1917 - Killed by train
In a front-page story the Olds Gazette reported on a tragic accident. "The northbound passenger train on Sunday evening, when rounding the curve just this side of Didsbury, struck a man who was walking on the track, causing his death. The walker had a pack on his back and as a strong wind was blowing from the north it is quite evident that the approach of the train was not heard until too late to avert the accident. The unfortunate man was taken to the baggage car, where a trained nurse from among the passengers did what she could, but death claimed the victim five minutes after. The remains were brought to Olds and on Tuesday the coroner's jury after hearing the evidence of the trainman, decided that the man came to his death by being hit by a certain train while trespassing on the right of way, and no blame was attached to the crew."
1950 - Wrestling mayhem
The Gazette reported on a wild night of wrestling in Olds featuring a fighter from a now-famous wrestling family. "Over 100 enthusiastic fight fans were on hand for the Larry Tillman staged wrestling card in the local arena. They were treated to a good show as the grunt and groan artists displayed their worst and best. In the main event, Abe Zibbleman earned the disapproval of the crowd early on in the match as he engaged in gouging and choking tactics on Stu Hart, his opponent. Hart gained the first fall early in the bout but Zibbleman used all the tricks in the book to pin his opponent with a toe and neck hold for the second fall. Hart got in on the roughhouse business and Zibbleman was disqualified when he jumped out of the ring and locked his opponent's neck in the ropes. A spectator came along and booted the wrestler in the side and the race that followed was alone worth the price of admission."
1960 - Civil defence course on offer
The Gazette reported on efforts to keep residents up-to-date on civil defence requirements. "The best preparations for anything is the basic knowledge of what might happen, and a training program to cover all eventualities. The unfortunate part of the whole effort is the fact that there are more people who say that it can't happen here, than those who realize it can. This condition makes the whole idea of civil defence difficult to teach. Survival should be put above everything, and we should realize that it is better to know what to do and not need to do it than not to know and have the necessity to put civil defence training and measures into effect. Let's us put it this way, civil defence is a kind of life assurance in this battle of life that we go through from day to day."
1981 - A call for Canadian unity
The Gazette editorial called for more national unity in the 1980s than had been seen in the 1970s.
"Did you notice three grain cars on passing track in Olds the other day. One was Alberta Heritage Fund royal blue; one an orange Canadian Wheat Board car and the other built for the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. All were hooked up together, travelling in the same direction, doing the same job - delivering prairie grain to the export markets of the world and to Canadian manufacturers and consumers. For the last decade, we seem to have been hell bent on destroying Canadian unity. Each province, each homogeneous group, each political entity pulling and twisting at the reins until we've reach the point where we seem to have been going nowhere yet a hundred different directions, all at the same time. It's time we got hooked back together if we are ever to realize that the 20th century - at least part of it - does belong to Canada. What other nation has so much to share with each other and with the rest of the world."
