Immigrants and settlers from across Canada and around the world came to Alberta seeking free land, religious and political freedom, and a fresh start. These are the stories of aristocrats, hat-makers, photographers, bootleggers, philanthropists, wilderness explorers, squatters, and café owners who came from around the world to become Albertans. The narratives of these Mavericks will facilitate student understanding of how the diversity of immigrants has enriched Alberta’s communities and heritage.
The Mavericks
James Mah Poy knew everyone in Ponoka and they knew him. Although his English was limited, he had no trouble communicating. The famously generous proprietor of the Union Café, in Ponoka, Alberta, never let a customer go hungry, extending credit to those short of cash.
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Liang Shi Mah Poy infused central Alberta life with the food, language and cultural motifs native to her homeland: China.
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Emperor Pic, the Bottle King, recognized the value of empty bottles and took them as payment for cones in his Blairmore, Alberta ice-cream parlour.
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On May 2, 1923, Filumena Losandro was the last woman hanged in Alberta.
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Thomas Gushul took a camera everywhere. He had worked on the famed Canadian Pacific Railway Spiral Tunnels, and was almost killed in an explosion.
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“Hold still. Don’t move.” Lena Gushul is about to take your picture.
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Hungarian nobility don’t usually ranch in Alberta’s Bow Valley. Displaced when their estates were ceded to Romania after the First World War, the Csavossy brothers wanted to leave Europe.
