by Mark Schmidt
Robert Chambers “R.C.” Edwards, more commonly known as Bob, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on September 12, 1859 (or more likely 1860…or 1864…as biographer Grant MacEwan put it, Bob “would have been the last to worry over a mere age discrepancy of five years”). Following his schooling, he briefly published a newspaper in France. He later came to North America to work as a rancher with his brother Jack, in Wyoming, followed by newspaper work in Winnipeg and Wetaskiwin. He ultimately settled in Southern Alberta, and it was here that Bob really made his mark with the self-published newspaper The Eye Opener, first published in High River, then in Calgary.
The Eye Opener ran in various incarnations, on an irregular basis, from 1902 to 1922. In it, Edwards went after graft, hypocrisy, and snobbery, in a distinctly satirical fashion, to the amusement, or bemusement, of his readers. Not everyone was laughing though, and over the years Bob would be challenged by the courts, the Canadian Pacific Railway, various governments, church leaders, and even fellow journalists. Some of the most amusing incidents Bob Edwards faced (created?) focused on his writing about Midnapore’s newspaper, The Midnapore Gazette, and its editor, Peter J. McGonigle.
During his time in High River, Bob made frequent reference to the surrounding towns, like the “growing and thriving district of Midnapore”, at the time a sparsely populated hamlet with maybe a few dozen people. The idea that Midnapore would have its own newspaper was an obvious joke to anyone from the area, as indeed it was—McGonigle and the Gazette were creations of Edwards, that lived only in his writing. The joke was less obvious abroad—the character of McGonigle, often portrayed as a hapless drunk and criminal, alarmed an editor in England, who though it was shameful that a fellow journalist would be treated this way by a newspaper.
Another infamous incident associated with McGonigle was a satirical piece about a banquet celebrating his release from prison after stealing a horse. The false article included a fake letter from Lord Strathcona that praised McGonigle’s character. However, the description of events was taken as true when Bob’s piece made its way to Toronto, and then London, England, and then into Lord Strathcona’s hands. Strathcona had to be persuaded by his friend, Calgary lawyer James Lougheed, from taking legal action again The Eye Opener, for libel.
McGonigle and The Midnapore Gazette became so popular that a businessman in Calgary decided to publish a real version. This real (fake?) Gazette was released in time for the 1910 Calgary Exhibition, where it became immensely popular—the pink pages it was printed on became the definitive sight of the parade that year. Bob wasn’t thrilled when he found out about this publication though, and he immediately killed Peter off in retaliation … only to revive him, and rekill him, in later years as Bob saw fit. Regardless of Peter’s “death,” his legend lived on—there were reports decades later, of visitors to Midnapore asking “any members of the McGonigle family still living around here?”
Bob’s fame and trouble continued over the years, perhaps culminating in his election to the Alberta Legislature as an independent in 1921, though his service was cut short by his death in 1922. His legend is acknowledged in the names of CBC Radio’s “Calgary Eyeopener” and Bob Edwards School in Marlborough, by the Bob Edwards Award for “provocative individuals who are not afraid to speak their minds,” and by anyone with a sense of humour.
To read more on Bob Edwards, see Grant MacEwan’s definitive biography “Eye Opener Bob”, or the curated collection of Edwards’s writing “Irresponsible Freaks, Highball Guzzlers & Unabashed Grafters- A Bob Edwards Chrestomathy” edited by James Martin.
For more area history, visit www.thedeepsouth.ca
