Central Alberta's pre-eminent historian Michael Dawe is coming to Innisfail.
Dawe, a Red Deer city historian and author of the recently published Red Deer: The Memorable City, is going to speak at the Innisfail Chamber of Commerce luncheon at 11:45 a.m. at the Highwayman restaurant in the Innisfail Super 8 hotel on Feb. 19.
ìIt is going to be an interesting discussion for anyone interested in the history of Central Alberta,î said Diane Mineault, executive director of the Innisfail Chamber of Commerce.
Dawe is a fifth generation central Albertan with roots in Red Deer and Pine Lake. He received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Alberta in 1976 and became the City of Red Deer's first full-time archivist in 1979.
His published work includes six books, including Red Deer: The Memorable City, now in its second print run. He has co-authored five others. He is a well-known local historical newspaper columnist documenting Central Alberta history.
ìRed Deer: The Memorable City was written to mark the centennial of the incorporation of the City of Red Deer, but deals with the history of Central Alberta particularly with such themes as the history of the First Nations and Metis, the natural/environmental history of the region and the history of the Saskatchewan Land and Homestead Company, which bought 115,000 acres of land in Central Alberta in 1882 for $2 an acre from the federal government,î said Dawe. ìThis 344-page book was a three-year project for me, and I wanted to make this a visual journey for readers. It is profusely illustrated with over 300 photographs.î
He noted that the history of Innisfail was central to the success of Central Alberta. He said that at one point Innisfail was larger than Red Deer, and contributions from Innisfail citizens like John A. Simpson, who was a North West Territories MLA from 1894 to 1905, built our province.
Autographed copies of Red Deer: The Memorable City will be available at $35 per book at the presentation.
For information on the Feb. 19 Dawe presentation contact the Innisfail Chamber of Commerce at 403-227-1177 or contact Mineault at 403-227-1177 or through email at [email protected]
