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.