Graduate Student Research Diary: Norman Potter in Calgary
Norman Potter traveled to Calgary to conduct archival research for his doctoral dissertation on the history of the Stampede.
He describes what he found:
"In June and July of 2019 I travelled to Alberta to carry out research on my dissertation topic of the Calgary Stampede. This was a follow-up trip after a similar research trip the previous year. I travelled first to Edmonton where I spent a week at the Provincial Archives of Alberta digitizing microfilm copies of old newspapers, from 1912 up through the 1980s, and got to see the evolution of the Stampede as described by the various writers, editors, and members of the public in the then-prominent Calgary Albertan newspaper. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this was seeing how changes to the event are described, as what was once a one-off celebration of the province’s settler history became an annual celebration of all things Albertan.
Following my time in Edmonton I travelled to Calgary where I examined archival sources in the Glenbow Museum and the Calgary Stampede archives, as well as microfilm of some lesser known newspapers at the new Central Library in Calgary. I also had the opportunity to take in the Calgary Stampede first hand, which will help frame not only the changes which occur from one year to the next, but the scope of what the event has become since its relatively humble beginnings. I came away from this trip with new contacts for future research opportunities, thousands of digital images of newspapers and archival sources, and a better understanding of how the organization behind the event is run. At each research stop I had extensive conversations with archivists and fellow researchers, and I took advantage of being in Calgary to meet with local historians to discuss their insights on the Stampede as well.
I also had the opportunity, while in Calgary, to visit Canmore and Banff one weekend, which though not directly related to my research, is always a beautiful day trip."
Norman Potter M.A., doctoral candidate, Department of History