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FLOODS IN THE OLDMAN VALLEY AT

Alex Johnston Sir Alexander Gait Museum Lethbridge,

MA INC GB 1989 1399.5 C3 '-r- 'H J64 1989 FLOODS IN THE VALLEY

The Oldman River rises from an alpine lake on Mt. Lyall and flows through the foothilis to the plains of eastern Alberta, draining 6,238 sq. mi. and serving 125,000 people. Along with its principal tributaries, the Oldman River is dependant upon meltwater originating In the . Approximately 60 per cent of the Oldman's flow passes through the system from mid-May to Mid-July. The basin supplies water to nine of the province's 13 irrigation districts; two of those nine districts (the Lethbridge Northern and St. Mary's) account for nearly half of the 1.2 million acres of irrigated land in Alberta. The time of deposition of the higher terraces in the Oldman River valley at Lethbridge Is not known with certainty. But it is likely that basal sediments, such as those on which the original Fort Whoop-Up stood, began to be deposited in the late 1500s at the end of the Little Ice Age Climatic Episode [a post-Wisconsin period of mountain glacier-building called the Neoglaciation]. A warming trend at that time resulted in the release of snow and glacial meltwaters. The meltwaters, combined with increased spring rainfall, resultedZm higher flood stages, higher sediment loads, and increased deposition. An archaeological site, this one downriver from Lethbridge northeast of Coaldale, has yielded information on flooding of the Oldman River. The site, known as the Ross Site [after Cleve Ross, the landowner], was excavated by Dr. Richard G. Forbis of the Glenbow Foundation, Calgary, in 1957. Several occupation layers were encountered, two of whio, »vere particularly rich in artifacts. Occupation layers were separated by several inches of sterile sand, which had been deposited by major floods. Forbis counted the sand layers, determined the approximate age of the occupation layers, and concluded that the Oldman River had experienced a major flood about oncfe every 50 years for the previous 400 years. (Nowadays, and for the last 100 years, major floods have occurred about once every 10 to 12 years.) Around the turn of this century, land use patterns in the Oldman River Basin began to change. These changes included grazing by cattle and some sheep and the plowing of prairie grasslands for dryland and irrigated agriculture. The changed land use patterns, combined with apparent climatic changes, altered the hydrological regimes in the Oldman River valley. The net result was higher and more destructive flood stages and a major increase in lateral erosion of the valley floodplain and its terrace deposits. These developments have been studied at the Fort Whoop-Up archaeological site, about five miles upstream from the Lethbridge Nature Reserve. Analysis of Dominion Land Surveyor's notebooks and township plans indicate a major shift occurred in the Oldman River channel at Fort Whoop-Up [and at Lethbridge] in the early 1900s. The earlier active channel lay to the northwest of the fort site and was relatively straight A narrow floodplain terrace had carried the Slideout- Trail along the south bank of the river until it ascended to the prairie level via the next west of Fort Whoop-Up. By 1926, the active channel had shifted south. It removed the lower floodplain and began to cut at the front of the Whoop-Up terrace. From 1926 to 1981, the edge of the terrace retreated some 400 meters-an average rate of about eight meters per year. Erosion of the riverbank occurred not only by massive undercutting and collap'se during floods, when high velocity flows were involved, but also by peeling back of the riverbank through gravity collapse as a result of soil dessication, freezing/thawing, -cattle trampling and gradual undercutting during high water. Infra-red aerial photography flown during the flood of 1975 indicated very active erosion and collapse of both north and south banks at that time. In 1984, the stockade and other remains of the original Fort Whoop-Up were about 180 metres east of the riverbank edge. Given the average rate of retreat, and the reasonable expectation of a flood of equivalent size to those of 1964 and 1975 occurring every 10 to 12 years, one can predict that the Fort Whoop-Up site will be lost by the turn of the century unless major efforts are made to stabilize the bank and somehow deflect the Oldman River elsewhere. Changes in the river channel occurred at Lethbridge as well, best illustrated by a map of in a brochure entitled "The Place Of Our Beginnings." The most important change was a shift of that portion of the river channel downstream from the CP Rail High Level Bridge from the east c bank of the valley to the westward. Slaughterhouse Bottom, the location of rancher O. S. (Hod) Main's 1883 butchering shed, from which he supplied fresh meat to the hamlet of Coalbanks, was destroyed in the process. '\. ^ •

A floodplain study of the Oldman River through Lethbridge was undertaken by Alberta Environment because of the 1975 flood and a report was published in 1978. The study concentrated on a reach of 9.4 miles of river valley through the city. The study indicated that a peak flow of 156,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), which would represent a height above normal river levels of 30 feet, could be expected to occur once in 1,000 years-or a 1:1000 year flood level. Similarly, a 1:100 year flood level would be a peak flow of 106,000 cfs and a height above normal of 24 feet, a 1:50 year flood level would involve a peak flow of 91,000 cfs and a height above normal of 22 feet, a 1:20 year flood level would involve a peak flow of 71,000 cfs and a height above normal of about 20 feet, and a 1:10 year flood level would involve a peak flow of 56,000 cfs and a height above normal of about IB feeL [Heights above normal are my estimates, based on historical news reports and technical papers. It should be noted that modern bridge engineers look upon many of these figures as conservative.] In the recent historical pasL floods have occurred at Lethbridge in "the early 18705" (hereafter called 1870), 1887, 1897, 1899, 1902 (three major floods), and 1908 plus about nine years (see table, "Oldman River Floods") since installation of stream gauges around 1909. There was an 1851 winter flood, which the Blackfoot thought unusual enough to record in their winter count for that year. According to contemporary news reports, the floods of 1870, 1887, and 1897 were serious but not spectacular events while the 1899 flood was smaller. The Macleod Gazette of 17 June 1897 reported that the Oldman River was running high enough to cut new channels as it had done In 1887 and in the early 1870s. Also, heights above normal river levels were comparable to heights reached in ^8^'^ and the early 1870s. Estimated peak flows and heights above normal were: 1870, 45,000 cfs and 12.5 feet; 1887, 45,000 cfs and 12.5 feet; 1897, 45,000 cfs and 12.5 feet; and 1899, 40,000 cfs and 11.0 feet. It is unfortunate that hydrological records were not kept in Lethbrjdge until about 1909 and, hence, the figures given up to that time are estimates. However, the estimators In many cases were experienced irrigators who were able to determine the flow of water with a fair degree of accuracy. It is not widely known that there were three serious floods in the Belly (now Oldman) River valley at Lethbridge in 1902. These floods crested on 22 May, 2 June, and 9 July. The year of 1902 was the wettest in our recorded history (27.91 inches of total precipitation or 709 mm), experienced the wettest month (May, 11.27 inches or 286 mm), and the wettest summer (24.45 inches or 621 mm). The only one of these floods listed In the 1978 Lethbridge floodplain study was the 22 May flood. The estimated peak flow on that date was 125,000 cfs. There wasn't much Information in news reports on the 2 June 1902 flood. It was not as bad as the 22 May flood but it likely crested at around 60,000 cfs with a height above normal of around 18 feet. The news reports of the 9 July 1902 flood indicated that It was more serious than the 22 May flood. Reports from the Gait company waterworks pumphouse, then located a few hundred feet north of the Helen Schuler Nature Centre, said that the July flood waters reached a level on the pumphouse motors at least two feel higher than they had during the 22 May flood. -This meant that the July flood probably attained a peak flow of around 140,000 cfs and crested at about 27 feet. The July flood took out another section of the bridge, destroyed the piling put in to repair the earlier flood damage, while the pile driver was lost in the river... -1 The 1902 floods significantly increased the overall width of the river valley at Lethbridge by lateral erosion of the coulee banks^ Thus, when the 1908 flood occurred the valley carried a much greater volume of water than in 1902^even though the height of the' flood waters above normal was about the same as in July 1902. Observers at the scene of the 1908 flood estimated its peak flow at 250,000 cfs. The authors of the 1978 floodplain study reduced this estimate to a much more modest 140,000 cfs. However, bridge engineers with Alberta Transportation still consider that the 1908 flood peaked at a flow of 200,000 cfs with a height above normal of nearly 27 feet. Structural bridge planning in the region is based on these figures, considered to be a 1:1000 year flood event. About 1909, stream gauges were installed in the river at Lethbridge; peak and normal flows have been monitored ever since. The table that follows was adapted from the 1978 floodplain study, AlbertaTransportation reports, and Macleod Gazette, Lethbridge News, and Lethbridge Herald reports for the various dates. Peak flow referred to the flood crest.

Oldman River Floods

Year Peak Flow Height above normal 1851 45,000 cfs (estimated, February) 12.5 feet 1870 45,000 cfs (estimated, June) 12.5 feet 1887 45,000 cfs (estimated, June) 12.5 feet 1897 45,000 cfs (estimated, 17 June) 12.5 feet 1899 40,000 cfs (estimated, 20 June) 11.0 feet 1902 125,000 cfs (estimated, 22 May) 25.5 feet 1902 60,000 cfs (estimated, 02 June) 18.0 feet 1902 140,000 cfs (estimated, 09 July) 27.0 feet 1908 200,000 cfs (estimated, 06 June) 26.7 feet 1923 99,900 cfs (1530 hrs MST, 02 June) 21.1 feet 1927 50,000 cfs (1630 hrs MST, 12 June) 13.4 feet 1928 43,800 cfs (1730 hrs MST, 02 July) 12.4 feet 1929 - 41,800 cfs (1800 hrs MST, 04 June) 11.4 feet 1942 95,600 cfs (1200 hrs MST, 07 June) 18.8 feet 1948 99,800 cfs (18 June, daily maximum) 19.0 feet 1953 110,000 cfs (0200 hrs MST, 10 June) 23.1 feet 1964 • -- -73,800 cfs (1300 hrs fyiST, 10 June) 18.5 -feet 1975 101,000 cfs (2000 hrs MST, 21 June) 23.0 feet Cn*?->' /40,&rxj ' The floodplain study indicated that it required a flood with a peak flow of about 61,000 cfs to fill the Oldman River valley at Lethbridge from bank to bank. Thus there have been about nine such floods at Lethbridge in the past 100 years, or about one every 10 to 12 years. Waterworks engineers and other civic officials preferred a peak flow of about 30,000 cfs and looked upon this as an easily-managed, relatively normal spring flood. Th^re have been many years when spring flood levels were much less that 30,000 cfs, for example, in 1977 when the maximum daily discharge was 2,030 cfs on 13 May. Maximum daily flows through the mid-1980s have tended to be in the 2,000 to 3,000 cfs range as the region experienced widespread early season drought. Oldman River floods affected the population of the riverbottom. While the hamlet of Coalbanks existed (1883-c,1886) the population of the riverbottom probably reached 250 persons. It declined precipitiously after the organization of the 1885 prairie level town as many families realized that the river valley community had little future and that they should move as soon as possible to where schools, shops, post office, railway and other facilities would be located. By 1900, only about 50 persons lived in the river valley. Population likely reached its lowest point in modern times after the three floods of 1902 and the single serious flood of 1908. In 1912 the City of Lethbridge purchased 160 acres of the river valley from the CPR and subdivided it Into market garden-sized leases. People were encouraged to establish In the area so that, by the early 1950s, a total of 83 families (including 50 children) lived there. -"-' ' -- The flood of 1953 once again convinced city council that the riverbottom, known as Riverside", should be zoned parkland/recreation and people were encouraged and sometimes pressured to leave. By 8 February 1960, when Indian Battle Park was named, only one or two homes and a few scattered shacks remained. The homes were occupied by responsible citizens who were used by the city administration as unpaid Watchmen for the locality. These homes, and the scattered shacks, had all been removed by the mid- to late-1970s. The most serious flood,'at least in economic terms, was the 1953 flood. It closed the city-owned power plant for a week, reduced the community water supply by half, and "forced the midnight evacuation by police, militia, and firemen of over 150 people. The second most serious-flood, again in economic terms, was the 1908 flood, which washed away much of the substructure for the new CRP high level bridge in addition to doing much other damage. On 12 June 1964, Constable Calvin LaMonte Byam, City of Lethbridge Police Force, died while on mounted patrol duty in the flooded Oldman riverbottom. When the flooding became a threat to those few people still living in the area. Constable Byam tried to cross a deep backwater to investigate a shack on an island and to warn any inhabitants to seek higher ground. His horse lost its footing and Constable Byam, probably unconscious, was swept away by the flood and drowned. There have been a number of other drownings in the valley over the years although I have not attempted to list them. Many Lethbridglans are convinced that the construction of the SL Mary River Reservoir (1951) and the Waterton River Dam (1964) has provided a degree of control sufficient to prevent serious flooding of the Oldman River at Lethbridge in the future. The 1978 floodplain study did not support that argument. The two dams were designed for irrigation storage, not for flood control. The SL Mary River Reservoir has a capacity of 320,000 acre-feet and controls the runoff from 898 square miles. The Waterton River Dam has a capacity of 140,000 acre-feet and controls the runoff from 470 square miles. The two sub-basins comprise only 21 percent of the Oldman River Basin; the remaining 79 percent, runoff from most of which flows through Lethbridge, is uncontrolled. Statistical analysis of river flow data obtained before and after installation of the dams showed no differences in the two groups of data. In short, while the dams may delay peak flows by a day or two, they provide essentially no control on flooding of the Oldman River at Lethbridge. In 1988, the Three Dam, located about 10 miles northeast of Pincher Station, was under construction. The sub-basin comprises 27 per cent of the Oldman River drainage. With runoff from 1,689 square miles and a capacity of 400,000 acre-feet, it, too, is designed for water storage, not flood control. It is unlikely that this dam will have a significant effect on flooding at Lethbridge either although, with the SL Mary and Waterton dams, it will certainly reduce the total amount of water flowing from the Oldman River Basin. Although not directly related to flooding, University of Lethbridge scientists determined from aerial photographs that river valley willow and poplar regeneration downstream from the St. Mary and Waterton Rivers dams was appreciably less now than before the dams were constructed. Investigators attribute this to reduced flow throughout the year and, hence, to lower soil moisture content and less desirable growing conditions of those areas along the rivers where seeds of-poplar and willow usually germinate and start growth. An assumption in this study was that the three rivers studied, the SL Mary, Belly, and Waterton, were ecologically and geologically similar. We have reason to believe that the three rivers were not ecologically similar, certainly not In the 1880s when they were first explored by geologist-naturalists. And since 1977 drought, sometimes severe drought, has prevailed in the region. The eariiest flood crest on record, excluding atypical February floods, occurred on 17 March 1947, when the river peaked at a modest 22,700 cfs. The latest flood crest on record was on 9 July 1902, when the river peaked at about 140,000 cfs. Average date of peak flooding at Lethbridge has been 7 June. Two flood peaks have been noted several times, usually with the first peak in May, the second in June. Three flood peaks were noted once, in 1902. The time of normal spring flooding at Lethbridge coincides with snowmelt runoff from the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Major floods are caused by heavy rainfall. Heavy rainfall, in turn, usually results from stalled low pressure systems in northern Montana or extreme . These systems pump warm, moist Gulf of Mexico air in a counter-clockwise direction around the low, giving the familiar upslope condition of local weather forecasters. Or, to put it another way, when warm, moist air reaches the foothills and mountains, orographic lifting results in intense rainfall. The 1964 flood was caused by several inches of rain falling on an above-normal snowpack, resulting in very rapid melting. The 1975 flood was caused by exactly the same conditions. A storm on 18 to 20 June dropped six inches of rain on Waterton National Park, three to six inches on the and five inches on Cardston. There had been above-normal snowfall during the winter and melting of the snowpack had been delayed by cool weather. It was estimated that snowmelt made up 20 percent of the peak flow, rainfall the remaining 80 percent. . .. Winter floods are unusual and tend to occur in February. The first such flood of which we have knowledge was recorded In the Blackfoot winter count of 1851, which was, 'Itsto/kakoyew" or Winter/floods."-Heavy snow had fallen during the early winter but unseasonably warm weather- caused winter thaws. There was a winter flood of sorts in February 191.6 that had serious consequences for Lethbridglans." • At the time, Macleod dumped its raw sewage into the Oldman River and, in the- wintertime, onto the Ice of the river. There was a minor typhoid epidemic of 20 cases in Macleod in November 1915. Typhoid is spread by contaminated drinking water. In February the weather warmed, water levels rose, the ice at Macleod broke up, and a mass of typhoid-causing raw sewage flowed towards Lethbridge. From the local waterworks it was pumped into the two standpipes then used for storage and entered the domestic water supply. Within ten days, typhoid began to break out, eventually numbering about 100 cases with 16 deaths. The result was that chlorinating equipment was installed and the bacteria-killing chemical, chlorine, was added to Lethbridge's domestic water supply for the first time. And the waterworks and its filtration system were improved. The first bridge designed to carry vehicular traffic across the Belly (now Oldman) River at Lethbridge was put in place in 1890. It was damaged by the 22 May flood of 1902, repairs were delayed by the flood of 2 June, and the wooden bridge was totally demolished by the flood of 9 July. A steel highway bridge was built on the same location in 1903 and was replaced by the first of the modern Highway No. 3 traffic bridges in 1949. The first bridge was twinned in the 19605 and both bridges are still in use. (The 1903 concrete piers remained in place after removal of the steel bridge in 1949 but were dynamited out of existence in the early 1980s.) The second post-Second World War flood peak occurred on 10 June 1953 when the river crested at.23 feet and had a maximum discharge of 110,000 cfs. There must have been evidence of damage to the abutments of the new traffic bridge because, in the next couple of years, Alberta Transportation bridge engineers arranged for an earthen dike to be built upstream from the west abutment and for a concrete and rip-rap structure to be built along the riverbank upstream from the east abutment The purpose of these structures was to channel the flow of the river, particularly when in flood, in a straight line under the bridge and to protect its east and west abutments. The dike on the west side was built high enough to protect against a 1:100 year flood level, estimated by hydrologists to be 24 feet above normal. However, since the dike was built it has settled approximately 1.5 feet in one location and would be partially overtopped during a 1:100 year flood level evenL In 1970, when the City of Lethbridge annexed what is now West Lethbridge, Engineering Services assumed responsibility for management and maintenance of the additional structures brought into the-city. This included the earthen dike discussed above. in 1987 the area south of the traffic bridge oh the west side of the river was renamed the Elizabeth Hall Wetlands Park, changed from the former name of Oxbow Lake Park. The area has become increasingly popular with local naturalists, who use the former Alberta Transportation dike for pedestrian access to Oxbow Lake, now an important part of the Lethbridge Nature Reserve. A controversial river valley development was the lc»32 River Bend Estates proposal by Pat Shimbashi and Victor Stasiuk of Taber and Lethbridge, respectively. The 527-acre development, some of it on the higher terraces of the floodplain, envisaged a golf course and hotel complex on one of the terraces near the river and a housing development on the prairie level. Opposition surfaced In council at the idea of a hotel being located in such a place and the proposal is presently in abeyance. Like wildfire and many terrestrial ecosystems, floods are the great ecological restorers of aquatic ecosystems. Flooding of the river at Lethbridge scours, flushes and cleanses the ecosystem once or twice a year. This leaves the bottom of the river in a gravelly state, which favors the growth of aquatic insects on which fish live. The Oldman River tends to be fast-flowing, which leads to the presence in the water of much dissolved oxygen, and the water tends to be cool, both of which favor fish. The ecological consequences of flood control will be far greater and far more serious than the relatively small amounts of destruction of property that now occurs.

References and Notes

-DeLaurentiis, Nino B. 1987. Personal communication. [Mr. DeLaurentlls Is resident bridge engineer, Regional Transportation, Alberta Transportation. Lethbridge] -

Dempsey, H. A,, 1965. A Blackfoot Winter Count. Occas. Paper No. 1, Glenbow Foundation,,Calgary. Pp. 20. ... - T- .

Forbis, Richard G. 1957. Some Late Sites In the Oldman River Region, Alberta. Nat. Museum of Man, Contributions to Archaeology, Ottawa. Pp. 164. ^

Horfocks,"Anita. 1987. The Place Of^Our Beginnings. City of Lethbridge historical brochure:-[A map shows historic sites and river channel changes since the 1880s.]

Johnston, Alex. 1984. Flooding of the Oldman River at Lethbridge. Leth. Hist See. newsletter. No. 4, July. Pp. 3.

Johnston, Alex. 1985. Typhoid Epidemic of 1916 in Lethbridge. Leth. HIsL Soc. newsletter. No. 4, July, Pp. 2.

Johnston, Alex. 1984. CP Rail High Level Bridge at Lethbridge [Revised], Lethbridge Historical Society, Occas. Paper No. 12, Lethbridge. Pp. 40 Johnston, Alex, and Andy den Otter. 1985. Lethbridge: A Centennial History. Ronalds Printing, Western Division, Lethbridge. Pp. 240.

Johnston, Alex, and Ted Bochan. 1986. Lethbridge: A Century of Fire Fighting. Graphcom Printers, Lethbridge. Pp. 164. [Chapter Three of this book discusses the Company waterworks system, 1883-1904, and the Civic watenworks system, 1905 to presenL]

Johnston, Alex, and Barry R. PeaL 1987. Lethbridge: Place Names and Points of Interest. Leth. Hist. Soc, Lethbridge. Pp. 80.

Kennedy, M. A., and B. O. K. Reeves. 1985. An Inventory and Historical Description of Whiskey Posts in Southern Alberta. Alberta Culture, Edmonton. [From Vol. 2 (of two), pages 103-105]

Kuhnke, W., and P. Vos. 1975. Flood of June 1975 in the Oldman River Basin. Alta. Dept. of EnvironmenL Edmonton. Pp. 5.

News reports from Macleod Gazette, Lethbridge News, and Lethbridge Herald for the various dates" during which recorded floods occurred.

Quazi, M. E., G. Beckstead, and L. Garner. 1978. Floodplain Study: Oldman River Through Lethbridge. Alta. Dept. of EnvironmenL Edmonton.

NOTES ^

The modern trend is to describe water storage or river flow in terms of cubic meters (m ) or cubic meters per second (m"^/sec), rather than in terms of cubic feet (cf) or cubic feet per second (cfs). The latter was known to generations of irrigators as "second feet" and could be estimated by them with a surprising degree of accuracy. A conversion of the cfs figures used herein to m /sec follows:

Cubic feet per second Cubic meters per second 250,000 cfs 7000 m^/sec 200,000 cfs 5600 m"^/sec 156,000 cfs 4368 m^/sec 140,000 cfs 3920 m^/s 125,000 cfs 3500 m^/sec 110,000 cfs ^ 3080 m^/sec 106,000 cfs 2968 m^/sec 101,000 cfs 2828 m^/sec 99,900 cfs ... 2797 m^/sec 99,800 cfs 2794 m'^/sec 95,600 cfs 2677 m'^/sec 91,000 cfs 2548 m^/sec 73,800 cfs 2066 m'^/sec 71,000 cfs .• . 1988 m^/sec ^ ^ 61,000 cfs 1708 m^/sec 60,000 cfs 1680 m'^/sec 56,000 cfs 1568 m^/sec 45,000 cfs 1260 m'^/sec 43,800 cfs 1226 m^/sec 41,800 cfs 1170 m^/sec 40,000 cfs 1120 rr?/sec 30,000 cfs 840 m^/sec 22,700 cfs 636 m'^/sec 3,000 cfs 84 m'^/sec 2,030 cfs 57 nr/sec 2,000 cfs = 56 m^/sec 60 cfs [estimated] = 1.7 m'^/sec

These data give an. indication of the tremendous range in peak and conventional flow of the Oldman River through historic times. The least amount of water to be recorded as flowing past Lethbridge was about 60 cfs or 1.7 m'^/sec, the greatest, the 250,000 cfs or 7000 m'^/sec estimated during the flood of 1908. In 1986, average daily consumption of water by citizens of Lethbridge was 9.4 million gallons, the greatest daily consumption (in July) was 15.0 million gallons.

Residents of the Riverbottom, Lethbridge, about 1900

The information that follows was obtained on 07 March 1982 from Andrew Joseph Staysko, who came to Lethbridge with his mother and stepfather (Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hrusecky) in 1897, The family lived in the riverbottom community for several years. Andy Staysko retired in November 1955 as a CPR engineer on "The Canadian." Born on 30 November 1890 in Union City, Pennsylvania, he died at Lethbridge, Alberta, on 29 July 1983. He was active in the founding of the Sir Alexander Gait Museum in 1964 and remained involved for several years after the move to the old Gait Hospital building In 1966. Neariy all of the families and people mentioned below were adversely affected by the floods of 1902.

Anderson, Andrew (Andy): Mr. and Mrs. Anderson had two boys, Andrew being the oldest. George (Georgia), the second son, while at play in the river valley fell into a pier excavation during the building of the CP Rail High Level Bridge. Two men died from inhalation of poisonous gas while getting him ouL The Andersons secured their house with chains during the 190fe floods and the structure remained in place. In 1908 they did not bother to chain the house and it was washed away in the flood of that year.

Ashcroft, James: James and Lois Ashcroft came from WIgan, Lancashire, in 1888. They had two sons, Peter and Jack. Their house was located in what is now the north end of Botterill Bottom Park. James Ashcroft in 1898 was listed as the proprietor of the Queens (Bridge Inn) Hotel. He later owned and operated the Nicholas Sheran Mine, first in partnership with William Davidson (Curly) Whitney, then on his own. Jack Ashcroft, the son, married Ada Denton In 1898. This couple, rather than James and Lois Ashcroft, was living in the old Ashcroft house in the riverbottom when it was destroyed in the floods of 1902.

Clark or Clarke: Staysko was vague on this family, which consisted of a man , his wife and at least two children, a boy and a girl. The family lived in a house just south of where the CP Rail High Level Bridge was later built. The house was undermined by the floods of 1902 and leaned precariously over a gully until it was swept away in the flood of 1908. The Clarkes moved to Macleod in 1902.

Coultry, Richard J.: Mr. and Mrs. Coultry lost their house, which was located near the slaughterhouse [in today's Lethbridge Nature Reserve] in the 1902 floods. The Coultrys had a._son, born 06 December 1903, after they left the riverbottom. Coultry was a butcher with Piche & Mlron. ,.

Hrusecky, Frank: Mrs. Hrusecky was the former Mrs. Andrew Staysko, whose husband died in a coal mine accident in Union City, Pennsylvania, in 1892. She was left with a two-year old son, Andrew Joseph, and was pregnant with a second son, William. [The mining company, owned by Andrew Carnegie, within a couple of days ran Mrs. Staysko out of the company cottage the family occupied and paid her Mr. Staysko's wages up to the precise moment of his death and nothing more. The poor woman was literally forced into a marriage with Frank Hrusecky in order to survive.] Mr. and Mrs. Hrusecky had a son, John (Johnny) Hrusecky, who was gassed and died in the First Worid War. William Staysko also was gassed in the war and died of its effects In 1919 after his discharge from the Canadian Army, Early in the century the Hrusecky family moved to a home on the prairie level near the Fritz Sick Brewery (101-2 Ave S) and was not caught by the 1902 floods.

Lavereau, J.: Mr, Lavereau lost his home and possessions in the May 1902 flood and was given $25 on 11 June from a local flood relief fund.

8 Leichman, Robert: An elderly bachelor who lived in the riverbottom in 1900 and lost his home in the floods of 1902. By 1908 he lived north of Redpath (3 Ave S) between Gait (2 St S) and Macleod (1 St S).

Leishman, Tom: An elderiy bachelor who lived in the riverbottom and lost his home In the 1902 floods.

McDonald, Kenny: Mr. and Mrs. McDonald had children but Staysko could not recall their names or how many there were. They lost their home in the 1902 floods and, on 11 June, were given $25 from a local flood relief fund.

Peacock, Charles: Born in WIgan, Lancashire, on 29 November 1874, Charles Peacock came to Lethbridge in 1896. He sent for his wife, Susan Agatha Alstead, and daughter, Olive, in 1898. Their home was located in the river valley. The Peacocks lost their home and possessions during the floods of 1902 and moved to a house on 13 St N.

Stafford, Henry: Henry Stafford was a relative of William Stafford-a cousin, Staysko thought. Henry Stafford raised canaries for sale. He lost his house in"the-1902 floods and, on 11 June, was given $28.85 "from a local flood relief fund. [A total of $356.05 was raised" but much of it was used to pay for a rowboat and to cover wages of rescuers. Less than half reached flood victims.]

Todd, Robert (Bob): Mr. and Mrs. Todd had five children: Michael, Maggie, Johnny, and two younger girls whose names Staysko could not recall.

Walker, J.: Mr. Walker during the 1902 floods lost personal property fro^ living quarters near the Pump House. [In 1902 the Pump House was located a few hundred yards north of the Helen Schuler Nature Centre on the east side of the river.]

Watson, Robert: Robert and Janet Kerr Watson had ten boys, one of whom was George Watson, a long-time Lethbridge school treacher and local historian. They lived in Elliott Torrance Gait's home "Coaldale" after he vacated it in the 1890s. The Watson family had to be rescued by boat during the height of the May 1902 flood and Mrs. Watson vowed that the family would never again live in the house or the river valley. A home was obtained on 13 St In North Lethbridge.

Brewery: Andy Staysko remembered as a boy playing near a brewery in the riverbottom. He recalled the deserted building and the barrels and other paraphrenalia, most of which floated or was washed away in the floods of 1902. Staysko thought it was Noel's Brewery but it likely was Sefton's Brewery, located where the City Waterworks is now situated. (Noel's Brewery was located in the same general area but closer to the river. Noel's Brewery burned to the ground in 1893.)

Hulk of the Alberta: The "Alberta" was one of three river "steamers built or bought by the Gatt company and used in the transport of coal to in 1883-1884 and to transport supplies during the Riel Rebellion of 1885. The Alberta returned to Lethbridge in July 1886 and was beached just south of where the CP Rail High Level Bridge now crosses the river. Her machinery was taken out of her and the wood of her superstructure was salvaged and used in the construction of cottages on the prairie level in the general vicinity of 1 Ave between 2 St and 4 St S. Staysko and his friends, when swimming in the river, dived off the hulk of the Alberta, which was still visible after trains started to cross the CP Rait High Level Bridge in--t909. ~'-- '""•

Indian Encampments: The riverbottom at Lethbridge was used as a campground by the native people of the region, probably for millennia. The flats in the immediate vicinity of the junction of the St. Mary and "Oldman Rivers was particularly suitable as a campsite (plenty of water, shelter, fuel, and winter grazing on the uplands). But the various bands likely camped in the valleys in all directions from the junction. Tree burialswere common here in the historic period and likely long before that. Peenaqulm Park commemorates one such burial. Native people continued to camp in the river valley at Lethbridge until the 1940s.

The Stafford Burying Ground: This was the first cemetery in the community. [There was an eariier European cemetery at Fort Whoop-Up.] It contains a sandstone marker in memory of 17-year old Henry Stafford, who died of typhoid fever in August 1883. Brilton (Britt) Stephens died a month or so later and also is buried there. As a boy in his teens, Staysko was told by an uncle that there were about six bodies buried there, one of them a young woman whose clothing caught fireand who died of the resulting burns. // have not been able to confirm this death by fire and am sure it never happened as described. Around the time in question, a lady from Grassy Lake died in Gait Hospital from burns received when her clothing caught fire at her farm home but she was not buried in the riverbottom,—AJ.j The others were small children who were stillborn or who died shortly after birth. The only one of these burials of which we are certain was that of the 12-day old son of Mr. and Mrs. Eli J. Hodder, baptised Thornell after Its paternal grandfather, who died in 1886. The remains of the infant were disinterred in 1904 and reinterred with the body of its father in the family plot in Mountain View Cemetery. In 1942, the body of the mother, Alma Isobell Sebastapol Balaclava Forbes Hodder, was interred with the remains of her son and husband. [Mrs. Hodder was named after the Crimean War Battles of Alma, Sebastapol and Balaclava. The only other significant battle was Inkerman but somehow the baby Forbes escaped being named after that one as well.]

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