My memories of Edmonton in the 1950s, by Joyce Maloney

A young girl moves to the city in 1958 and learns to love the wide-open spaces and natural beauty Edmonton has to offer.

Edmonton's 51 st Avenue during the 1950's was a far cry from the wide, paved and lit thoroughfare we travel today. At that time the avenue was the city's southern boundary. It had no street lights, traffic lights, pavement or transit service. The only bus stop was at the intersection of Calgary Trail and 51 st Avenue. The road was narrow, unpaved and dusty or muddy and rutted dependent on the weather. Heavy truck traffic to and from the storage yards and equipment depots that bordered the avenue kept the road in a disturbed state.


Our family moved to Edmonton in 1958 and took up residence in a small house that occupied a fenced area in one of the oilfield equipment yards on the south side of 51 st Avenue at 97 th Street. The entire twelve acres of the property was surrounded by chain link fence with a large heavy gate that opened onto the avenue. This gate was locked every night and opened every morning, and quite often at all hours of the night when some equipment was needed for one of the company's drilling rigs. Oil drilling companies never watched the clock and the oil industry was booming at the time.


We enjoyed a country like existence while living 'in the city'. There was lots of space to play and room for pets: dogs, cats and even a pony. There were friends and playmates from neighbouring yards, acreages and farms that dotted the area. A small creek bordered by willows marked the southern boundary of the yard, approximately where 45 th Avenue runs today. This creek was a favorite haunt for the kids in the area who spent countless hours exploring and adventuring along its banks. Today no sign of it remains. The area is paved and 'developed'. There is no evidence of the spot where many young adventurers once roamed.


The same fate has befallen the many attractive acreages and family farms that once occupied the land east of Calgary Trail from 51 st Avenue south to Ellerslie Road. The beautiful farms and acreages that once dotted the area are being replaced by 'jungles' of oversized, look-alike houses or sprawling shopping areas. The rich black soil that at one time produced bountiful crops is being scraped away or covered by asphalt and concrete. The neighbourhood that is now Mill Woods sits on land that once boasted some of the finest family farms in the province.


For me, the grain fields, farms and gardens that occupied the area in the 1950's had a charm and beauty that cannot be replaced by the paved roads, street lights, big buildings and crowded neighbourhoods that are in evidence today.