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History Prairie Provinces (ab, Mb, Sk)

Peggy & Balmer

Two Journalists at the Edge of History

by (author) Tom Radford

Publisher
NeWest Press
Initial publish date
Nov 2024
Category
Prairie Provinces (AB, MB, SK), Historical, Social Activists
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781774391075
    Publish Date
    Nov 2024
    List Price
    $11.99

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Description

“Alberta is a puzzle, born in hope and anger,” William Thorsell writes in the introduction to this stunning new book by filmmaker and writer Tom Radford.

 

Following the lives of his grandparents Peggy and Balmer Watt, Radford tells the story of two journalists who arrive in Edmonton the first day of the province's life, September 1, 1905, as Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier announces Alberta as the great hope for "Canada's Century" that lies ahead. But Albertans already have a contrary vision in mind, a government strong enough to challenge the constitution that binds them. Peggy and Balmer find themselves in the midst of a conflagration that will last a century - their marriage falls apart, their newspapers go bankrupt, and Alberta veers towards the extremist politics of today.

 

Balmer defends the freedom of the press and helps win the first Pulitzer awarded outside the United States. Peggy chronicles her own story, "A Woman in the West." Seen from our time, the lives of these two remarkable journalists introduce the angels and devils of Alberta history - the siren call of a Last Best West that once again jeopardizes Canada's future.

About the author

Tom Radford is a writer and documentary filmmaker working in Edmonton. Born to a newspaper family, he has explored both the character of western Canada and the issues which have plagued "next year country" in confederation. Over a 50 year career he has worked extensively with First Nations, environmentalists, and historians to portray how the unique culture of Alberta is under stress. Five films on Fort Chipewyan and the impact of the Oil Sands have recorded the challenges faced by resource development in the north.

Tom Radford's profile page

Excerpt: Peggy & Balmer: Two Journalists at the Edge of History (by (author) Tom Radford)

Peggy and Balmer presents a love affair with the Alberta frontier at the turn of the twentieth century, a passion for place that consumed the lives of two extraordinary journalists, Gertrude Hogg and Arthur Balmer Watt. An irreverent investigative reporter and an ambitious publisher, they established a weekly newspaper in Edmonton in the winter of 1905, the Saturday News. Peggy, as she became known, became the city’s first domestic correspondent, catholic in her tastes and outrageous in her opinions. Her column, “The Mirror,” spared no one, man or beast, reflecting the helter-skelter community in which she found herself. Her acid portrayal of the city’s leading citizens soon made the paper a precarious business proposition. Within weeks of its first issue, Balmer found himself smoothing the ruffled feathers of advertisers and readers alike. It was a sign of things to come — a voice of reason doing its best to limit the damage his wife had so willfully inflicted. Like the paper, the marriage would fall on hard times as the Alberta saga unfolded. Yet the greater canvas of Canada, to their youthful eyes the beautiful, impossible country they had crossed on the journey west, would never fail to bring them back together.

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