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During this past summer I had reason to travel through the eastern section of downtown Calgary and decided to the visit the area where the Alberta Stockyards was once located.  I had not been through that area for several years and was surprised with the number of commercial businesses that now occupy the old stockyards location.

 

There is no evidence remaining of the old stockyards that operated daily on twenty three acres of land that was situated east of 11th Street and north of 26th Avenue, separated into two parcels by Portland Street that ran north and south.  The old Shamrock Hotel is still operating at the north end across the railroad tracks from where the stockyards was located and the building Canada Packers used to slaughter livestock, remains situated east of 26th Avenue. 

 

The first opportunity I had to see the old stockyards was during the winter of 1943 – 44, while working at Burns Ranches feed lot, which was located down the flat about five miles south. The feedlot had a standing order for feeder cattle that were usually purchased every week by one of the commission companies operating out of the stockyards.  Every time after about fifty head had been bought, two riders would ride to the stockyards and return with the cattle that had been purchased.. When these cattle were let out of the stockyards they would take off down the flat like antelope, and never stopped until they reached the underpass where the trail passed and went under the CN Railroad.  By this time they would be well winded and ready to stop and rest for a while.  After pushing them through the underpass, it was a couple of miles further to the feedlot that was located along the Deerfoot between Glenmore trail and 82nd Avenue, close to where the new Costco Store is located.

 

The Canadian Pacific Railroad owned the Alberta Stockyards that were started during 1903, after Pat Burns had established a slaughterhouse in east Calgary.  The stockyards would have been a good venture for both parties.  The railroad company was interested with the transportation of live grass cattle from Calgary to eastern markets and Burns needed a ready beef supply to operate his slaughterhouse. There is no reason to doubt that Calgary was the first public market in western Canada where feeder and stocker cattle could be bought and sold on a daily basis, which operated under rules governed by the Federal Government.

 

When I started working at the stockyards as a Provincial Brand Inspector during 1950, there were five commission companies handling livestock on the Calgary market.  They were Adams Wood and Wieller, Alberta Livestock Co-op,  Parslow and Denoon,  Producers Livestock  and William W. Starke   Two order buyers were also operating on the market who were J. C. Wheatcroft and W. C. Johnson.  Bill Starke sold his Company to Jimmy Paul and Danny McDonald during 1953 and Producer Livestock terminated their business in the spring of 1958.  The W. C. Johnson Company moved their business to the Lethbridge Stockyards after the foot and mouth dilemma of 1952.  Some years later the Livestock Exchange allowed Bridgewater Livestock to become another order buyer on the Calgary market during the early 1960’s.  Cecil Barber and Doug Keer became partners with Danny McDonald when they bought out Jimmy Paul in 1958.   

 

Cattle and hogs could be loaded or unloaded any hour of the day or night , seven days a week.   Stockyard personnel received and penned the livestock on arrival whether by train or truck.  The stockyards company made feed available by delivering hay daily throughout the yards by horse and wagon, while there was running water available in every pen.  The cattle were penned separately for each of the commission companies and their employees were responsible for care and sale of the livestock consigned to them. The stockyards charged a yardage fee for each head of livestock unloaded and the commission companies collected a selling commission, based on the value of the livestock. The commission companies organized and conducted daily sales while the stockyard employees penned the cattle for the buyers off the weigh scales. 

 

The summer of 1951 was a rainy season and harvest hardly got underway before winter arrived during mid October.  The amount of snow made it impossible for fall grazing, so consequently the fall grass cattle and weaned calves came to market.  The week of October 23rd turned into a nightmare at the Calgary stockyards.  By Tuesday evening of that week, 1050 trucks had unloaded 6,819 head of cattle, 1200 hogs and 480 sheep.  The rail shipments that arrived involved more cattle than usual being delivered only because of the heavy snow and grazing conditions.

 

Every available pen in the stockyards was used to capacity, including any spare pens the Burns packing plant was not using.  The section of the stockyards used for hog deliveries was also overflowing with bawling cattle.  The railroad diamonds on both sides of the stockyards were full of off train deliveries, which made it difficult to load cattle out for shipment.

 

An embargo was placed on the stockyards, which stopped all deliveries of livestock after Wednesday noon.   That was the only time during the history of the old Calgary stockyards that their gates were closed to all livestock deliveries.  By late Saturday afternoon the majority of the livestock had been sold and by Monday morning of the following week, business was back to normal fall marketing. 

 

This unusual situation was exactly the opposite to what took place several months later.  The outbreak of foot and mouth disease near Regina, Saskatchewan, in February 1952 placed an embargo on all cattle leaving the three central markets in Alberta to any place in the United States.  This disaster curtailed the movement of livestock throughout western Canada for several months and the market value of livestock was decreased dramatically from the price received during the fall months previously.  

 

The cattle industry in Alberta recovered from this catastrophe in about 1958 and the stockyards enjoyed another ten years as a successful livestock market. By 1981, deliveries to the Calgary Stockyards had drastically dropped off.   Both the Stockyard Company and the four Commission firms began looking at their future.   They decided to get out from underneath the regulations of the Federal Government, and form one Limited Company to operate the same as an auction market, that was licensed by the Provincial Government.  The new Calgary Stockyards Company operated successfully for another eight years and finally conducted their last sale there, during December 1989. 

 

It is disappointing that the location of the old Alberta Stockyards situated at the Y intersection where 26th Avenue and Portland Street join and carry on as Ogden Road has not been identified with a historical marker. This location was the spot of the old  Alberta Stockyards Co. and Livestock Exchange Building where many aspects of the livestock industry took place and millions of dollars changed hands.  If only the walls of that old building could talk, they’d say that Calgary is no longer a cow town!  

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     - Hank Pallister