In the 1970s local community supporter Terry Bland had a morning talk show on local radio station CJOC where a lot of oldtimers contributed. We decided to tap into his audience to find out and preserve first hand accounts of what it was like in earlier days. Each day a student would take a few minutes and phone in a question. While we continued with our daily activities our tape recorder collected what we hoped would be the big catch. Sometimes it happened. * Over time the tapes were edited and added to Our Heritage Audio and Visual Collection.
As a prize for contributing, we produced the Hamilton Trek’s 1884 Historic Calendar featuring upcoming historical events (I know this sounds weird but have a look at it) for use in 1980 - Alberta’s 75th Anniversary.**
The project received special recognition in 1979 - The International Year of the Child.
* My favorite was the day we heard the man describe watching Eugene Ely in 1911 make southern Alberta’s first airplane flight over nearby Henderson Lake.
** Of course, it could also be saved and used for the years 2008, 2036, 2064 2092. Ultimate recycling.
