Acknowledgements

On behalf of all Canadians and above all, I would like to thank Hugh Dempsey, whom I refer to as “Alberta’s Mr. History,” for writing exceptional books and articles on Alberta history.

My thanks to Aimee Benoit, the archivist at the Calgary Stampede; she was most helpful in both providing historical information and sourcing excellent photographs of the first Stampede. I am also grateful to the Historical Society of Alberta and, in particular, Debbie Goodine, who has been wonderfully supportive of this book and my other historically-based research projects.

I also wish to acknowledge the contributions of Patricia Anderson, PhD, a literary consultant and book editor extraordinaire at Helping You Get Published, for substantive editing; Tracy Blaine at The Write Support for her copyediting services; and Jeremy Drought of Last Impression Publishing Service, who put it all together into the book that you now have in your hands. Special thanks to Jamie Morris, the incredible illustrator who created the cover of the book, and Simon Rose, my good friend and bestselling children’s author.

Finally, I owe thanks to several others for their assistance and encourage-ment: Gilbert Plaw, my former high school English teacher; Bonnie Gray for her photography; Andrea Lennard and Dean Lauderdale for standing in as Roxy and Ray; and then in no particular order: Brian Brennan; Eric Brewer; the folks at Fort Calgary; Kathy Knowles; Marlene LaMontagne; Chris Leeson; Nina Lester; Brian Manko; David Reynolds; Mike Robinson; Sheri Standed; Michele Tyrrell; William Wynne; and my wonderful mother, Beth Lennard.

My apologies if I overlooked others whose names should have been included in these acknowledgements. Such oversights, along with any other errors or omissions, are mine alone.