36) Flores LaDue, World Trick Rope Champion
Flores LaDue was a world renowned trick rider. She spent her entire life learning to ride and learning to live life freely. She was born in Minnesota in 1881, and her real name was Grace Maud Bensel. She ran away to join a circus when she was 16, and changed her name to Flores Ladue in order to stay hidden from her family. After showing off her skills, she was put into the spotlight in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Here she was trained by a very famous trick roper, Vincenta Oropeza.
After performing with Buffalo Bill’s Show for a while, Flores moved onto Colonel Cummins’ Wild West Indian Congress and Rough Riders of the World Show.
Here she met a young man by the name of Guy Weadick. He fell in love with her the moment he saw her, but she was very independent. All the girls loved him and she didn’t want into that drama, but two weeks later Flores and Guy were married!
They travelled performing together, and in 1912, with help of Senator Patrick Burns, George Lane, A. E. Cross and Archibald J. Maclean, they put on the world’s first ever Calgary Stampede. Throughout her lifetime, Flores won 3 World Championships and she remains undefeated in her event to this day.
By Eden Feddema
37) Frank King, Chair, Calgary 88 Olympics Organizing Committee
In 1988, Calgary hosted “the best ever Olympic Winter Games”. The success of the Games could not have happened without CEO and Chairman, Frank King.
Frank King was born in Redcliff, Alberta in 1936, and spent much of his childhood playing sports, such as hockey, basketball, and cross-country running. As an adult, Frank became an active member of the Alberta sports community. He coached on local teams, was the head of several sports and games clubs, and organized a provincial men’s basketball league.
However, his greatest contribution came in 1978, when Mr. King volunteered to head the team that organized the winter Olympic bid for the city of Calgary.
Over the next ten years, Frank and his team worked tirelessly to plan to deliver the best winter Olympic Games the world had ever seen. The theme of the ’88 Games was “legacy” and under Frank’s leadership, the Calgary Olympics were unlike any other previous winter Olympics. The Games delivered an extended 16-day format, 6 additional cauldrons for the Olympic flame, was run on 95% volunteer participation, and was a huge financial success despite occurring during an economic downturn. The legacy also continues today, with Calgary being home to international sports facilities such as Calgary Olympic Park, the Olympic Oval, and the Saddledome. Commenting on the whole Olympic experience, Frankdeclared, “It’s been the most fabulous thing.”
Mr. King has received numerous awards and recognitions because of his service and commitment to both the local and international sports communities. Some of the most impressive awards include the Gold Olympic Award from the International Olympic Committee (1988), Office of the Order of Canada (1988), induction into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (2008), and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame (2002). He was also named as one of the top 100 Outstanding Albertans (2012). Today, Frank lives in Calgary with his wife.
By Rebecca Johansen
38) Fred Bagley- Bugler/ Youngest Member of the NWMP
There are several names familiar to us in connection to the North West Mounted Police’s march west; James McLeod, Sam Steele and James Walsh, but my favourite is a young relatively unsung hero by the name of Frederick Augustus Bagley.
Fred was born September 22, 1859 on the island of St. Lucia, West Indies. In 1869 his father, a retired British military officer, move the family to Toronto.
Young Fred had three loves: reading (especially stories of “wild west” adventures), horses (he had his own) and music (he played violin and trumpet). In early May of 1874 Fred saw a poster inviting recruits for the newly formed North West Mounted Police. Seeing this as a chance for romantic adventure, he found the nearest recruiting office and revealed his intensions and name to the officer in charge. Commissioner George French, in a nearby office, heard the name as Fred spoke it loudly in his most manly voice. The Commissioner recognizing Fred as the son of a former military colleague knew the young man was only 15 year of age and was three years short of being eligible to join the force. Fred’s father was called in and after a heated discussion Fred was allowed to join under three conditions: he was too young to carry a gun, he would be the official bugler for the force and could stay out west for six months. Thus began an adventure that would last for a total of 25 years with the NWMP and continue in the west until his death in 1945.
Fred Bagley kept a detailed journal of his exploits from 1874 until 1885 which can be found on the web at glenbow.org under the title Frederick Augustus Bagley. His diary gives you a sense of adventure regarding preparing western Canada for settlement through the eyes of this young romantic.
By Jim Higgs
Frederick Haultain was born in Woolwich, England in November 25, 1857; he died in Montréal on January 30, 1942. His full name is Sir Frederick William Alpin Gordon Haultain, and he was both a lawyer and a politician. After becoming a lawyer in Ontario, in 1884, Haultain moved to Fort Macleod in what was then the North-West Territories, where he resumed the practice of law. He was elected to the Territorial Assembly in 1888, and he quickly emerged as leader of the faction demanding responsible government for the Territories. After this was won in 1897, he served as first minister until 1905. He was equally popular among both Liberals and Conservatives; he strongly disapproved the influence of partyism (the devotion to one political party) in politics and always insisted that it had no place in the West. Still, his disappointment with the government of Wilfrid Laurier (8th Prime Minister of Canada) during extended negotiations to win provincial status gradually forced him to acknowledge his Conservative allegiance.
In the 1904 federal election, he campaigned for that party. When Laurier was returned to power and provincial status was granted, Haultain was ignored when the new Alberta and Saskatchewan governments were appointed. From 1905 to 1912 he was head of the opposition in Saskatchewan and leader of the Provincial Rights Party. In 1912, he was named chief justice of the Superior Court of Saskatchewan and in 1917, he sat as chief justice of Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal. Knighted in 1916, he would also become chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan from 1916 to 1938. Haultain retired from public life in 1938.
By Getzemany Uscanga
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