Town Life: Main Street and the Evolution of Small Town Alberta, 1880-1947

R. Douglas Francis is a professor of history at the University of
Calgary.

Town Life is the first of a planned multivolume history of Alberta, the
publication of which is ex-pected to be completed in time for the
province’s centennial year, 2005. In terms of meticulous research and
reflective scholarship, the book establishes high standards for future
volumes.

The authors examine nine very different towns scattered throughout the
major economic areas of the province and representing most phases of its
history. The towns are Cardston, Fort Macleod, and Claresholm in the
south, representing Mormon settlement, policing and ranching, and wheat
monoculture, respectively; Blairmore and Coleman, mining towns in the
Crowsnest Pass region of southwestern Alberta; Drumheller in the east, a
marriage of mining and agriculture economy; Lacombe in the park belt of
central Alberta, illustrative of the role of agricultural service in a
mixed-farm economy; and Peace River and Grande Prairie, examples of
post–World War II frontier towns in the north.

Wetherell and Kmet focus on the main street as defining the purpose and
culture of each town. Their remarkably thorough analysis encompasses
both the obvious issues of town politics and economics and such
not-so-obvious topics as the social conveniences of sidewalks, lights,
and streets, as well as the various roles that churches, service clubs,
movie theatres, cafés, restaurants, and parks have played in town life.

Before World War II, all nine towns experienced phenomenal growth and
high expectations up to the 1912–13 recession; in the interwar period,
they struggled to hold onto their population and wealth. According to
the authors, these towns were shaped more by external forces—such as
the railway, the national economy, and the role of the provincial
government—than by local initiatives or by the actions of individuals
within the town. In their influence on site location, growth patterns,
and political developments, external forces certainly played a major
role. Yet, when it comes to culture, this fascinating study reveals the
crucial role that individuals played in shaping and preserving each
town’s unique cultural milieu.