When it comes to baseball, Vermilion usually took on teams from the local area. Occasionally, a team from Saskatoon, Edmonton or Lloydminster came out. Arguably the team that may have come the farthest to play in Vermilion were a women’s team from Chiacgo. On Aug. 14, 1926, the Vermilion Senators took on the Chicago Athletic Girls Baseball Team. A huge crowd came out to see the game. It was called the best-attended game of the entire season. Unfortunately, it was a tough game

When it comes to baseball, Vermilion usually took on teams from the local area. Occasionally, a team from Saskatoon, Edmonton or Lloydminster came out. Arguably the team that may have come the farthest to play in Vermilion were a women’s team from Chiacgo. On Aug. 14, 1926, the Vermilion Senators took on the Chicago Athletic Girls Baseball Team. A huge crowd came out to see the game. It was called the best-attended game of the entire season. Unfortunately, it was a tough game

As it is the second column of the month, I like to take a look at what was going on in the community a century ago. What may seem like minor events all helped to build the community as it is today. On June 4, Vermilion held a very successful sports day. Communities from around the area took part. Minburn emerged as the champions of the basketball tournament when they defeated Mannville 26- 17 in the final. The baseball tournament saw Vegreville win the final against Vermilion

Back in April 1944, news came that the Canadian Women’s Army Corps basic training centre near Vermilion was going to be turned into a Nazi Officers’ Prisoner of War Camp. The training centre was due to close on May 15, and it was believed it would be the perfect location for the prison camp. The Vermilion Centre was owned by the Alberta Government and was previously the Agriculture School before it became the training centre in 1941. The centre was Canada’s first basic traini

Neighbours don’t always get along. That is as true today as it was almost 100 years ago in Vermilion. Back on June 17, 1929, two men located near the community got into a large argument over a wire fence. John Zacharuk and Karl Sarak (written as both Karl Sarak and Karol Sawak) disagreed over where the property line was, and where the wire fence should be placed. While these types of disputes can be easily resolved with some talking and a trip to the records office to find ou

For decades, fire was a major danger for many communities, including Vermilion. One spark could ignite a building and leave ashes in its wake. Vermilion has suffered many fires through its history. One of the worst for the community, not in terms of the size of the fire, but because of what it burned down, was the fire that came as a new year dawned. As 1940 began, the world was ramping up towards the most destructive war in human history. In Vermilion, while all that was hap

Despite harsh weather conditions, including high winds and snow on Friday, April 24, members of the Lt. Col Craig Historical Society gathered to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Kapyong, which took place from April 24 to 27, 1951. Fire School EST students were in attendance alongside retired Captain Mike ter Kuile, CD, and retired Lieutenant Daphne ter Kuile, CD, who played key roles in the students’ drill training. The pair led the inspection and march past, demons

Mysteries are always fun, and they are even more fun when we can solve them. One of the most famous mysteries in Canadian history is the fate of Henry Hudson. Back in 1611, his crew mutinied in Hudson Bay and left him adrift in a small boat with his son and several sick men. We don’t know what happened to him after that. Then there is the mystery of hockey player Bill Barilko (yes the one from the Tragically Hip song). He scored the winning goal to win the Maple Leafs the Sta

In April 1911, the weather was good in the Vermilion area and seeding had already begun with many expecting it to be one of the best harvest years in the past decade. Many felt at the time that Vermilion deserved to get some recognition from the provincial government for the great crops grown in the area. The recognition many wanted was a demonstration farm. The Vermilion Board of Trade put forward the possibility of having such a farm by sending a delegate to Edmonton to spe

In 1958, Vermilion was booming. The economy was doing great in the town, earning it the title of Town of the Week from the Edmonton Journal for the week of March 10, 1958. There were several aspects of the community that earned it praise at the time. One of the biggest was the opening of the Vermilion Airport 12 years earlier in 1946. The work to get an airport built took 15 years, and was due in no small part from the Vermilion Board of Trade. Then there was Vermilion River

As it is the beginning of another month, it is time to look at what was going on in Vermilion back 100 years ago this month. The month started off on a sad note when it was announced that Henry Stephens, the former mayor of Vermilion, passed away on April 5. He was 62 and a senior member of the firm Stephens Limited. He had been dealing with what was called a severe cold, and had trouble breathing. He was one of the first men to open a business in Vermilion, and he was on the

Vermilion is not known as a place that has a lot of crime, so when something happens, it always makes news. This is as true today as it was over 100 years ago when the community was young. Back then, a young man by the name of Riel Bonneau decided that he would rob several farmers, expecting that he would get away with it easily. That would not be the case though. Over the course of several weeks in February 1919, he robbed various farms while wearing a mask. Once he accompli

In the early years of homesteading on the prairies, it would have been a lonely life if it had not been for neighbours and community gatherings. Families were often separated by miles of open land, and long days of chores could pass with little company beyond the wind and the wide-open sky. When someone needed help raising a barn, bringing in a harvest, or tending to an illness, word travelled quickly and people showed up because everyone understood how much depended on mutua

For a town to survive from its earliest days through the next century, financial growth was vital. While there were rough patches for Vermilion during its early years, especially when The Great Depression hit, the town always survived. By the early-1960s, it was prospering. At a meeting in February 1962, a group of taxpayers attended the annual meeting of the Vermilion ratepayers to hear reports of the town’s progress. The first report came from Charles Thompson, a hospital b

With the start of another month, it is time to look back in time to what was happening in the community back in March 1926. Some events were small, some were large, but all shaped the future community. On March 7, Vermilion was defeated 6-0 by the Calgary Albertans in a tough-fought hockey game that didn’t end well for the home team. On March 8, James Cammon, a resident of the Vermilion for the previous 21 years was appointed as the Justice of the Peace. He had previously ser

While it wasn’t an Olympic gold medal in curling, the White Trophy in Vermilion was a pretty big deal for curlers over 100 years ago. Back in February 1909, the Vermilion Curling Club took on several other clubs for the right to hold the White Trophy. This was the first year that the trophy was available to win and several teams were hoping to capture it. The teams that competed were from all around eastern central Alberta including Vermilion, Fort Saskatchewan and Vegreville

Jackie Shane. File photo The Vermilion Public Library welcomed the community for a special screening of The Jackie Shane Story on Friday, February 21, offering an evening of music, history, and reflection through the life of a truly groundbreaking performer. The documentary shared the remarkable journey of Jackie Shane, a trailblazing soul singer who rose to prominence during the 1960s. Celebrated for her powerful voice and magnetic stage presence, Shane found success in To

Each year, curlers from around Central Alberta came to Vermilion to take part in the popular Vermilion Bonspiel in the hopes of capturing the Alberta Hotel Cup. At the end of February 1919, the bonspiel saw several close and exciting games. There were about 20 rinks that entered the bonspiel, with seven coming from outside of Vermilion. One was the McClung Rink from Edmonton. I don’t know if the skip of that rink was related to Nellie McClung, but it is possible. There were a

In the very early years of Vermilion, as the community was slowly coming together, there were problems with some individuals who couldn’t stay on the right side of the law. In early February 1910, three criminal cases were presented at the district court to Judge Taylor who was presiding. In the first case, a Vermilion man was charged with attempting to steal a white steer from another man off his property. The name of the person accused was not listed, nor was the person who

With it being the beginning of a new month, it is time to take a trip back in the past. We are venturing to 100 years ago to see what was going on in Vermilion in February 1926. On Feb. 2, the Town of Vermilion announced that there would be a reduction in the business tax since the cash on hand for the community was $12,000. It was expected that the business tax in Vermilion would decrease by 20 percent to encourage more development as the town grew. On Feb. 4, Vermilion Agri