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George Hewitt Donates Important Video Collection To Calgary Stampede Archives
mission to preserve and promote Calgary’s western heritage, focusing on Calgary Stam- pede history. Their massive collection in- cludes records and objects which date from the pre-Stampede Agricultural and Industrial Exhibitions to present day. The items being preserved are a resource for volunteers, em- ployees and members of the southern Alberta community, including students who attend
By Kelly Bowers The Calgary Stampede Archives has a
trained TB racehorses here and in the USA. In the late 50’s, George’s work as a play-by- play sports announcer took him to the U.S., Australia, South America and England. He
very excited and grateful to have recently re- ceived a sizeable donation of materials by vintage Canadian cowboy and story teller, George Hewitt. George spent years as a bull rider and
Stampede School and their numerous youth education programs. The Calgary Stampede Archives is
also enjoyed a 6 year stint training and racing Standardbreds on both Canadian and U.S. tracks, earning a couple championships along the way. While he set numerous track records, winning with no-chance horses earned him the nickname “The Miracle Man”. George even competed in the world famous “Little Brown Jug” race, driving a horse named “Shadow Don Time”. In the 1970s, George was producer and became well known as the popular TV personality of the Canadian TV series, Open Roads as well
George receiving the Molson Award
footage of many episodes of Open Roads that featured the Calgary Stampede. “I was happy to receive the seven boxes of materials with videos that included segments on animal care, and interviews with notable individuals such as Arena Director Winston Bruce, and the Trail of 87. Calgary Stampede Archives, Historical Specialist, Cas- sandra Cummings, MA, appreciates donations to the archives.
as other Disney projects. In 1998, George joined the presti- gious “Opening Team” at Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom and when he finally decided to kick off his boots, he wrote down the stories of his unbelievable adventures and misadventures in a highly entertaining book, “Keep Spurring Til the Whistle Blows”. George Hewitt’s donation consists primarily of raw
George on the Six Nations with his Open Roads Show.
“Generous donations such as this are vital in telling the story of Stampede and our western heritage. Without individuals like George, who are willing to share their stories, the story we tell others about the Stampede would be incomplete.” George’s four decade old materials will be preserved in the Calgary Stampede Archives. While they will not be immedi- ately available, they will be part of a larger digitization strat- egy to make sure these important records that document Stampede history can be preserved and shared for future gen- erations. They will be available for volunteers, researchers, students and exhibitions in the future. Calgary Stampede is working towards the creation of
SAM Centre, a western heritage interpretive centre, which will be part of Youth Campus on Stampede Park. SAM Cen- tre will house the archives and collections, contain exhibition space and classroom space, and will serve as a year-round community gathering place, thanks to the generosity of phi- lanthropist Don Taylor. Check out these websites for more information about
Stampede history, the archives, the SAM Centre, and the Trail of 87.
http://www.calgarystampede.com/heritage/about http://www.calgarystampede.com/heritage http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/record+million+do- nation+calgary+stampede+foundation/9214611/
story.html
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/stampede-100-day- countdown-1987-trail-of-87-a-success
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