) Stastia Cross Carry- Circus Performer/ Movie star

135) Stastia Cross Carry- Circus Performer/ Movie star

Stastia Cross was born in California in 1898 to two artists. As a teenager she moved to Chicago to be a circus performer. During this time she worked with animals like elephants and horses. With the circus, Stastia learned how to perform and care for the animals, as well as learned how to sharp shoot. As she travelled across the United States, she heard about the “wild” west from the pioneer and settler, William “Buffalo Bill” Cody himself. Her unmatched skills and western knowledge helped her land a part in the 1920 movie, Cupid the Cowpuncher.

It was during her circus tours that she also crossed paths with Albertan wild-west performer, Jim Carry. He would later become her husband. After the Carrys married in 1922, they moved back to Alberta to ranch at Jim’s property in Kew. Along with ranching, the couple opened their own wild-west show called, A.J. Carry’s Real Wild West and Hippodrome Attractions. They toured throughout Canada with Jim as a rope artist and Stastia performing tricks on horseback.

Due to the Economic Depression and the rise of movie theatres, the Carry’s retired their wild-western show. Stastia and her husband then moved for time to a homestead in Grande Prairie, and finally to Black Diamond in 1948. In Black Diamond, they managed a ranch for Colonel J. Fred Scott and raised racing horses. Stastia and Jim remained in the area for the rest of their days. Stastia passed away in 1995 at the age of 97, but remains a legend in the “Wild West” of Alberta.

By Rebecca Johansen

136) Stephan Stephansson, Famous Poet from Iceland

Stephan G. Stephansson was a “Western Icelander, poet, and farmer.” He was born on October 3, 1853, in Skagafjordur, Iceland. His given name was “Stefan Gudmunder Gudmundsson.” In 1873 Stephansson immigrated to North America along with a large number of Icelanders who settled at first in Wisconsin and later in North Dakota. Farming there proved to be difficult and there were many hardships, so Stephansson and his family moved with his family to the Red Deer River area in Alberta as part of a smaller group who helped to establish the settlement of “Markerville.” As well as being a farmer, Stephansson was a community leader.

Stephansson became a writer of poetry and essays, writing mostly at night. He wrote in the Icelandic language and gained fame in Iceland as “one of the major poets of North America” according to Icelandic scholars. Stephansson’s collection of poems, “Advokur,” or, “Wakeful Nights,” was published in six volumes; the first five during his lifetime. The poems have been translated into English and include diverse topics such as “pioneer life, nature, philosophy, and belief.” Several of his poems reflect his love of Alberta.

Stephansson’s homestead is an Alberta Provincial Historic site and is located near Markerville, Alberta.

Monuments to Stephansson have been erected in Markerville, at his birthplace in Iceland, and at his homestead in North Dakota. He passed away on August 10, 1927.

By Christine Mueller

137) Stu Hart- Built a Wrestling Empire

Before the days of WWE and wrestling superstars like John Cena and A.J. Styles, Canada and the United States were divided into “territories” with their own wrestling leagues. Western Canada belonged to Stampede Wrestling, and Stampede Wrestling belonged to Stu Hart. Stu was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1915 to a very poor family. In 1928, his family moved to Edmonton, where Stu began training as a wrestler at the YMCA. 20 years later, after receiving many awards and medals as an amateur wrestler, Stu entered the world of professional wrestling. Every week for 40 years, from 1948 to 1989, Calgarians gathered in arenas at the Calgary Stampede to cheer on heroes like Bret “The Hitman” Hart and Owen Hart (two of Stu’s 12 children). Even more watched from the around the world: Stampede Wrestling appeared on televisions in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Generations of Albertans remember the catchphrases of Stampede Wrestling’s announcer Ed Whalen, who called the show a “ring-a-ding-dong-dandy” described hits as a “malfunction at the junction,” and ended each episode with “in the meantime and in between time, that’s it for another edition of Stampede Wrestling.” Stu trained wrestlers in the basement of his mansion on Broadcast Hill, which was nicknamed “The Dungeon.” He felt that one of the most important things to teach wrestlers was how to endure pain, so training usually began by Stu placing them in very painful submission holds. Graduates of The Dungeon include Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Edge and Christian, and Chris Jericho. The first woman to graduate The Dungeon was Stu’s own granddaughter Natalya, who now wrestles in WWE. A very generous man, Stu supported more than 30 charities around Calgary and was awarded the Order of Canada in 2001. Stampede Wrestling was eventually sold to WWE, and Stu Hart passed away in 2003. In 2010, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

By Cory Gross

138) The Sutter Brothers of Alberta- 6 Brothers Played in the NHL!

The Sutter brothers are a group of six brothers that consist of Brian, Daryl, Duane, Brent, Ron, Rich all who became famous for their careers in the NHL. The brothers were born in Viking, Alberta, Canada. Brent Sutter was born on June 10, 1962 in Vikings, Alberta. Brent played for both the New York Islanders and the Chicago Blackhawks in which he finished his career with 829 points, 363 goals and 466 assists. He was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 1980 draft as their first pick and 17^th overall. Brent coached the Canadian Junior hockey team to two gold medals in 2005 and 2006. Brent would also spend the 2007 and 2008 season as the New Jersey Devils head coach and then later on spend time as the Carolina Hurricanes head coach. Darryl Sutter born on August 19, 1958 in Vikings, Alberta played for and was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1978 in the 11^th round. Over his hockey career Darryl managed to get 279 points in 409 games throughout his career. Darryl became the first head coach for the Chicago Blackhawks for three years.

After returning to coaching in 1997 Darryl became head coach of the San Jose Sharks until the 2002 regular season. In 2003 to 2004 Darryl was the coach for the Calgary Flames in which he took them to the Stanley Cup Finals although losing to the Tampa Bay Lighting in seven games. In December of 2011, Darryl had been hired by the Los Angeles Kings and took them to the Stanley Cup in which they were able to win. Rich Sutter born on December 2, 1963 was drafted in 1982 by the Pittsburgh Penguins where he would only play nine games before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers then to the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning then retiring in 1995.

Duane Sutter was born on March 16^th, 1960 in 1979 he was drafted by the New York Islanders where he helped them win Stanley Cup championships in 1981, 1982 and 1983. He would then spend a few seasons playing with the Chicago Blackhawks before retiring from the NHL in 1990. From 2002- 2003 Duane had been the assistant head coach for the Florida Panthers. Ron and Brian Sutter played both for the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, and Calgary Flames both of the careers ending between 2001-2003.

By Michael Peace

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