Gateway City: Stories from Edmonton's Past

Louis A. Knafla is a professor of history at the University of Calgary,
the co-editor of Law, Society, and the State: Essays in Modern Legal
History, and the author of Lords of the Western Bench.

Edmonton has been the gateway to the Canadian north since its inception
as a fort and trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the early
19th century. Mair, who writes about local history for The Edmonton
Journal and CBC Radio, presents a collection of stories from
Edmonton’s past.

The topics covered in the book’s 60 chapters include buildings,
persons, events, social and economic artifacts, churches,
communications, schools, and sports. The time frame ranges from the
Catholic clergy’s first visit to Fort Edmonton in 1838 to the murder
and execution of Wilfrid Nowell in 1950. The periods that receive the
most attention are the 1880s, the pre–World War I era of 1907–12,
and the interwar years of 1920–40. There are 48 photographs and many
of the chapters include illustrations. Regrettably, the volume lacks
notes, a bibliography, and an index.