Tractor Genes

Herewith a recently acquired photo from Big Ian dated June 19th, 1954, wherein Our Hero forsakes his trusty mount for a more advanced form of horsepower.  Jim Arnold showing Yours Truly the finer points of heavy machinery at 229 - 39th Ave. SW in Calgary.  Now we know where David Jr. (and Alex) get their affection for John Deere!  (Although this is probably a Cockshutt!)

Susan and The Horse

In this just-discovered old photo from Big Ian, my sister Susan is getting her first riding lesson at age 1 1/2 on Jim Arnold's farm at 229 - 39th Avenue SW, Calgary.  The date is June 15th, 1954.  (Of course the guy holding her in the saddle is Yours Truly, by then a seasoned pro rider.)  Her equestrian education (and mine) was to continue years later in Lethbridge on a farm where the Lethbridge College now stands.  Yahoo!

Bond, The Whisky Trader

"Bond, the whisky trader, had not yet heard of the coming of the rugged, red-coated Mounties.  His wagon bounced joltingly over the rough ground, but Bond was happy.  This journey in the year 1874 had already brought him 116 buffalo robes, and the trip was young.  The wagon was heavy with kegs of alcohol, and the Indians were eager to offer him a buffalo pelt for each fiery pint.  Four of Bond's men drove wagons behind him.  They were armed with Henry rifles.  A wandering tribe would think twice before it fell on such a party and tried to take the whisky by force.  Most of the traders were dead shots.  In his mind, Bond was spending the rich profits which he felt sure would be his.  He thought longingly of the gambling casinos and plush hotels in Helena, south of the border.  Life seemed good to Bond.  He had even built his own stockade.  He wasn't going to divide his money with the Fort Whoop-Up gang.  Then, from out of the dusk came a command: "Halt, in the name of the Queen!"  The American had forgotten that the British Empire was ruled by a queen, whose name was Victoria.  But now Bond saw before him a tall man on a prancing horse.  The man wore a red jacket with frayed cuffs.  On his head was a white helmet.  Behind him in the gloom were other men on horseback.  Bond knew nothing of the North West Mounted Police, but he sensed danger.  One of Bond's men reached for a rifle at his feet.  "I'd put that down if I were you," said the tall man quietly.  The trader hesitated, then dropped the gun.  Inspector Crozier lifted the heavy tarpaulin on the wagon driven by Bond.  Beneath the canvas he saw casks of whisky, sinister rows of rifles, and heaps of buffalo robes.  "I think we'd better go to Fort Macleod," said the Inspector.  "Where's that?" asked Bond.  "You'll soon find out," replied the Mountie, from behind his thick dark moustache.  At Fort Macleod the Constables were already in barracks but the officers still lived in tents.  Macleod believed in the best food and quarters for the enlisted men.  He thought this was the way to have high morale under difficult conditions.  The traders were brought before the Assistant Commissioner.  He eyed them sternly while Inspector Crozier presented the evidence.  Macleod fingered one of the thick robes.  "The Indians need these for teepees and for clothing," he said.  "You have taken away their robes and given them nothing except alcohol, which wrecks their health and ruins their sanity."  The traders shifted their feet nervously.  For possessing liquor in Indian country, each of the whisky traders was fined fifty dollars.  The head trader, Bond, had to pay a fine of $200 and go to the log jail, because he sold alcohol to an Indian named Three Bulls.  The Indian testified against Bond at the brief trial.  The traders cursed angrily as the Mounties opened the casks and let the whisky run out onto the snow.  The buffalo robes were returned to the Indians.  "Tell your friends this is only the beginning," said Macleod to the traders, who went free after paying their fines." - from Royal Canadian Mounted Police by Richard L. Neubergter (Random House, New York, 1953)

The Code of The West

The Law came later - North West Mounted Police. 

"First chronicled by the famous western writer, Zane Grey, in his 1934 novel The Code of the West, no "written" code ever actually existed. However, the hardy pioneers who lived in the west were bound by unwritten rules that centered on hospitality, fair play, loyalty, and respect for the land. Ramon Adams, a Western historian, explained it best in his 1969 book, The Cowman and His Code of Ethics, saying, in part: "Back in the days when the cowman with his herds made a new frontier, there was no law on the range. Lack of written law made it necessary for him to frame some of his own, thus developing a rule of behavior which became known as the "Code of the West." These homespun laws, being merely a gentleman’s agreement to certain rules of conduct for survival, were never written into statutes, but were respected everywhere on the range. Though the cowman might break every law of the territory, state and federal government, he took pride in upholding this unwritten code. His failure to abide by it did not bring formal punishment, but the man who broke it became, more or less, a social outcast. His friends ‘hazed him into the cutbacks’ and he was subject to the punishment of the very code he had broken." Though the Code of the West was always unwritten, here is a "loose" list of what is known of the guidelines:
- Don't inquire into a person's past. Take the measure of a man for what he is today.
- Never bother another man's horse. A horse thief pays with his life.
- Defend yourself when necessary. Look out for your own.
- Remove your guns and hat before sitting at the dining table.
- Don't make idle threats.
- Save your breath for breathing.
- Always tend to your horse's needs before your own.
- Cuss all you want, but not around women.
- Complain about the cooking and you become the cook.
- Do not practice ingratitude.
- Be courageous.
- Always help those in need, even a stranger or an enemy.
- Never touch another man's hat.
- Be modest.
- Be loyal to your "brand," your friends, and those you ride with.
- Give your enemy a chance. The "rattlesnake code": warn before you strike unless stalking an outlaw.
- Never shoot a woman, no matter what.
- Respect the land.
- Your word is your bond, your handshake is a contract.
- Live by the Golden Rule."
(With apologies to Kathy Weiser)

A King Brothers Tall Tale? Probably Not.

A Porcupine Hill

Soon after we moved to The Jewel in 1976, I became friends with another young local professional who had lived here a lot longer than I - a fellow who not only was a dyed-in-the-wool rancher and hunter but one who had met the King Brothers in person.  My impression was that he had visited them on several occasions, perhaps in his professional capacity, perhaps as a young man they took a liking to, probably both.  (Like them, he is plain-spoken, smart as hell, loves the outdoors, and is tough as nails, so they may have seen something of themselves - when they were young - in him.)  His description of their spartan living quarters matched that as related by Mary-Jo Burles in her book, First And Second Kings.  He once told me of a visit to the log house that had been their home for many, many years up in the Porcupine Hills, during which his conversation with them was continually interrupted by a mouse running back and forth along the wall opposite.  Noticing that the mouse was distracting their visitor, one of the brothers took a jackknife out of his pocket, and deftly threw it across the room - impaling the mouse instantly.  The dimensions of the room weren't related to me but we can assume a minimum distance wall-to-wall of ten feet, and the room, he said, was lit by a single light bulb hanging in the centre of it, so the throw was pretty amazing - at least to me.  Considering the source of this little anecdote, I believe it to be true.

Smithbilt Hats of Calgary, Alberta

"In 1919, Judah Shumiatcher's father, Morris, started the Smithbilt Hat Company in Calgary, Alberta. It is a company that is a poignant symbol of the immigrant experience in Canada - of starting over, building a new life through a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Smithbilt has become the symbol of western hospitality - the quintessential Canadian cowboy hat, recognized to this day across the country and around the world. Morris immigrated to Canada from Russia, with his father, in 1909. Soon after they arrived and settled in Calgary, they changed their name. It was an event shared by many immigrants of the time. For the Shumiatchers, keeping the 'S' with the name 'Smith' seemed good enough. "My father wasn't adverse to this," recalls Judah. "He thought it was a good idea. That to come over was a good start, a new land and what's wrong with a new name?" Morris Smiths' first job in Calgary was at a sawmill, but he had dreams of starting something of his own, of making a contribution to his new country. So, as the story has been told and retold over the years, it was sometime in 1919 that Morris went off to the library in search of inspiration. After looking at some photographs of hats and then reading up on hat manufacturing, inspiration struck. Morris' next stop was the bank for some financing. He needed a $300 loan to convert Calgary Hat Works, then a cleaning and blocking establishment, into a hat manufacturer and retailer. The bank refused him the money because he had no collateral, and suggested that Morris's brother Harry could co-sign a loan. Harry had a successful business only a few blocks down the street selling newspapers and magazines: Harry's News. Morris was a bit indignant at first, if his signature wasn't good enough then forget it. "But the next day he was back," recalls his son Judah. "He had reconsidered and of course Harry did sign for him and he had the $300. Within one year he was manufacturing hats from beginning to end. By 1929 Smithbilt Hats was a bonafide company." Morris Smith ran the Smithbilt Hat factory and associated retail stores in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia through the hard times of the Depression and the Second World War. He produced and sold mostly fedoras. But then he switched to producing a western style when the cowboy hat was becoming more and more popular. In the summer of 1946, Morris made a decision about business and style that would guarantee him a place in Canadian history. "The Stampede Board had decided it would be a wonderful idea if Calgarians could be encouraged to wear cowboy hats during the stampede," recalls Judah. "They came to Dad and talked about it. Dad thought about this and said, 'Well, there is really only one way this can go. All the way.'" Hats in light pastel colours were all the rage at the time. But Morris wanted to take this trend to the limit. "I'm going to get a white that is a pure sparkling white," he said. "That's the kind of felt that I'm going to order and see what happens." Morris ordered enough white felt to make 18 western hats. Calgary rancher and oilman Bill Herron bought four of the white hats for his family to wear in the Stampede parade. The rest sold out in a single afternoon. The following year Smithbilt made 240 white cowboy hats for the Stampede. And they sold as fast as the original 18." It was strictly on a hunch," remembers Judah. "The population just grabbed them. And so it was established in 1947 that the white hat was a winner." In 1948, Smithbilt's white cowboy hat went national at the Grey Cup game in Toronto. "The Calgary Stampeders came across Canada wearing their white hats, and that was a special occasion," says Judah. Judah was going to school in Montreal and his cousin Maurice was in Toronto. "My father suggested that perhaps if he sent some hats out that there might be demand for them in Toronto," Judah remembers. "And so of course we agreed to that." The hats were donned by many at the game, including, of course, Judah and his cousin Maurice. When the game was won by the Stampeders, the two cousins were part of an ecstatic Calgarian cheering section that rushed the field. Among the Calgarians with their trademark white hats at the Grey Cup game was city alderman, Don Mackay. When Mackay later became mayor of Calgary in 1949, he began offering white hats as gifts to visiting celebrities. By the time Mackay left office in 1959, the hat that Smith built had become an internationally recognized sign of western hospitality. To this day, on the walls at the Smithbilt factory hangs pictures of such notables as Mikhail Gorbachev and Wayne Gretzky sporting the sparkling white cowboy hat. "In fact," says Judah Shumiatcher "When Prince Phillip came through town for a third time, and was presented with a white hat, he said, 'Oh, not another one.'" The ultimate moment of pride and joy for the Smithbilt, however, came in 1988. "That was the greatest honour of all," says Judah. "When Calgary was host to the Winter Olympics, our hats were worn by the Canadian athletes at the opening ceremonies ... I'll never forget the look of the Canadian team walking into the stadium with their white hats on. They looked so handsome. And they were. They created a tremendous impact all over the world." Judah Shumiatcher became the proprietor of Smithbilt when his father, Morris Shumiatcher died in 1958. Morris died a Shumiatcher, rather than a Smith, after a lifetime of changing his name back and forth. Morris first considered changing his name back to Shumiatcher when many of his siblings were doing the same. He decided to make the change to Shumiatcher in his private life, and retain the Smith name for business purposes. But his friends told him he was crazy to change his name. They all knew him as Smith. And furthermore, the Smith name was associated with the famous Smithbilt Hats. Morris agreed, and changed his name back to Smith. But only for a few years. He was soon calling himself Morris Shumiatcher again. "There is so much history there. There are so many memories," Judah says of the Smithbilt story, and perhaps of the Shumiatcher story as well. Judah has hung onto Smithbilt, the family company, despite his own life-long career in architecture. "I've kept Smithbilt because it was a viable firm and it was interesting work ... It was like a family even inside the factory. When you make something good, you are proud of it. To let it go? No, that was really quite unthinkable," Judah says. "I guess for me, the Smithbilt story is an example of how an immigrant family, coming over with just big dreams, can do something fulfilling and make an impact, a positive contribution, to their new home." (from The Shumiatcher Saga, by Brian Brennan, Calgary Herald, March 8-10, 1997.)

Cowboy Hat Etiquette

Limited Edition Calgary Stampede Centennial Hat by Smithbilt, Calgary, Alberta

From thecowboyhatguide.com: "Never, ever get caught wearing your cowboy hat backwards. It's not pretty, and it's bad luck. Originally felt hats were intended for winter wear (protecting from moisture and cold) and straw for summer (protecting from heat and sun) which is logical. An arbitrary rule is that felt is worn between Labour day and the May long weekend, and straw in between. If it's a formal event, I probably wouldn't wear a straw no matter what. To travel with a hat, make use of a hat box, especially if it's a more expensive hat. If I'm traveling and not wearing my relatively inexpensive hat, I simply carry it, carefully, in a plastic shopping bag. The first rule of cowboy hat etiquette that is indisputable and critical, is don't mess with a cowboy's hat. A cowboy hat is a very personal, and sometimes very expensive, item. In some places, to touch a man's hat without permission will get you pile-driven into the wall, you just don't do it. Next: Any time you enter a building, the hat should come off. If it is an informal occasion you may put it back on, but for a formal occasion it should stay off. When sitting down at a table for a meal, the hat should come off unless there is nowhere to safely lay the hat. When sitting down at a counter for a meal, the hat can stay on. Outside, however, keep your hat on while you eat. If you take your hat off, someone might step on it or spill food into the rim. I've always thought there was something particularly elegant about the cowboy greeting, touching one's hand to the brim of one's hat. A part of the origin of this was that when men would meet, moving the hand to the hat brim signaled friendly intentions by moving the hand away from the holster. Tipping of the cowboy hat when meeting someone depends completely upon the situation but it does show good breeding and respect."

The Running Iron

Cattle rustling was a pervasive crime in the early west, particularly when cattle were allowed to wander on huge unfenced leases, and frequently the first person to brand a new calf claimed it as his own - whether or not that was actually the case.  "The chief way of stealing calves was to pick them up one at a time and subject them to the so-called "running" or "round" iron.  A rustler would travel the range with a branding iron short enough that he could slip it into his bootleg when he needed to conceal it.  The iron had a round edge on one end that the rustler could use to fashion any brand he desired.  In 1906 the NWMP officer in charge at Lethbridge told his superiors that he was not sure whether rustling had increased in the past year but that he was 'inclined to think it has, judging by the rapid increase of some of the herds in this district ... The cattle rustler rides the ranges with a running iron strapped to his saddle generally in stormy weather and picks up calves which have arrived at the age to be easily weaned from their mothers.  It is only a work of a few minutes for these experts to rope a calf and drive it to some place where it is held till it would not be claimed by the mother, or recognized by the owner.'  As time went on, virtually any unmarked cattle - not just those from the great herds but from all the ranches, large and small - became fair game.  The Mountie quoted above added that "fortunately" for the running iron rustlers, 'a number [of ranchers] have settled in the district with small bunches of unbranded cattle.'  These cattle, he was insinuating, were being pilfered.  This measure was not just used on mavericks.  Even the rancher who had previously branded his cattle was not safe from the running iron as it was useful for changing brands.  Sometimes the rustler would simply obliterate the original mark on an animal by burning over it and then would replace it with his own brand.  Or he might alter or "vent" the existing mark.  The letter E could, for instance, be turned into a B by closing up the open side; or a D could be made into a B by adding a dividing line in the middle; Vs became Ws, Cs became Es, Ps became Bs, and so on.  In the 1870s and '80s the NWMP acted as recorders and distributors of brands, but many were not recorded.  Therefore, one caught in possession of cattle with a particular brand could claim that he had used it strictly for the purpose of telling his own animals from neighbouring herds." - from Cowboys, Gentlemen & Cattle Thieves by Warren M. Elofson.