Toiling the Soils of Alberta Trivia Quiz

Answer: John Palliser

Irish born Captain John Palliser traveled extensively through the west including the area known as Rupert's Land. A triangular shaped area known as "Palliser's Triangle", roughly from southern Manitoba to Edmonton and the Rocky Mountains of southern Alberta, consists mostly of semi-arid grasslands.

Although Palliser deemed the land unsuitable for agriculture, a combination of irrigation and fertile soils has transformed the area into a productive farming region.

Answer: The depression ravaged decade of the 1930s

Low commodity prices combined with extremely dry weather during the years of the Great Depression led to many hardships among prairie farmers in Alberta (as in many other parts of North America). Crop failures were frequent and many farming businesses went bankrupt.

The end of the droughts and start of World War Two at the end of the 1930s brought prosperity back for many who had survived the "Dirty Thirties".

Answer: a slave

Ware was born into slavery in 1845 and was freed after the American Civil War. He moved to Texas and became a cowboy. Ware is remembered for his role in bringing the first cattle to Alberta, for his ability to train horses, and for helping to create Alberta's ranching industry.

Despite his humble beginnings, Ware was a well-respected man who overcame the racial barrier through his hard work and good nature. He and his wife had six children, five of whom survived to adulthood. The last two died in 1989.

Answer: Wheat

Wheat typically accounts for about half of Alberta's crop output. In 2010 close to 18 million tons of crop was harvested in the province of which more than 8 million tons was in the form of wheat with both barley and canola accounting for approximately 4.5 million tons.

Source of data: Government of Alberta Office of Statistics and Information/Statistics Canada Agriculture Division (https://osi.alberta.ca/osi-content/Pages/Factsheets/AlbertaMajorCropProduction.aspx)

Answer: Marquis wheat

Although regular wheat was of good quality, it had a long growing period and took time to mature. The farmers had to gamble: should they harvest immature wheat or wait for it to mature and perhaps lose their crops to an early frost?
The Marquis wheat was hardier than regular wheat and thrived in the harsh Alberta climate. Also it only took 100 days for the wheat to mature, so it could be harvested before an early frost. In addition, the Marquis wheat was of high bread-making quality because of the strong protein in it. It is not surprising that by 1920, 90% of farmers were growing Marquis wheat!

Answer: The first breeding herd of cattle in Alberta arrived

The first of the breeding cattle herds to be brought to southern Alberta rangelands arrived in Morleyville in 1873. More cattle were taken there from Montana a year later followed by the release to the open range of a small herd in 1877. By the end of the decade the cattle industry had been firmly established in what would become the province of Alberta.

Source: Alberta Cattle Feeders' Association

Answer: United Farmers of Alberta

The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) was active in politics in the early part of the 20th century and formed the government of the province for almost 15 years starting in 1921. Herbert Greenfield, John E. Brownlee and Richard G. Reid all headed UFA governments and thus served as premiers of Alberta.

The elections of 1935 ushered in the era of Social Credit governments and in 1939 the UFA officially ceased to function as a political party. Since then the UFA has served mainly as a supply cooperative and has its headquarters in Calgary.

Answer: a car with its windows and engine removed, and pulled by a horse

During the Great Depression, the cost of gasoline increased to the point that many people could not afford to run their cars. They removed the heavy parts of the car to lighten the vehicles, and used a horse to pull them. The term "Bennett Buggy" was named after Richard Bennett, the Prime Minister of Canada at that time.

In the United States, the carts were known as "Hoover Wagons", named after President Herbert Hoover. The leaders of the respective countries were blamed for the economic conditions of the time.

Answer: Irene Parlby

Kim Campbell was Canada's first and only female prime minister. Louise McKinney was the first woman to be elected to the Alberta Legislature (actually to any legislature in the British Empire), and Celine Dion is a famous Canadian singer. Irene Parlby, however, was the first woman to be a cabinet minister in Alberta, and the second in Canada. Parlby was president of the United Farm Women of Alberta between 1916 and 1919.

Answer: rats

Yes, Alberta is quite unique! Antartica, the Arctic, and a few isolated islands in the world join the province of Alberta in its rat-free status. In the 1950's the authorities realised that rats were heading to Alberta, so they acted proactively and created a rat-control zone on the eastern border of the province. This, coupled with the natural protection that the rest of the province has against rats, has given Alberta its freedom from this nasty pest.

For more information, please check out these links:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0331_030331_rats.html

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3441