Looking Back At January 1926

It is a new year, and a new month, and that means it is time to look back at what was going on in the community 100 years ago this month.

These events helped to build the community that exists today.

On Jan. 13, the Vermilion Wanderers defeated Vegreville 4-2 in a hockey game. This put Vermilion at the top of the league standings and in a good place to win the league championship.

On Jan. 16, it was announced that 100 families from Scotland were going to be settling at Vermilion. They were described as practical farmers who were coming equipped with horses, cattle and machinery. The area they were going to settle on was 15 kilometres north of Vermilion on land that was selected by the society the previous year.

On Jan. 18, it was predicted by C.B. Johnson, manager of the Vermilion Creamery of P. Burns would have an excellent year and produce at least 720,000 pounds of butter.

On Jan. 29, news came that a large bonspiel was going to be held in Vermilion from Feb. 9 to 12. The bonspiel would play host to several towns that were situated along the Canadian National Railway. The report stated that the local curling club in Vermilion was hoping to attract the largest and most enthusiastic bunch of curlers that had ever been gathered for a bonspiel in the community.

That same day, the Vermilion Wanderers suffered a loss against Vegreville 2-0. It was said in the report that both teams put up a stubborn fight and played fast hockey.

On Jan. 30, three carloads of heavy draft horses left Vermilion on their way to Montreal. The horses were purchased by two horse buyers from Edmonton who had been in the community two weeks earlier to select the horses they wanted. Each horse was bought for $80 to $95 each, amounting to $1,500 to $1,700 in 2026 funds.

Also on that day, it was announced by the town that Vermilion had closed the previous year with a good balance of $12,000, and it was expected the coming year would be just as good for the community.

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