Celebrating the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede: The Story of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth

Frits Pannokoek is president of Athabasca University in Alberta.

Clearly a labour of love, this book celebrates the Calgary Stampede of
today and yesterday. There are vivid portraits of the founding legends
of the stampede, including Guy Weadick, credited with establishing the
Stampede; Weadick’s wife, Flores LaDue, the 1912 World Champion Lady
Fancy Roper; the Big Four (Patrick Burns, A.E. Cross, Archie McLean, and
George Lane), who were crucial to the success of the Stampede in its
early years; and Tom Three Persons, the greatest Native cowboy who ever
lived. Every event in the Stampede is explained, from the chuckwagon
races to bull-dogging to calf roping.

The authors also discuss the Indian Village, which they credit with
encouraging the persistence of southern Alberta Native traditions; the
importance of ranching to Stampede couture; and the role of the Stampede
in the community as expressed through the arts. Both modern and period
photographs will keep the reader thoroughly entranced. The book also
includes recipes that reflect the “four seasons of ranching from
morning to night.” The recipes for pemmican alone are worth the price
of the book.