From the Archives of Western Newspapers

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Vauxhall Advance

By Samantha Johnson
For Southern Alberta Newspapers

December 11, 1885 – Qu-Appelle
Progress 

The women of San Francisco are founding a cemetery for sailors. 2,000 sailors are known to have been buried within the city limits with the names of only 150 known. 

In the Boston Surgical and Medical Journal, Dr. Seltzer recommends beef tea, made very hot with red pepper, for delirium. A surgeon in London has stated he treated 150 patients successfully with this remedy alone. 

The latest remedy for seasickness, taken from the French papers, is to have no food for at least four hours before embarking. An hour before stepping on board, drink one or two cups of very strong coffee without chicory. 

Little Lucy Johnson in Tucson, Arizona recently escaped her mother’s notice and crawled into the woods. When found, she was caressing a large rattlesnake, who made no move to harm the child. 

December 11, 1908 – Didsbury
Pioneer

A scurrilous anonymous letter was received by us last week and signed by a ‘Towns Lady’. We wish to state such letters are beneath us and an anonymous letter is considered the poorest specimen of mankind in existence. 

Nominations for the position of mayor, councillors and school trustees took place Monday last. The results show the contest for the different positions will be a hot one and the mayoralty contest will be particularly close. 

Although much has been written about the RMS Mauretania, few can grasp the significant part electricity plays on the ship. The turbines, which propel the ship through the water, are 70,000 horsepower, with an additional 2,144 horsepower added by electrical power, which is supplied by four generators. Electricity illuminates the ship at night and operates the lifts, two for passengers, four for baggage and mail along with another two smaller ones for the pantries. In first-class, there are sixty electric radiators, to say nothing of the 43 heaters in the bathrooms. 

December 9, 1915 – The Alderson News

On a North Dakota experiment station, one plot has been in wheat for 15 years and produced 206 bushels this year. Another plot had corn one year, followed by wheat for three years, and repeated for 15 years, produced almost 234 bushels. The third plot had corn followed by manure and then wheat for three years, repeated for 15 years, and produced near 263 bushels of wheat. 

In Russia, both sides are preparing for the winter campaign. The enemy are building trenches and filling them with stoves and any other means to protect them from the Russian winter. Meanwhile, the rear is being organized with roads repaired or built, railways restored, field lines laid down, bridges rebuilt and Russian fortresses reconstructed with their faces to the east. 

We thought we’d say something about the new town council this week, but what is the use? When will the war end? When will the town well be repaired? 

At a recent annual meeting of the Canadian Press Association, considerable discussion took place on the Made-in-Canada campaign launched a year ago, with most unanimously in favour of the idea.