vicki and the author agreed on the location, and also submitted suggestions for the type of plants. There was no response from the city for several weeks. Enquiries found the secretary had been sick for an extended period of time; however, she was being held up because the community league had not answered her request to verify the permission already given. It turned out the community league president's computer had suffered a melt down and he was unaware of the request.

Permission was given, the name approved, and it would be erected the next year. The author checked with the maintenance people who were to put up the sign and they were aware of it. OK, we have the name approved and the budget for the sign and the crew was aware of the sign needing to be put up.

Years ago most flower beds in city parks were filled with bedding plants. It's not known when the flowers became the victims of budget cuts. Here in these photos of 1962 you will see a fine array of flowers. The pictures were provided by Vicki Wheeler, widow of Gordon.

The young ladies in one of the the photographs are, on the left Vicki Wheeler, nee Wendt and her sister Donna Montgomery nee Wendt. Their parents, long time Highlands residents, lived across the avenue from the park on 113 Avenue and 60 Street. Mr. Wendt was principal at Eastglen Composite High School.

It's late spring and the author sees a crew putting up the sign, he tells them that the location is wrong. The sign was to be placed in the 'pointy' south end of the park, not hidden in the 'tree-overhung border' at the north-end. The placement of the sign meant it would be almost hidden from view and only offered a view to traffic southbound on 60 street.

The supervisor of the crew indicated he would have to put the sign where he was putting it; several phone calls and a couple of days going by, resulted in the sign being removed and placed where originally requested. It was learned there was no communication between the Naming Committee and the people responsible for setting up the sign.

The parks people had not notified nearby residents of the placing of the sign and they had received a concern from someone saying the sign was too high and blocked their view of the park. The height of the sign was reduced by a couple of feet or so. In the meantime the author had been asked to submit (again) a list of plants that would provide summer long bloom. With the help of a local nursery (Kuhlmanns) this was done. The plantings were done but bore no resemblance to the suggested plants.

Vicki and her family were told there could be a ceremony to officially name the park. Arrangements were made,but the city got their dates mixed-up. Yes, this is a true account! So help me!

 

For someone with a minute or two to spare the file available you you is good for a read and a bit of a giggle... you would not believe how difficult it is to get (some)things done... to become tangled in red tape click here

On Sunday, September 15, 1946, at 8.00 p.m. a voice was heard on CKUA making an announcement that would become a standard opening phrase: "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Continental Musicale, an hour of European music and songs. I'm your host, Gaby Haas".

On Sunday, September 21, 1986, at 8.00 p.m. - for the 2081 st time - this same voice welcomed listeners to the same program. That marked the beginning of Gaby's 41 st year of broadcasting his program to Albertans, sharing with them a wide variety of recordings both old and new.

Gaby emigrated to Canada from Czechoslovakia in July 1939, and his radio career began that same year. For quite a while, he played in bands, often juggling gigs with radio shows. He recalls those early days with a smile: "We were playing on five radio stations at a time, making anywhere from $3 to $5 a show - a lot of money in those days. At that time, a full-course meal, including pie and coffee, was only 35 cents."

Gaby actually began his CKUA career in 1940, when the station was located on the U of A campus. He had about 50 records he had brought over from Europe. The music he plays is still his own, but the collection has expanded to include about 35,000 selections that he stores at home.

In 1945 Gaby played on "Alberta Ranch House", a program that was carried by the CBC Trans-Canada network from Vancouver to Montreal. He has fond memories of fellow performer Ameen (King) Ganam, who went on to start "Country Hoedown" on CBC. After King Ganam went east, Gaby became leader of the band, changing its name to the "The Barn Dance Gang." (Former CKUA sportscaster Art Ward played trombone with this band from 1945 to 1946.) Gaby recalls Harry Boone's contribution to the program with a mischievous smile. "He used to arrange our music. The man was very good, but the arrangements he wrote were tough. He knew that I couldn't read music very well = not enough to hurt my playing."

Gaby Haas is well known throughout Canada and the United States as Canada's "Mr. Polka". He has released 57 record albums and is looking forward to "50 years on Radio, 40 years on records, and 35 years on TV," All this will happen in 1989 and then, having achieved nice, round figures", I'll retire." With some of his albums being re-released, Gaby's music will be heard for many years to come.

The future? All the pertinent data on "Continental Musicale" has been forwarded to the editors of the "Guinness World Book of Records" in England. The New Zealand supplement to that publication lists a radio program in Wellington that was launched July 2, 1937, and ended on July 4, 1977 - but Gaby has topped that one. On that September Sunday in 1986, Gaby has established a new record: the longest-running radio program in the world - same air time, same day of broadcast, same host and producer.

To satisfy the cultural and linguistic desires of the ethnic people Q.C.F.M. has hired the services of Canada's Mr. Polka, Gaby Haas.

Mr. Haas is a Canadian recording artist with the distinction of having produced the largest number of records by any Canadian artist; to date he has recorded 51 albums. Besides being an accomplished musician, Gaby has a rare and comprehensive record collection containing over 100,00 "ethnic" records.

For 15 years, he has produced a weekly radio program called Polka Party. This program can be heard on several Canadian radio stations. Before that time, he produced a program called Memories of Europe, where he played music from all the European countries.

For Q.C.F.M. Gaby produces The World Showcase of Music, a mixture of music from all corners of the world. On a weekly basis he receives newspapers and letters from most of the European countries, subscribes to European music magazines., as well as most Canadian music publications.

In addition to being an expert on music around the world, Gaby speaks eight languages fluently, and reads several more. Since starting his program Gaby has also generated interest from the Ethnic communities to produce their own programs. So far Gaby features a Pakistani Program, an Arabian Program. A German Features, A Scandinavian Show, and is presently negotiating a Chinese Show.

Daily, Gaby does on hour request show, taking calls from listeners and playing their favourite music from "home", occasionally inserting some good old Canadian recordings.