Square Butte Community – Jul 2022

Square Butte Community Association

The online auction was a great success, raising $8,495.00. This is all thanks to the generosity of our donors and those who bid on the 52 items that were listed. There was something for everyone, in a price range for all budgets. The SBCA board must be commended for their tireless efforts to co-ordinate the online auction. We are so blessed to have Clayton Foster as our President, he has worked so hard at bringing people together to achieve our goals. He is personable and a man that gets things done, a true leader.

Our auction coordinator, Lisa Lloyd has had to contend with some unusually high volume of calls and has managed that well. Becky Wiens did a fabulous job of researching and compiling the new set of bylaws for the SBCA. It is important to recognize those on the board that give so much of their time and expertise to help our community. A huge thank you to all of those who have volunteered.

Square Butte Ladies Group

A reminder for those interested in SBLG Millarville Market dates for this summer: they are July 9th, Aug 6th and Sept 10th. Quilt raffle tickets will be available at the Millarville Fair, Aug 20th and 21st. For further information contact, Jill Fry 403 931-3420.

History Remembered excerpt from The Canadian Press and Eugene Blakley, Millarville Historical Society

Ottawa recognizes Black cowboy John Ware, as person of national historic significance. Ware’s designation was commemorated on June 6th at the Bar U Ranch National Historical Site, south of Longview.

John Ware was a black cowboy who forged a successful ranching career despite racism, rough frontier conditions and having been enslaved in south US. He entered the District of Alberta in 1882 on a trail crew driving thousands of cattle to the site of the Bar U Ranch. He stayed in the area and wrangled the herds of large ranching outfits before building his own ranch with his wife Mildred and their 6 children. He achieved success and respect in a white-dominated industry largely controlled by well financed corporations. Ware’s generosity and superior skill as a cowboy earned him an enduring reputation and a prominent place in the mythology of the Canadian West. John Ware had such a significant impact in the Kew /S quare Butte Community, his homestead was located at the North Fork of Sheep Creek, near its junction with Ware Creek. To the south is John Ware Ridge that runs parallel to the mountains and extends for a few miles towards west Turner Valley. In 1970 a group of local ladies saw to it that a beautiful 4,000 pound Rundle Stone was hauled from Canmore and a marble plaque was enshrined on the stone to mark the place where the Kew ranch was. A trail in the North Fork Forestry bares Ware’s brand of 999 which runs several miles down to Ware Creek. In 1902 Ware sold the Kew ranch and moved to Dutchess, Alberta, where there was more land available, as the foothills were getting too crowded. On his death in 1905 he had 1000 head of cattle and 100 horses. He was killed when his saddle horse tripped in a badger hole. His wife Mildred predeceased him in the same year of typhoid and pneumonia. The 6 children were brought up by their Grandmother, Mrs. Lewis of Blairmore. I know of no other person who gained such notoriety in our community and had so many landmarks named after him. His history has lived on, which is a testament to his character.

Submitted by Mary Ann Watson