PRAIRIE


A10 - Friday, January 20, 2012


www.prairiepost.com Pioneers, not Palliser, define southeastern Alberta You’ve probably heard of Captain


John Palliser. He’s the Irish adventurer whose expedition passed through these parts a century-and-a-half ago, and whose name has become synonymous with Alberta’s southeastern corner. His description of a triangle-


JONATHAN KOCH


FORGOTTEN ALBERTA: Sights and Stories of the Southeast


shaped region, encompassing modern-day southeastern Alberta and southwest Saskatchewan, as “desert, or semi-desert in character, which can never be expected to become occupied by settlers” has long outlived the intrepid captain, who passed away in 1887. The Irishman’s observations regarding the


“Palliser Triangle” are controversial. Since their initial publication in 1863, his conclusions have consistently been both debunked and vindicated, with opinions on the subject changing as frequently as the southeast’s volatile weather. Considering the relative prosperity within


Palliser’s Triangle today, the ongoing recognition we give the Captain is puzzling. For example, the Palliser Economic Partnership


reports that southeastern Alberta boasts a population in excess of 100,000 (including two cities), is home to more than 3,300 farms with 2.4 million acres in crops, $584 million in livestock, farm cash receipts totaling $1.16 billion, and possesses nearly a third of the irrigated land in Alberta. The irony of this is, had Palliser’s pessimism about the southeast been accepted, and his conclusions committed to government policy, it’s unlikely this economy would exist at all today. Yet we’re so enamored with Palliser, that his name


adorns a health region, a school division, the aforementioned economic partnership, numerous societies and several local businesses. The Captain’s legacy, built on a forecast of failure, endures. Perhaps it’s because, deep down, we don’t quite believe we’re in the clear.


After all, it is within living memory


that most were ready to concede that Palliser was right about the southeast. By 1942, decades of drought, over-grazing and poor farming practices had rendered his “Triangle” into a virtually uninhabitable, yes, “desert, or semi- desert in character.”


During the period 1917-1938, crop


failure became the norm. Debt and drought-induced phenomena, including dust storms and plagues of weeds, wildlife and insects, had driven all but


the hardiest souls from the southeast. By the Second World War, once prosperous boomtowns such as Alderson, Bow City, Chinook, Jenner, Richdale, and Suffield were barely functional. Hundreds of schools, post offices and grain elevators were built, and later dismantled or abandoned. The collapse of local government throughout the southeast prompted the creation of the Special Areas Board in 1938. At its peak, over seven million acres were administered by the board. Two-thirds of that total is still under its jurisdiction today. The provincial government relocated hundreds of


farmers to greener pastures, provided seed and feed for livestock, and relief for destitute families. Crippling debt loads prompted debt adjustment legislation. Carrying the burden of relief alone, the province was forced into bankruptcy. Although flat broke, the southeast did not break. Out on the prairie, the toughest of the homestead


generation stuck it out. Steadfast and resilient after enduring over three decades of the worst Mother Nature could muster, they learned how to coax prosperity from the land. Out of necessity, new farming techniques were


devised. Grazing leases were created to promote mixed farming. At long last, massive irrigation projects and farmland rehabilitation transformed the land, albeit on a more modest scale than the first boosters of settlement had envisioned.


Captain John Palliser’s legacy lives on, despite the facts. Due to the efforts of the pioneers and innovators


who worked against greater odds than any others in the Canadian West, Palliser’s prediction has never been fully realized. So let’s give Palliser his due. He identified our


region, but that’s not our identity. Those who proved Palliser wrong deserve the


recognition for making southeastern Alberta what it is today. Jonathan Koch is a monthly columnist with the


Prairie Post. His website is: http://forgottenalberta.com.


Monkman was one of a kind with his volunteerism RYAN


Swift Current lost a truly great


citizen and sadly the city’s youth lost a friend on the weekend as Earl Monkman passed away. Born in St. Louis Saskatchewan he


moved to Trail B.C. and then moved back to Swift Current in the mid- seventies with his wife Rose. They had two children, Richard and Jerry. Swift Current should be thankful he


returned. Monkman is a throwback to the days


where you rolled up your sleeves and got to work, especially if it meant helping someone else rather than yourself. A fixture in the sports community, but more importantly involved in recreation, Monkman has been running the appropriately-named Friendship Centre for a number of years. As executive director, Monkman was able to first


get the centre going in 2004, but then in 2007 was able to move the centre to a larger location. Many people are aware of his work with the


boxing club, but while boxing was enjoyable, his main focus was to get youth active doing something productive and more fitness for everyone. On the Move was something Monkman had his hand in and many youth have benefited greatly


& DAHLMAN


MANAGING EDITOR


from it.


Monkman also worked with the Southwest Crisis Services. If Aboriginal clients needs to talk with someone or needed a place to do a traditional smudging, the Friendship Centre was a place to go. He was the president of the Métis Local No. 35 in Swift Current years ago. The man did a lot of work for the community and fiercely supported it. A big fan of sports, he was a long-


time Swift Current Broncos supporter, but was seen at many minor sports teams events. He worked with the Swift Current Indians running the scoreboard and the famous horn. He also volunteered with the Swift Current Legionnaires hockey team. In talking with him, he was a humble man and


didn’t like taking credit for anything. It was always about the kid or Swift Current, never about him. When Monkman helped get Canadian boxing


legend George Chuvalo here, it wasn’t about the glitz nor the attention garnered for getting a boxing legend in Swift Current. For one of the biggest boxing supporters there


was, it was all about Chuvalo presenting a positive anti-drug message. He was brutally honest, but it was because he


BLISS Feeling (un) lucky?


cared. He cared for those he was trying to help, youth and his community. “I call a spade a spade,” Monkman told Prairie


Post freelance writer George Bowditch in 2006. “If you have it and you want it, it is there for you to try and do it. I mean I will help you out in any way I can but the rest is up to you. If you have the desire and will power and everything else to do it, go for it and we will back you up as much as we can. That is the way I tell the kids and I like to live with them and have fun with them and get them to understand. It is nice to see the kids after you have done something with them and you see them later in life and they still remember what you have taught them or helped them out in whatever aspect you can.” Many out there have benefitted from Monkman. He was a class act and not too many people like him come around in a lifetime. It’s a shame Monkman won’t be here to witness the opening of the Hockey Hall of Fame set to take place in Swift Current not too far down the road. He will be here in spirit. It is spirit and zest for life which is something Monkman would’ve probably hoped Swift Current residents would carry on with when volunteering or working with youth. It would be a lasting legacy and tribute to a man who did so much.


Look for Bliss and Diss on Page A10 every two weeks.


Remember: no identifying factors can be present in the submissions. The Prairie Post reserves the right to edit for length, timeliness, libel and decency


to give your name or location. No phone calls please. The only way you can get your submissions in the Prairie Post is by emailing: diss@prairiepost.com


Send your compliments or your criticisms by email to: diss@prairiepost.com . They should be no more than 30 words and you don't have


DISS


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41