From the Archives of Western Newspapers

Posted on June 4, 2026 by admin

By Samantha Johnson
For Southern Alberta Newspapers

June 6, 1888 – Calgary Herald and Alberta
Livestock Journal

In Virginia, Andrew Grandstaff, who it is believed murdered four people, two of them children, was captured by Pinkerton detectives today and taken to jail. A hoard of about one thousand determined men surrounded the jail and demanded the prisoner be given up. The authorities refused, the barricades were broken, officers overpowered and the prisoner lynched.

The crew of the British ship Silverdale mutinied when two days out from Port Discovery. The ship was laden with lumber from Melbourne, Australia. The vessel was anchored in a dangerous position, where she remained for two days but eventually sailed into Tatoosh Island at the Northwest tip of Washington State and officers managed to telegraph for help. The Silverdale was towed into Esquimalt and the mutinous crew arrested.

There was no westbound train from Calgary on Sunday due to a 20-hour delay followed by a cancellation. The granite abutment on the bridge over Gravel River north of Lake Superior was undermined due to the increased flow of water. Some section men noticed the iron track bed swinging over open water and sent a signal back to the station to stop the train. Once the bridge reopened, the train travelled to Winnipeg where it was cancelled and passengers travelling further west were taken on the next day’s train.

June 2, 1911 – The Bellevue Times

In a log cabin a Twin Lake, the first wedding in the Grande Prairie district was celebrated. An example has been set and more events of this kind may be looked for in due course. The houses in Grande Prairie are all log structured and built after the same general plan. The walls are caulked with mud plaster, the roof is either wood or sod and the doors are made of rough boards. A log house of this kind is warm if built well.

Louie Theabauld has puzzled us all. He spent nearly six days in the wilderness where starvation stared him in the face and death was hot on his trail. His many friends had given up hope of ever seeing him again and the editor of this old rag of freedom had sadly and humbly prepared an obituary notice. Then Louie appears from the bush before his friends and is currently the greatest wonder of the Crows Nest Pass.

What has been described as the most costly wedding dress seen in London during 1910 was the one worn by Summer Clark on her marriage to James Harrison, which took place at the end of the year. The dress was composed of Venetian lace of fabulous value and exceptionally beautiful design. The lace was combined with ivory satin and trimmed with Russian sable that matched the stole and muff.

June 7, 1912 – Redcliff Review

The eastbound Train No. 2 was wrecked about two miles east of Gull Lake, SK. The baggage car, two tourist sleepers and the dining car were all derailed with nine people injured. The cause of the accident was a broken rail.

After a conference between President Taft and Secretary Knox at the Whitehouse last Wednesday, it was announced the government would immediately dispatch four American battleships to Cuban waters.

In London, there were signs today that the dock strike is collapsing. Double the number of men were working as on Saturday and the ship owners assert they have all the labour they require. The only holdouts are the lightermen who, under an old charter, possess a monopoly in their class of work and can’t be replaced.