Leduc West Antique Society

THE IGNITOR NEWSLETTER

VOL.18 No. 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 2007

Living the Past for Future Generations

Your 2007 Executive:
www.leducwestantique.com

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE - Walter Burak

A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Our last event of the year - "Appreciation Night" was a huge success. Attendance exceeded previous years and we underestimated the amount of food required. The cooks were seen scraping the pots for their meal. The Trivia Games were a big hit, so much so, in fact, that Marg had very few copies left for another year. Ron's band was a welcome addition - it's booked for this fall already. So with dancing, home-made wine and good food, we all had a great time.

Reviewing the year, the weather sure didn't co-operate again. In spite of the rain and cold weather, the shows were still successful. That's three years in a row when the Fall Harvest was nearly a cancellation - however, the parking lot saved the day. When a tractor puller shows up from Fort McMurray or Balzac, they certainly would be disappointed if the show was cancelled.

2006 was a busy year at the Park. Some of the accomplishments included:

1. The south side of the pond was landscaped and fenced. Dallas Arnholtz and Bill Smith were working with their winter mitts and hats on,
2. More trees were planted in the camping area and around the show area. Jim Felske hauled a lot of water this year,
3. Show areas around the show grounds were filled and seeded to grass,
4. Four granaries were restored and painted a bright red - Elmer Shukalek and Bill Clow took on red overspray,
5. The tractor scale was made operational thanks to George Beech and Elmer Shukalek,
6. George Doty constructed a stainless steel oven from a recycled milk cooler,
7. A water line to the north side of our property was installed - this required Norm Miller's trenching ability,
8. Nicely groomed grass areas thanks to Marg Burak and Jim Felske,
9. Beautiful flower beds next to the Train Station - a wide variety of plants that impressed a lot of the visitors - thanks to Marg Burak,
10. Bill Smith moved his junk box into the Founders Buildings,
11. Massive millwright machinery was moved next to the Blacksmith Shop - thanks to Jim Connel's moving equipment and Bill Smith's bank account,
12. Clay fill in Pole Shed and next to the Sawmill was Elmer Shukalek's doing,
13. lce Cream Shop improvements and clean-up thanks to Marilyn Saramaga's carpentry skills,
14. Edmonton Historical Power Foundation's additions in the Electrical Building look great,
15. Fiddler's July weekend function in the Hooper Building overseen by Howard Lengert and crew,
16. Lots of gravel was placed on the parking lot and roadways thanks to our bank account, and
17. Christine Harrold has done a super job on our website. She needs input so e-mail her if you have pictures or comments.

Some major equipment additions occurred in 2006 as well.

It's impossible to list all the projects, improvements and additions to the society grounds all made possible by dedicated volunteers.

One addition to our show tractor features will be a Balance Beam that was purchased from the Edberg Historical Society. This is a timed event, which will enable our tractor participants to be involved in the event if their equipment is not in perfect running condition as opposed to the Tractor Sled Event.

See you all on February 24, 2007 at the Annual Meeting.

-WB

KOLLECTOR'S KORNER - Bill Smith

I got to thinking about what entertained our forefathers and us in the past, whether it be the printed work or sound or movie or television. Some things we forget about, others we say it can't be as long ago since we read, heard or saw such and such. Collecting isn't only about material things but about our fond memories. With this I started scanning my hundreds of pages of notes and came up with just a few items in the above-mentioned categories of memory lane.

The printed word, how lucky we were to be able to go to school and learn to read. With me it was comics. I will ask you to forgive my spelling, as some of these notes are 70 years old and hard to read. One I enjoyed that came out before I was born was "Little Orphan Annie" on August 05, 1924, "Blondie and Dagwood" on September 08, 1930, "Mickey Mouse" created by Walt Disney on November 18, 1928, "Donald Duck" on June 9, 1934, "Popeye" comics on January 16 or 17, 1929, "Porky Pig" on July 1, 1935, "Hi and Lots" on December 24, 1954, "Garfield" on June 19, 1978 and "Family Circus" on February 29, 1960. But the comic that is likely the oldest are the Mother Goose fables written and published June 17, 1887. The 1st political cartoon on record was one called "Join & Die" printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9,1751. Ah, and we must not forget Maggie, Jiggo and their cat Fete in "Bring up Father" in 1913.

The first telephone came into use in Newfoundland on March 20, 1878 but the first telephone exchange was in Hamilton, Ontario and it was No. 9 in the World. In 1905 a nice Box-Form Telephone sold for $9.95. Some of these type of phones at antique shows are selling upwards of $400.00

Now we come into cylinder gramophone records, where the first words were recorded December 7, 1877 and the poem was "Mary Had A Little Lamb." Of course they were called "Talking Machines" in the catalogue. A lovely exterior horn machine of Columbia make with two-dozen records sold for $16.95 in 1908. This was the deluxe top-of-the- line, model. But, by this time, 78 records were starting to come in packages of $2.50 per dozen. There were 7-inch and 12-inch disk records, however, they still played on a turntable with a huge interior horn. There were machines like the Harvard Disc Talking Machine, which sold for $6.95, a low-priced machine introduced to sell more records. The first LP was recorded by Columbia on January 21, 1946 and the first 45-RPM record was on the market February 1, 1950.

The first radio was patented January 2, 1896 by Marconi 1st Radio and there was a message by Marconi from Cornwell England to Spy Hill, Newfoundland on December 12, 1901. It was Morris code for letter S. Three dots. Some reference books date this as December 15, 1902. Take your pick.

The first ad for this item appeared in Scientific Magazine on January 13, 1906 and was called "Telimoo Wireless Telegraph Outfit" by Electric Importing Co. January 13, 1906.

It sold for $8.50 for the radio transmitter and receiver package. The first radio commercial in New York was on August 28, 1922 and cost $100 for 10 minutes. N.B.C. came on the air from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York on November 15, 1926. The first radio station in Edmonton was C.J.C.A., which began on May 1, 1922 at 8:00 p.m. "Hockey Night in Canada" began November 10, 1932 with Foster Hewitt, who was the first sports broadcaster in Canada. We heard Gordie Howe's first goal on October 18, 1946 when he was only 18. The first Royal Address by the B.B.C. was given by King George V on December 25, 1932 and the B.B.C. also broadcast in the New Year to the chimes of Big Ben on December 31,1923.

The first transistor radio was AM only and was developed by Regency in November 1954. FM became more popular in 1960.

The first Sony Transistor was imported into Canada in 1957 and features great shows that we just could not miss. "The Hoppy Gang" on CBC (1937-1956), Henry Allridge came on the air October 13, 1936, and Tommy Hunter was featured from 1963-1991.

In the 1930s we had 15-minute soap programs like "Pepper Young Family" and "Maw Perkins"; all by wonderful soap brands of the time Rinso and Lux, most of which were owned by Proctor and Gamble. Comedy began to blossom with the likes of Jack Benny, Milton Burl, Red Skelton, Bobby Snooks, and William Bender in "The Life of Rilley," and "The Burns and Allen Show." All good family listening. Then there was the 1/2 hour cowboy programs like "Gun Smoke" with Matt Dillon U.S. Marshall, "Cisco Kid" and Sidekick Poncho, "The Lone Ranger" and "Hopalong Cassidy." Mystery shows that scared us half to death were also featured, like "The Haunting Hour" and "The Shadow." Crime programs, like the "Black Museum," "Dragnet," "Box 13" and "The Green Hornet" were also a favorite among listeners. Of course, the top men for mystery were Alfred Hitchcock and Vincent Price. And surely we cannot forget 6:00 p.m. every Sunday night when "Lux Radio Theatre" from Hollywood featured Cecil de Domilles.

Next we heard of television with its first image transmitted October 30, 1925. The first public demonstration of television was in London, England and was done by a Scottish inventor named John Baird on January 27, 1926. The first television sold on the U.S. market July 3, 1928 for $75.00 and the first television to hit home was in New York on August 19,' 1930. The first Canadian Station C.B.F.T. Montreal was introduced on September 6, 1952 and the first colour television broadcast was in Toronto at the C.F.T.O. on July 1, 1966. The first colour television on the market was an RCA and was sold on March 25, 1954. Of course, once television was introduced to the public the first television Guide was also needed and that came about on April 3, 1948. On July 6, 1954, the first, and what some believe the best, invention was introduced, the remote control had only 2 buttons: On and Off.

Major League baseball came to television on August 26, 1936 and featured the Cincinnati Red and Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, New York. Our first live broadcast from Parliament in Ottawa was "Question Period" on October 17, 1977. In Great Britain it took until November 21, 1989 to show politicians at work!

Movies were patented by Thomas Edison on May 22, 1891 and consisted of 24 frames per second. The first words featured on a movie were "You ain't heard nothing yet" and the first silent movie was Keystone Cops" on September 23, 1922. The first full-length movie by Warner Brothers was shown in New York City on July 6, 1928 and was called "The Black Pirate" starring Douglas Fairbanks and there was even a scene done under water! The first cartoon was shown on September 19, 1928, "Steam Boat Willie" featuring the voice of Walt Disney. The first time we heard Leo the Lion roar on the silver screen by way of MGM was on July 31, 1928. The first movie shown in Edmonton was on October 26, 1927 with Al Jolson and the Singing Fools. And last, but not least, the first time one heard a toilet flush on television was on January 14,1971.

Coloured movies came in gradually and really got serious in 1939 with three big classic hits: "Gone with the Wind," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "The Wizard of Oz."

As time went on movies got bigger screens, more costly with speakers all around. Then came more comfort in the movie theatre, which copied opera house seating. Air conditioning, upholstered seats and arm rests included. The final result was that movies put a person right in the middle of the action, especially in war and pirate flicks. Of course we must not forget the sinking of the Titanic, I was ready to look for a life jacket! Where will it end? About the only thing left is smell, if you can get over the odour of popcorn and oil. Still I can't figure out if we were born too early or too late ... but let us enjoy our few remaining years with our memories.

-BS

A VERY QUICK LETTER FROM THE EDITOR - Jennifer Bodnar

If you have any interesting hobbies, experiences or events that you would like to write about and include in Leduc West Antique Society's premier newsletter "The Ignitor" please contact me at:

JENNIFER BODNAR-DZIUBIAK
3230-97 STREET
EDMONTON, ALBERTA
PHONE: (780) 465-4429
FAX: (780) 469-6275
E-MAIL: JENNIFER@RODADEACO.COM

All written pieces must be received by April 30, 2007 in order for them to be included in the May 2007 edition of "The Igniter." Please note that all articles are subject to an editing process.

Letters to the Editor are more than welcome, also appreciated are
comments and criticism (and praise)!

The Wild Rose Old Tyme Fiddler's Association and the
Leduc West Antique Society
Present
The 23rd GRAND NORTH AMERICAN
OLD TIME FIDDLE CHAMPIONSHIP
Hopper Place, 5 km west of Leduc on Hwy #39
July 14-16, 2007

Friday July 14 - 7:00 p.m. Toonie Jam and Dance

Saturday July 15 -
Competition - Junior Junior, Junior, Senior, Golden and Junior Twin Categories
Dinner and Old Time Dance - advance tickets only

Sunday July 16 -
Competition - Open, Traditional, Twin and Championship

Free camping on site (no hook-up)
Concession
More info: Arnie (780) 662-3608

* We will need some volunteers to help with the parking on Saturday, July 15 and Sunday, July 16. Please give Howard a call at (780) 985-3384 if you are able to help.

THANK YOU

The Leduc West Antique Society would like to extend a heart-felt thank you to each and every one of you who gave their support throughout 2006 and we look forward to see you all throughout 2007!