ONE YEAR AGO
• A respected Alberta First Nation leader and Hobbema entrepreneur was named to the Order of Canada. Victor Buffalo, 66, was among 75 people who would receive the prestigious national honour. The award was announced in Ottawa on Canada Day.
• Plans for a multimillion-dollar canola crushing plant and biofuel complex in Stettler appeared to have fallen through. Stettler Mayor Jim Hunter confirmed he had received a letter from GreenLab Energy Canada Inc. stating it would not proceed with its proposed acquisition of town land for the project. The letter said the property “does not provide tolerable topographical and hydrological attributes” for GreenLab’s needs.
FIVE YEARS AGO
• Judy Gordon, the respected and longtime Lacombe-Stettler MLA, announced she was stepping down from provincial politics. Gordon, 55, served as mayor of Lacombe for four years starting in 1989 before entering provincial politics in 1993.
• Harley Hay, a Red Deer filmmaker, won a gold award for Deja Vu, a 10-minute short film. The film beat out about two dozen other competitors in the low-budget film category at the Aurora Film Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hay made the film for $1,100 over three weeks in 2003.
TEN YEARS AGO
• In an ironic twist, a store specializing in repair and renovation products suddenly had a large repair to make. After hail clogged roof drains, rain water gushed through the roof into a busy Totem Building Supplies store, bringing down roof tiles and damaging products.
• There was no stopping red light cameras or the controversial photo radar, as Red Deer city council voted 8-1 to have the electronic traffic enforcement devices brought to the city. While red light cameras met with little controversy, photo radar was referred to as a “cash cow” by opponents.
25 YEARS AGO
• Edmonton sculptor Clay Ellis said if Red Deer residents were determined to paint his sculpture, he’d like to choose the colour. Someone spray painted the modern metal sculpture on the north hill sky blue. Upon learning of the vandalism, he said, “Oh, great. What colour this time?’ The piece, one of five modern sculptures bought in 1981, with $72,000 of provincial anniversary money, was painted green and white soon after its installation.
• Dick Underwood of Red Deer proved again that he could steer, stop and back up a bus better than any other urban transit driver in Canada. Underwood, 31, won the Canadian Urban Transit Association’s National Bus Rodeo in St. John’s, Nfld., for the second year in a row. He was the first driver to accomplish this feat. Besides beating 26 other competitors on the obstacle course and in tests during the association’s annual meeting here, he also won the championship the previous year in London, Ont.
50 YEARS AGO
• An almost unbelievable total of more than $5 million dollars worth of construction in the City of Red Deer, apart from road utilities work, was either under way, contracted for immediate start or definitely “planned” as was ascertained in a survey. This assured an all-time record building year for the city that previously had topped the $4,000,000 mark for the first time.
• Membership in the Red Deer Amateur Swimming Association had reached the 400 mark it was announced by Mrs. Helen Russel, association secretary. This was about a hundred more than last season. The membership included the Catalina Club, The Synchronettes, divers and the adult-learn-to-swim classes. There were about forty women and twenty men in the adult class.
90 YEARS AGO
• The Red Deer Vulcanizing Works between the Commercial Cafe and the Alberta Hotel had a scorching, but Mr. Moris, the proprietor was happy to say that he escaped without loss of any account. He was working on a tire when some cement on the floor caught fire. It had got pretty well over the floor before Police Chief Anderson assisted in smothering the fire with earth as water only makes it worse because of the gasoline.
• Mr. Fred Lund was in full occupancy of his new Ford garage on First Street South, opposite the Advocate office. It was a spacious brick building, 50 x 125 feet with a very neat cement front, with circle roof and cement floor. The entrance door was flanked on the west by a show room with rest room adjoining and on the east by the office and storeroom for parts. The main garage gave ample accommodation for a large number of cars. Fully modern toilet, washing, lighting and heating facilities inside and gasoline and oil tanks outside made it a very complete establishment.
100 YEARS AGO
• Local residents were advised to take advantage of a sale on railway fares planned to commemorate Dominion Day. Round trip fares purchased between June 29 and July 3 were advertised at one-third the regular price.
• Pine Lake cricket players beat a team from Red Deer to win the local championship. “The Pine Lakers had a number of the old reliables who came off well in the second innings,” reported the Advocate.