Woman the youngest person ever elected to City Council
When Margaret Crang won a seat as an alderman in the 1933 municipal election, she set the record as the youngest person ever elected to Edmonton City Council, a record she holds to this day. At 23 years of age, Crang won over 10,000 votes, coming in second place in a field of seventeen. Only the top five candidates won seats.
Margaret was born in Edmonton, the only candidate in the 1933 election who could make this claim, as she was quick to point out. In her election and throughout her term, Crang did not downplay her gender, but highlighted it as a unique selling point. She spoke of “the dire need for representation that must have been felt by the women of Edmonton.”
When it came time for Crang to contest her second election, she dominated. Margaret was not actually the first woman elected to Edmonton City Council. That honour goes to Izena Ross, who was elected in 1921 and served a one-year term. But Crang was the first woman to be re-elected, and by a resounding majority. In the 1935 election, she took over 11,000 votes and came in first place. Read more at https://citymuseumedmonton.ca/2021/03/02/margaret-crang-the-aoc-of-yegcc-circa-1933/
House Sparrow found only in man-made habitat
The house sparrow was introduced to North America in the mid-1800s. Since then, the house or English sparrow, not a true sparrow but a European finch, has become one of the most widespread and adaptive birds found on this continent.
The male has a distinctive black bib and white cheeks; the overall color of the smaller female is a plain dingy gray. Sparrows primarily eat seeds, grains, and garden plants. Insects make up two-thirds of the nestlings’ diet but are infrequently consumed by the adults.
A study of sparrows’ food habits showed that one half of their diet consisted of seeds, nuts, and other human foods. Garbage, breadcrumbs, and fast-food restaurant refuse can support sparrow populations in urban habitats.
Breeding is most common from March to August. Both parents feed and care for the young. Three to seven eggs hatch after 10 to 14 days of incubation. Young birds leave the nest at two and a half weeks of age. The sparrow is a successful, hardy bird with no recognized migration pattern; adults remain within 2 to 6 km of where they were hatched.
Alberta’s agricultural industry considers this bird a pest. Read their point of view at https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/0d5d6bb0-a8a8-4ee5-8f50-0ada060acc8b/resource/200acbf8-41d3-4c83-8aed-2bdae738768c/download/2015-685-8.pdf
Let this native plant bring colour to your garden
Gaillardia, also known as Blanket Flower or Brown-eyed Susan, is one of our showiest and most cheerful wildflowers. The large, daisy-like flowers are yellow with red centres. These fragrant flowers are especially attractive to butterflies.
Gaillardia likes sun and poor soil, but it will grow in any well-drained garden soil. Buy small, young plants rather than mature ones, since they have a deep taproot, and they do not like to be moved. Many cultivars have been developed from this species; however, the native Gaillardia is just as beautiful as any cultivar, and far hardier.
Gaillardia will form a small clump when mature, but it does not spread. You cannot divide the mature clumps, but the plants do self-seed occasionally. Help the process along by growing a few plants from seed each year. Gaillardia is a short-lived perennial, and it is always nice to have some spare plants to fill in the gaps. Learn more at http://edmontonnativeplantgroup.org/native-plants-g#:~:text=Blanketflower,are%20especially%20attractive%20to%20butterflies.
Keillor Trail Walks
Keillor Trail lies between the North Saskatchewan River and the north side of the Whitemud Equine Learning Centre. Once a busy shortcut, the road was closed to vehicular traffic in 1995 because of serious bank instability. It is now part of the “ribbon of green” for pedestrians and cyclists.
There are multiple options off the Keillor Trail. One 0.6 km option takes you to a great view overlooking the Equine Centre. Another option is the horse trail path with a view of the major landslide of Keillor Road.
Keillor Road was built close to the riverbank. Heavily used by cars, it needed constant repairs to shore up the instability of the bank. After a long, rancorous debate, a plebiscite was held in 1995 and Edmontonians voted to close the road permanently to vehicle traffic.
Turning Keillor Road back to parkland added further hiking and cycling access to the river valley. In 2003 the road slumped into the river. It was a major landslide that left unsightly concrete retaining piles. The new multi-use trail avoids the slumped area and retains the access to parkland. More at https://encf.org/walks/keillor-trail-walks/
River valley concern or contribution
If you have a river valley concern or question, contact us at nsrivervalley@gmail.com
Your friends and neighbours can sign up for this newsletter on our web site.
If you have a photo, information, or event about Edmonton’s river valley and think it should be in this newsletter, email it to us.
Sincerely yours,
Harvey Voogd
North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society
780.691.1712