Edmonton: A Cool City by Vernon Wishart

Date: 1965

Culture shock! We experienced it when we landed in India in 1963. We experienced it again, when we returned five years later to Edmonton and Garneau United Church near the University campus. Since our departure, there had been a seismic shift in the youth culture we had known.


The Tuck Shop, a favourite hangout for university students, had now become a gathering place for a different youth clientele. Some were known as "hippies" or "flower children" whose creed was adopted from the Beatles' song, "All the world needs is love." The musical "Hair" and its theme, "We are the Age of Aquarius" typified this group. Of the youth of the sixties, they were the gentler face. There were others, whose life style was militant and political. Their target was "the establishment." Their hero was Che Guevara, the revolutionary. Bob Dylan gave them their songs. Though different in orientation, these two groups became known as "the counter-culture."


Resonating to this culture were thousands of young people who took to the highways and byways and whose life style became characterized by transience and drugs.


This new youth scene demanded a response from the church. We conscripted a charismatic person, Carl Jensen, to introduce us to some of the leaders. Through him, St. George's Anglican Church and Garneau United raised the possibility with them of a Drop-In at Garneau church. They were sceptical but said it might be possible only if they felt some degree of ownership. The churches agreed but made it clear that there were to be basic rules. They responded with three: No drugs. No sex. Keep the place clean. We took this proposal back to our respective congregations. They gave the approval to go ahead.


As the word got out that the Drop-In was "a cool place," the numbers increased dramatically. We were fortunate to have working with us a woman, Ev Battel. Ev was a large, gregarious person who related to "the scene" and was trusted by the young people. An unexpected volunteer came in the person of Dr. Charles Johnston. Charles was a Professor of Church history. He decided to postpone a study leave in Europe to do historical research in order to get to know some local history at the Drop-In. Charles was a "straight" but generated such respect among the young people that they said, "Doc has hair all over." The three of us did our best to interpret "the scene" to the congregation, other churches and the wider community.


One of the first needs was to find places for transients to "crash" (sleep). Heretofore, they slept in parks, under bridges, anywhere where they could rest. Metropolitan United Church, a neighbouring congregation, took on the responsibility of finding homes for those who had no place to sleep. In doing so, they helped bridge the gap between the youth culture and the "straight" (a term used by the former to designate people "with middle class values"). Knox United Church set up a Cool Aid, that is, a place where young people could go for legal help or counselling.


As their life-style often brought health problems, we set up a small infirmary in one of the rooms in the church basement. A young medical student, Bob Hickman, and his wife, Sandy, volunteered to come twice a week to examine those seeking medical attention, and if necessary, refer for further treatment.


There was a lot of paranoia about the police. One day one of the Drop-In regulars burst into the room shouting, "The pigs are coming! The pigs are coming!" Kids began scattering everywhere for cover. When it was determined that it was a false alarm (the police never raided), we began looking for our lost sheep. In one dark corner of the church, Doc noticed a small figure crouching in fear. He said, "Who's there?"


"Hitler sir." Came the frightened reply." He had been dubbed Hitler because he was sporting an excuse for a moustache.


There was also great deal of paranoia about hospitals. Especially arising from the fear of "freaking out" (over dosing on drugs) which might necessitate being taken to the Emergency Ward. They were convinced the medical staff would turn them over to the police.


One night, a young woman - a regular at the Drop-In, was discovered to have overdosed. It was obvious she needed medical help. The only doctor responding to the drug scene at the street level was suspect by his colleagues. We called him at two in the morning. He came. After a quick examination, he said, "She needs to be taken to the Emergency immediately!" We knew this would be a test case. If they "brought her down" from the overdose and then turned her over to the police, our credibility and ministry at the Drop-In was gone. What to do? I donned my clerical collar and a leather jacket and led the procession to the Emergency ward at the University Hospital.


It was an interesting parade of people. A young social worker, who had come to the Drop-In to gain some experience of the scene, carried the young woman. Her hippie boy friend tagged along, a "biker"(motor cyclist), who knew the drugs she had taken, and Ev Battel made up the contingent. Before they entered the Ward, I preceded. I asked for the doctor in charge. I told her our problem. "If we bring the young lady in, we have to have two guarantees. One, her hippie boy friend remains with her: two, they are not to turn her over to the police." The doctor said she had no problems with those conditions, but she had to have assurance that on release the patient would be sent to recover in a home where their was a nurse. Fortunately, Ev's sister was a registered nurse.


Things went better than we expected. She recovered. A short time later the head of the Emergency Ward contacted me. He said they were trying to develop a program which helped to train medical students for drug emergencies. They needed a window into that world. The long and short of this meeting is that a vacant home was rented. In addition to the medical students, there were volunteer young people, who knew the drug scene from first hand experience. When a call came in, they went out and picked up the person who was "freaking out", or having drug related problems, and brought them to the home. In this setting, students learned how to use their medical knowledge in this difficult and emerging area of health care.


The other offshoot of the Drop-In was the city's response to transient youth. They set up a crash pad facility. Ev Battel was hired as one of the staff and was able to bring her experience to this work.


Unlike many other cities in the sixties, there were no serious confrontations between the counter-culture and the authorities. Edmonton became known as "a cool place."