Another Friday and another Friday find coming your way from Stockmen's Memorial Foundation. This week, I bring to you some background on one of the many hats hanging in the "rafters."
Donald John Leigh Edge (Don) was born in 1929 and raised on his parent's Bar 50 ranch. In his younger years, Don enjoyed participating in rodeos usually entering events such as wild horse racing, wild cow milking and steer decorating.
In 1949, Don graduated from Olds Agricultural College and later landed a job with Calgary Power at the Ghost Dam Hydroelectric Plant. Back in those simpler times, Don rode his horse Desmond to work and back, a wild thing to think about nowadays.
He adored being surrounded by the rubble pyramids more commonly known as the Rocky Mountains. With a lingering passion for tourism and people, Don would become the head guide for Brewster Mountain Pack Trains in Banff. You could often hear distinguishing strains of his harmonica playing "Yoho Valley."
Eventually, Don would go on to operate a horse rental corral at Lake Louise in 1957 and was always extremely eager to take rides up to the Lake Agnes Tea House for one pressing reason, a pretty lady. Dorothy Bryant would catch Don's eye and they would later marry in 1966.
In the early 60s, Claude Brewster began the first Canadian Trophy Buffalo Hunts and reached out to Don who would become the first white man to be issued a licence to guide in the Northwest Territories.
After the hunts, Don was hired on as a brand inspector for Calgary Stockyards. He then started volunteering with the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede and was an associate director. Don was dedicated to the stampede and would help with the rodeo infield events and organize the Parade Section honouring the Southern Alberta Pioneers and their descendants. He was chosen to be a Pioneer son in 1967 and Honorary Pioneer Gentleman in 2001.
Throughout their 41 years of marriage, Don and Dorothy were actively involved in the community. Don was on numerous organizations: Councillor for the Municipal District of Rocky View, a founding director for the Cochrane Lake Gas Co-op, director for Action for Agriculture, long-time president of the Cochrane and District Agricultural Society - those are only a few.
in 1979, Don would be ecstatic to unveil the Men of Vision Statue at the grand opening ceremonies of the Cochrane Historic Ranche site.
A tidbit story to end this little brief about Don that only a few souls know about that I won't be able to do as much justice in telling - but here is my attempt.
Don would walk into the cattle feed store one day and be approached by the owner who would tell him his hat looked "rather rough" and that he should get a new one. He took her advice and bought a new hat - and what would be made with his old hat? Well, the owner of the store would snatch Don's hat and hang it up in the rafters, a tradition that would ensue from that moment forward.
