The Book of Small

It would be impossible to tell all the interest­ing tales of micro-enterprises in Alberta >

Damned Lies and Lists

Market cap is subject to investors’ mood swings. >

The Last Summer Holiday

The seismic shift of wealth and power to the West over the past 12 months has made this year’s list easily our most influential ever >

The World Will End at Midnight, Give or Take

Beetle kill, break points, a looming leadership crisis in the oilpatch … My apologies if this issue comes across as apocalyptic. But in our defence, all of these issues are ones we’re facing right now, not in some future imagined by alarmists with an agenda. >

The North’s Quiet Revolution

Grappling with the boom times in Alberta, it’s easy to overlook what’s happening elsewhere in the country – even when it may have a direct effect on our own future. Such is the case in Canada’s northern territories, where the convergence of rising demand for resources and the settlement of aboriginal land and resource claims are creating opportunities simply unattainable a quarter-century ago. >

Living, Breathing Innovation

Publishing a theme issue is an intimidating, exhilarating exercise at the best of times. But choosing to base almost an entire edition on the theme of innovation, we realized after committing to the idea, carries with it certain expectations. One of them is to walk the talk. We could hardly harp on the necessity of doing things differently without doing a few things differently ourselves. >

Beyond the Labour Crunch

Lots of business magazines celebrate the biggest companies or richest people. I’m not aware of any other that celebrates regular employees, as Alberta Venture does with its eAwards. The reason we so cherish the people who make the province tick lies in the accompanying feature story. Writer Andrew Nikiforuk tackles what has become without doubt the most vexing problem for business hereabouts, the ever-worsening labour shortage. In the urgency of the situation, employers and governments can’t help but throw money at the problem. Throughout history people have migrated in search of a higher standard of living, and we can offer that. >

Who Really Runs the Economy

For the second time in two years we have been plunged into a federal election campaign. The long-governing Liberals have cast themselves as defenders of Canadian economic sovereignty, particularly with respect to the softwood lumber trade dispute with the United States, and on this issue the Conservatives seem to be following a similar script. If our partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement won’t play by the rules of the treaty, they are saying, we will pick up our marbles (or rather, our bitumen) and play with the Chinese. >

Freelance Contributors

Freelance Contributors

Brian Brennan is a Calgary-based journalist and the author of five best-selling books about the colourful personalities and social history of Alberta. His latest title is Romancing the Rockies: Mountaineers, Missionaries, Marilyn and More, published by Fifth House.

Jennifer Cockrall-King (www.foodgirl.ca) is an Edmontonbased food writer, cook and enthusiastic eater. She also publishes a seasonal, culinary publication called The Edible Prairie Journal with fellow food lover and writer Terry Juzak.

Anthony A. Davis, a newspaper man turned freelance magazine writer, has covered business, film, crime, you name it, though he’s never done a sports story in two decades of writing. When not writing, he can be found diving somewhere in warm waters.

Dustin Delfs photographed Franco Spinelli’s Italian Centre Shop and cookbook maven Jean Paré at her house in Vermillion. Paré showed him her collection of cookbooks from around the world, then cooked him a bacon-and-egg breakfast – maybe the best he’s ever had.

Antonella Fanella was born in Milano, Italy and raised in Calgary. She has published several articles and a book about Calgary’s Italian community and works as an archivist at the Glenbow Museum, where she pursues her passion for history.

Cheryl Foggo is an award-winning Calgary-based filmmaker, novelist, playwright, journalist and radio dramatist. She is also a descendant of western Canada’s Black pioneer community.

Max Foran, who wrote the introductory passages for each decade, is a historian with the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Communication and Culture. He is also the author of several books and articles about western Canadian urban, rural and cultural topics.

Jeff Gailus has been writing about Alberta and drinking Big Rock since entering a Calgary high school a quarter century ago. He is working on a book that will explore, among other things, Alberta’s rapacious history through the eyes of the grizzly bear.

John Gaucher has been taking pictures for eight years for magazines such as Flair and enRoute. For this issue, he photographed Calgary real estate executive John Torode and ventured into a walk-in freezer with ice cream maker Philip Choy – on a hot summer day, wearing shorts.

Will Gibson has written for Maclean’s, Canadian Business and a clutch of newspapers. He lives in Fort McMurray, where he is in the middle of coaching his son’s soccer team and potty-training his daughter, and has become a leading rabblerouser for the region’s separation from the rest of Alberta.

Linda Goyette explored urban history in two recent books, Edmonton In Our Own Words (U of A Press), and a companion volume for children, Kidmonton: True Stories of River City Kids. In 2005, she won the Grant MacEwan Author’s Award for her writing.

Danyael Halprin grew up in Vancouver, a world away from the oil and gas sector, but got a personal introduction to the industry by profiling oilpatch patriarch J.C. Anderson. Based in Calgary, Halprin’s writing has appeared in Avenue, the National Post and Saturday Night.

Deanna Kent-McDonald is a Grande Prairie writer and the author of the novel West Wind, North Chatter (NeWest Press). Although people-watching has always been one of her favourite pastimes, the two young spy-gurus who live with her insist she has much more to learn.

Sophie Lees is an Edmonton writer who this past June won the Alexander Ross Award as Canada’s best new magazine writer. She loves exploring the personal stories of others in light of their accomplishments.

Cheryl Mahaffy realized, while writing a “choose-your-own ending” script for an animated feature about Edmonton during WWII, that Henry Singer put a whole new spin on selling clothes. She has been putting her own spin on magazine articles for more than 20 years.

Tom Maloney spent more than 15 years as a newspaper sportswriter (CP, San Diego Union-Tribune, the National Post), travelling throughout North America and beyond, spending a fair bit of down time checking out sports stores. He was keen to discover the philosophies behind John Forzani’s success.

David Mittelstadt has a master’s degree in history and works in Calgary as a historian and heritage consultant. He has realized that writing about history will probably not get him that Hollywood screenplay deal.

Jason Molyneaux, whose work has appeared in Maclean’s, Report on Business and Canadian Business, photographed oil executive J.C. Anderson at his ranch south of Calgary. Even though Anderson didn’t say much, he has a presence, says Molyneaux. “You can tell he’s a man of power and gets things done.”

Carolina Jakeway Roemmich, who did extensive archival research for this issue, enjoys discovering the unknown, whether answers to crosswords or hidden historical gems. She was the researcher for the award-winning book Edmonton In Our Own Words and works as a project archivist at the City of Edmonton Archives.

David Ryning is a freelance researcher, writer and history nut who did extensive archival research for this issue. He lives in Edmonton and (optimistically) hopes that he will be featured in Alberta Venture’s bicentennial retrospective in 2105.

Norm Sacuta is an Edmonton writer who loves the city from all angles, from the richest to the poorest, from the suburbs to the downtown. His recent articles, aside from his explorations of the Ghermezian and Stawnichy families, are on bottlepickers for AlbertaViews, and Edmonton’s gay history in Legacy magazine.

Harry Sanders, who both wrote and researched for this issue, is a Calgary-based freelance writer, historical consultant and Glenbow Archives reference archivist. He appears frequently on CBC radio, and his books include Calgary’s Historic Union Cemetery, The Story Behind Alberta Names and Historic Walks of Calgary.

Shannon Sutherland is a writer, researcher and proud Albertan who lives three blocks west of the Saskatchewan border in Lloydminster. Her work appears regularly in the National Post and Alberta Venture, and when she isn’t interrogating industrialists and entrepreneurs, she’s engaged in lightsabre battles with her three sons.

Ken Tingley, an Edmonton author and historian, compiled a history of Edmonton’s City Centre Airport. He has fond memories of flying from there to Uranium City in a DC3, which according to legend often ran on one engine, like the early bush planes of Max Ward.

The Frontier of Frontiers

On September 1, 1905 – the day Alberta officially became a province – Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier spoke of “the determination of a young and vigorous people” brimming with calm resolution, courage, enthusiasm and hope. Albertans, Laurier declared, could face all difficulties and settle all problems.

When Alberta Venture began planning a commemorative centennial issue, we decided to look at the province’s history through the lens of entrepreneurship. People who start their own businesses, naturally, are problem-solvers. We read books, consulted with historians, commissioned researchers, argued amongst ourselves, and ultimately assembled a list of 100 names, 10 per decade dating back to 1905.

The individuals and families whose stories we present on these pages are by no means Alberta’s only entrepreneurs of record; it’s impossible to distill an entire century into 100 pieces. But they are a geographic and cultural cross-section, from turn-of-the-century ranchers and oil tycoons to bootleggers, bush pilots and booksellers. For every titan of industry, there’s an immigrant mink farmer. And through their interwoven tales a picture of the province emerges. When their stores burned down, they rebuilt. When they went bankrupt, they found the money to start again. When they faced prejudice, they worked harder. And when they were successful, they shared.

Speaking of sharing, this issue would not have been possible without our advertisers, Enbridge and ATB Financial. Their support has enabled us to show that Prime Minister Laurier’s inauguration-day speech still resonates a century later. Alberta remains a land of courage, enthusiasm and hope.