A Century Ago In Vermilion

Happy New Year everyone!

It is 2024, and I thought for my first column of the New Year, it would be a great idea to look back at what was going on in Vermilion in January 1924. A full century ago!

So, let’s dive into some of the stories that made the news one hundred years ago!

John Wotherspoon was re-elected the new president of the Alberta Horseshoers and Carriage Makers Association at the annual convention held in Calgary. Wotherspoon lived in Vermilion, and his goal was to increase membership and the general usefulness of the organization throughout his time as president.

The community itself was doing well. The financial standing of the town was described as one of the best in its history. At the start of 1924, it had $10,569 in the bank. In 2024 funds, that amounts to about $275,000.

Vermilion’s curlers failed to defeat their arch-rivals Manville to capture the Blair Trophy. This was the third attempt by Vermilion curlers to capture the cup. While there was high hope, the Vermilion rink lost 24-14 over the course of two games. A total of 24 rinks had taken part in the bonspiel in Vermilion.

A bit of crime news from a century ago when Nick and Steve Hawryliuk were sentenced to three years in prison by Judge Taylor. They were convicted of breaking and entering the home of Andrew Hogoboam while he was away and they stole two trunks containing household and personal effects. They also stole a roll of bedding. The two men were caught because they left a pair of their socks in the house. They were later turned in by their father. Both men had pleaded not guilty to charges.

Lastly, Vermilion put forward an application to join the Class B Circuit of Western Canada Fairs at the annual generation meeting of the organization in Saskatoon. If Vermilion was approved, it would allow the community to have much larger fairs, sanctioned by the organization. Larger fairs brought in more tourists and visitors, while also increasing the money raised by the community at the fair.

So that was a brief look at what was going on in Vermilion in 1924.

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