From the Archives of Western Newspapers

Posted on October 1, 2026 by admin

By Samantha Johnson
For Southern Alberta Newspapers

September 27, 1883 – The Brandon Mail

Toronto is now paying higher prices for wheat than Chicago and the Grit prints have not a single word to say about it. 

A recent issue of the Globe spoke about improvements to the paper. The only difference we could find from other issues is that several editorials were left out and advertisements put in their place. This change was certainly an improvement.

The fastest time yet made on the CPR is one mile in fifty-three seconds. 

Mr. Paul of this city is getting cards made up that say, “Guns for hire and cartridges for sale.” We suppose this is better than, “Guns for sale and cartridges for hire.”

September 30, 1910 – Bassano News

A bright illumination south of the CPR depot on Tuesday night brought every resident of Bassano out of their houses and onto the street. For eighteen months, a gang of men have patiently drilled night and day in that vicinity. Much mystery has surrounded the work and it has been impossible to get reliable information. Tuesday night created immediate and renewed public interest in operations south of the tracks. A strong flow of gas, sufficient for commercial purposes, has been struck and the railway company are now ready to provide information. 

Walter Kelly returned early in the week from High River with eleven head of dairy cows, which he drove overland a distance of about 75 miles. The drive was hard on the cows and they are not giving as much milk as they will after a few days rest. He has the intention to purchase ten more cows in about a week and will be delivering milk to the residents of this place. 

The King has sent a gift of a small sum of money to James Doughty, the oldest public entertainer in the kingdom and once a favourite with London children as a pantomime clown. With his troupe of performing dogs, Doughty has been a notable figure on the sands of Brighton for over 30 years. He is preparing to celebrate his 92nd birthday with a benefit performance. 

September 30, 1915 – The Alderson News

Canadian soldiers at the front, including those who are currently prisoners of war, are piling up quite a tidy savings account with the Canadian government. The pay allowance is, in most cases, being held to their credit at the London postmaster’s office, as the men at the front have little opportunity to spend the money and prefer to leave all but a small portion in credit. 

How many millions of dollars the British government has spent on advertising during the first year of the war, no expert accountant has yet had the facilities to estimate. It is a safe statement, however, that no nation ever spent one-tenth as much on printer’s ink in the same period.

The annual loss inflicted on farmers by lightning is very large. It is a matter of the utmost importance to them to ascertain definitely whether this loss is preventable. For all practical purposes, the efforts to discover or invent some means of safeguarding isolated buildings date from the time of Benjamin Franklin.