In the 1970s, Montgomery had a very popular Winter Carnival. A parade along Bowness Road was held in the morning with floats featuring community teams and activities. The day’s activities included the always interesting father versus son hockey game and the mother versus daughter broomball or hockey game! Other carnival activities included bingo, an evening dance, and ice-skating activities for all ages. The prize money offered (about fifty cents) could buy a lot of penny candy back then! The culminating activity was the crowning of the Carnival Queen.
Halloween was a big event in Montgomery. Children had to sing a song before any candy was given out. The Middleton family was known for giving the best treats, although Mrs. Adamson had the best popcorn balls! The Moose Lodge, a family fraternity located near Hextall Bridge, held a Halloween party every year with costume judging. A common prank on Halloween was to turn over the outhouses!
The Crematorium was a fantastic place to get great loot. As one resident explained, “imagine braving the spooky building on Halloween night, when the trees rustled their finger-like branches in the October wind”. Many children raised just enough courage to knock on the door and then run away. However, if you were brave to wait on the front step you would be rewarded with some great Halloween treats.
One community resident remembers that in 1974 to 1975 the city started surveying the hill where Shaganappi Trail now runs. The children of the neighbourhood were devastated that their much-beloved toboggan hill was to be destroyed. The site also had an old road in a V-shaped valley that they used as a luge track, going down in an old cart left over from horse and buggy times. The hill included an exciting drop of about 30 feet. Some kids protested the development by pulling out the survey posts. The company representatives visited the school to find the guilty party, but no one admitted to it. The posts simply disappeared! The hill had to be resurveyed, and security was provided to prevent a reoccurrence.
Another memorable incident was reported by several residents. A couple of convicts from the Spy Hill Jail work crew escaped their captors. The unlucky convicts tried to swim across the river, right into the custody of the waiting police!
In the 1930s, Montgomery was treated to a visit from Royal guests. King George, Queen Elizabeth, and the Princesses rode the train through Calgary on their cross-Canadian trip. David Gell remembered people standing outside and waving at the train carrying the Royal Family to Banff.
Excerpt from the booklet – A Hunt for History, Montgomery Memories. Copies of the booklet are available in the lobby of the Montgomery Community Centre.
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