2000 – 10 YEARS AGO
• Town of Stettler council is divided about how much the town should support the newly-formed Promote Stettler-and-Area Campaign. Council received a 2001 budget for the group which calls for $20,000 from the Town of Stettler.
1990 – 20 YEARS AGO
• Jerry Quast of Stettler is one of 32 Canadians released by Iraq after being held hostage for four months in Kuwait City. Quast was working for Arab Drilling and Work Over Co. when he was taken hostage following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in July.
• Trimac Ltd. of Calgary has decided to build its proposed industrial sludge-reduction plant in Redwater, not Donalda. It was explained that the soil at the Donalda location was just not as suitable for containing possible spills of contaminated materials.
1980 – 30 YEARS AGO
• Rumsey cowboy Bart Holowath rode in the National Finals Rodeo in Edmonton and thus was on television’s Wide World of Sports. Holowath is among the top four steer riders in Canada.
• Dear Santa Claus: I have been good, but my brother makes me mad sometimes. I want a folding table and Sweetie Face and a marching band set and a cash register and a call-me-back telephone and a new book and a new record. I would really like a letter from you. I am in Grade-2 at Botha School. Your friend, Ivy Blumhagen.
1970 – 40 YEARS AGO
• Willow Canyon Ski Club will open the community’s ski hill for the first time this weekend. It is located just north of the Town of Donalda in the Meeting Creek valley, and boasts some of the finest ski runs in central Alberta.
• Mrs. Jeannie Cox was the recipient of the highest award of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Certificate of Merit. Mrs. Cox has been in charge of the society’s drive for funds for many years, and was organizer of the Stettler branch.
1960- 50 YEARS AGO
• Jay Hawks Rod and Custom Club held a father-and-son banquet in the Club Café banquet room. Main speaker was Highways Minister Gordon Taylor who takes a personal interest in car clubs throughout Alberta.
• Stettler Christmas Carol Festival, sponsored by Stettler Ministerial Association and featuring voices of 11 choirs of the district, was an outstanding concert. Stettler Band under the direction Wes Bright, provided the music.
1950 – 60 YEARS AGO
• The official opening of Stettler Medical Centre took place Dec. 13. The doctors who erected this structure had the objectives of giving a more-modern medical service, and to make Stettler a real medical centre.
• Archie MacDonald, Red Willow rodeo announcer, was honoured at the annual awards presentation of the Canadian Cowboys’ Association held in Calgary. He has become a familiar figure at stampedes and his voice is known to thousands.
1940 – 70 YEARS AGO
• Big Valley High School students held a Sadie Hawkins dance in the Oddfellows’ Hall. The school orchestra, dressed in hillbilly attire, supplied the music for the evening’s entertainment.
• You will find Christmas shopping in Stettler most enjoyable this season. Every store is a veritable shopping centre and gifts of every possible description may be found.
1930 – 80 YEARS AGO
• Monday’s train brought 21 sacks of mail to Halkirk for the post office. This is the beginning of the Christmas traffic and postmaster Hiles will be kept busy for the next couple of weeks.
• Owing to the California weather we are enjoying, there is still no ice on the outdoor rinks, but if the weather ever tightens up like the times – just watch us go.
1920 – 90 YEARS AGO
• A number of cases of diphtheria has broken out in the Red Willow district. As a result, Prairie Grove and Old Red Willow schools have closed.
• The hockey boys of Gadsby are very enthusiastic and the rink they have filled in on the dam is a first-rate one – a nice close-board fence four feet high all around, and high posts set in for lighting purposes.
1910 – 100 YEARS AGO
• A masquerade ball will be given at Hines Hall on Dec. 16. Everyone is cordially invited to attend. A prize of $2 will be given for the couple with the best costume.
• A fine moose came in by express Monday and another Tuesday for the National Hotel, and is on exhibition at the Stettler Meat Shop. The Hotel Company proposes to treat guests to a special menu of moose meat on Christmas Day.