Chapter 5

Edmonton, 1915

The banging stopped and the twins looked around. They were standing in the same hotel room, but everything looked a little bit older. Once again, everything had happened in the blink of an eye. “I think it worked just like before,” Roxy said.

They looked around the room for the newspaper and laughed when they realized that Jasper had it between his teeth. After exchanging the paper for a dog biscuit, Roxy opened it and read the headline: “beautiful day for alberta’s 10th anniversary at legislature grounds.”

Underneath the headline Roxy read that the festivities started at 2:00 pm. There would be entertainment, dignitaries, prizes, and the world’s largest birthday cake.

The twins decided to take a taxi instead of the train. They ended up in a cab driven by none other than Mr. Morris, the man who had brought the first car to Edmonton in 1904.

It was a warm, sunny afternoon when they arrived at the beautiful, new Legislature building. Thousands of families had already gathered for the big event. The twins were fortunate that there was still some room on the lawn, right up front; they had an excellent view of the celebration.

Three stages were set up. The first had rows of red velvet chairs for the important dignitaries; one had a British royal symbol on it. The second stage was for the entertainers and on it was a beautiful grand piano with several old-fashioned microphones. Finally, the third stage was the cake stage. On it sat a huge, five-layered birthday cake, with ten large white candles on top, and juicy red apples planted in the thick icing surrounding the bottom layer. Beside the cake was a ladder for the lucky person who got to blow out the candles.

Mr Morris’s car.

At two o’clock, the 103rd Calgary Rifles Regiment Marching Band marched up to the parade square, dressed in their sharp-looking black uniforms, complete with a red feather in each of their busby caps. Two bands from the 50th Canadian Infantry Regiment followed behind: the 100-member Regimental Pipe Band and the brass-playing soldiers in the 50th Regimental Brass Band.

After Honorary Colonel James Woods of the 103rd Regiment brought the three bands to attention, he climbed the steps to the stage. He was joined by the two lieutenant colonels of the regiments: Lieutenant Colonel Mason of the 50th Regiment and Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong of the 103rd.

The three marching bands then started to play the patriotic “Maple Leaf Forever” and made an official march-past in front of the colonels while they saluted the troops. At the same time, the dignitaries filed in and took their assigned seats. They were escorted by four Mounties.

When the march-past was complete and the bands were marching back to the Prince of Wales Armouries building on 108th Avenue (with the two lieutenant colonels), Colonel Woods welcomed the crowd and introduced himself. He presented himself not only as the Honorary Colonel of the Calgary-based 103rd Regiment, but also as the master of ceremonies for the celebration.

Colonel Woods began by saying how proud he was of both the 50th Canadian Infantry and the Calgary Rifles regiments. He then wished the 50th Regiment good luck, as they would be heading off to battle in Europe the following month. He wished the 103rd Regiment continued success in recruiting solders for the 50th. He also reminded the crowd that Alberta’s official motto since 1907 was “Strong and Free,” which certainly described the heroic troops of both regiments.

Colonel Woods then invited everybody to join in singing the national anthem with the vocalist Rosalie Acton and Irene Parlby, the president of the United Farm Women of Alberta, who was also an accomplished pianist. Irene, Roxy explained, was the second woman in the British Empire to win an elected seat in Parliament in 1921. In 1929 she, along with four other women, became “the Famous Five” who fought the Supreme Court of Canada to have women declared as persons under the law. They currently appear on the back of the Canadian 50-dollar bills.

Rosalie stepped up to the microphone to check the volume level and, to her surprise, discovered that she had completely lost her voice, and her legs were shaking uncontrollably. Marion Moodie, a nurse in the front row, quickly diagnosed the singer with “acute stage fright.”

Without missing a beat, Colonel Woods asked the crowd if somebody could take the singer’s place. On an impulse, Roxy jumped up on the stage and introduced herself to both the Colonel and Irene. She then led the audience in a rousing version of “Oh Canada” and “God Save the King.” The large crowd gave her a thunderous applause. It was a moment that Roxy would never forget.