In search of yet another story I stumbled across a delightful article written by the late Allan James for the Ponoka Panorama history book. It was a fitting and witty salute to some of the colourful men, women, and characters who played a part in the vibrant growth of our community in the early years from 1904-1973. Here is that tale of hard work, determination, and fun.
Mr. Farnham the barber was a great man to know. He measured the land and laid out the first racetrack in Ponoka. His wife was famous for her Angel food cakes. George Field clerked more auction sales with Jim Cadek than anyone and always collected the money on the spot.
John Bures ran a livery barn and was a great horseshoe player. His rambunctious sons were Anton the teacher and ball player and Mike the ball player, pool shark, and all around good little guy. Mrs. Burris taught music to many in town. Dick Slater ran the dray from the C.P.R. station for many years, and Hobart was his trusty driver. Dave Morgan was so large, and Brady so small, but between the two of them, they could please you one and all.
Dr. Melvin Graham performed many operations on the kitchen table and the nifty Dr. Addinell pulled a lot of teeth for a small man. Joe Prochaski built many a good road with his horses; Bill Ferguson kept the books in town; and Walter Gee farmed and ‘harvested’ from the gravel pit by the trainload for many years. Dan Morrow was a great poet and also did some auctioneering for something to do. Whitecotton sold a lot of stuff; Bill Shaft auctioned with never a bluff; and Dave Jones loved his outside jobs as a policeman, electrician, and rink caretaker. Percy Griffin was a storekeeper, football player, rancher, and politician; and Doug Innes probably climbed more telephone poles for less pay than any other small man in the world. Percy Odell built a small tractor from an Austin car and drove it back and forth to work at 8 miles an hour with no plates.
Charlie ‘wrecker’ Johnson purchased a Model T from Tom Hickmore and built the district’s first 2-cylinder power plant that Frank James later converted into a grain lifter. Everett Vold was a world rodeo champion; Nansen was a life-long active member of the Ponoka Stampede Association; Harry Vold started as an Auctioneer and is still involved in rodeo contracting; and Ralph Vold enjoyed a stint in major league hockey and baseball before coming home to build a business empire. B.R. Headley bagged a lot of birds and that’s why they called him ‘Bird’; Ed Dittberner shot more ducks cause he was closer to the sky; Fritz Bachor could cut more meat than the town could eat; Mr. Green was the best dressed man about town;
Rufus Headley played ball and brought the first silent pictures to his Empress theatre; Bud Horn lifted more car hoods (with care) than any other person; and at their hardware store
Kennedy was the businessman and Walter was the Russeller.
George Beal and Harry Dittberner could always make a deal; Marinus Jensen was an expert but always jolly cattle buyer; B.S. Cameron was a photographer who produced lovely pictures; Bill Creighton was tall and slim hardware man who you could always depend on, and also sold clear gas for everything that ran; and Charlie Kenyon was a paper hanger, painter, dealer, and verbal debater of town affairs.
Mr. Kankewitt started out in dry goods and ended up as a Judge; Arthur Baadsgaard was a noted Notary Public, who looked after all the legal stuff, but just wanted to be called Art; Ernest ‘hoppy’ Hopgood was our Watkins dealer who also drove taxi and fixed cars at Wilders; Ronnie Gore started out as a farm hand for Ervie James, then drove taxi and was our garbage contractor; and Dave Mathewson was the town policeman who died while on duty at the town hall.
George Bowker sold enough lumber to build the whole town and keep the fires going, and was also the Funeral Director; John Muncy could repair anything better than when it was new; Henry Taylor could fix anything that you could break; Tom Cooper was a blacksmith who could tend to anything with horses and wagons, was one of our first welders, spun great stories, and served on the Council and Fire Department; Andy Low, what a name for a tall man who was our elevator agent and super citizen; and Cecil Lyon was our tin soldier who could really play the piano, was a golf fanatic, and had a cheerful wife named ‘Dolly”.
Angus MacLeod was a butcher and councillor who attended more hockey games than Helge Svensen; Andy McMillan served as a town policeman, grocer, trucker, worked at the P.M.H., and also played some hockey; Glen Mah Poy was a prominent merchant and hunter; Mah Bow was the Hong Kong Curler who owned the Club Café and served a full course meal for 25 cents; Shoemaker Martin repaired a lot of shoes but also wore out a lot himself; Lee McGarvey loved being the parade clown for decades; diminutive Tom Dick taught at Asker and Ponoka Schools and used his belt occasionally when students skipped out to go to the old Swimmin’ Hole; and Metro Hrycyk drove the infamous ‘honey wagon’ around town and worked at the arena.
Lee McKay was Mr. John Deere with Brady-Morgan and H.H. Roberts; Connie Cerveny was an expert on every vehicle from a Franklin to a Whippet; there was never anything finer than the 5 cent cones served by Harry Smith; Walter Glauser used to make watches at the back of his store; Don Sweet was always a nice Mayor; our first rodeo director George McKeddy quite often rode his horse down main street; Jesse Northcott was a prime real estate man whose goal was to inhabit all of Riverside; Norman MacLeod vowed that it was the man first and then the grain; Elmer Pendleton saw the Battle River rise around his door many times but it always ‘a great day’; and the giant Dempsey Morris was the undisputed champion of all sports and most popular among the ladies.
Last but not least
Shorty Jones rolled more opposition hockey players over his back than Buck Girling ever rolled in the bakery. It will always be an age old saying that where-ever there is a successful man there will always be a remarkable woman that has helped him. Mothers will always be appreciated for what they have accomplished in every phase of this always-challenging country of ours. There were of course many more outstanding citizens in and around our town and county over the years, and there will always be those same unsung individuals who lead us to ongoing successes with their outstanding community spirit and tenacity.