The Stockmen’s Memorial Foundation is holding its annual fundraiser auction/dinner on Oct. 28, and although tickets are sold out, there’s still a good opportunity to take part and bid on their unique offerings via the online auction.
This year’s items include a commemorative package consisting of a historic picture of Prince Edward and local cowboy legend George Lane astride their steeds, mounted in a frame alongside an iron depicting the royal brand.
Stockmen’s executive director Scott Grattidge is excited about the variety of offerings, and the chance to get together with old friends and acquaintances at the dinner.
“Having the auction online allows us to connect with people all over the province and with items like the EP brand in the auction we are able to share some of the great stories of the livestock industry that in turn help tell the story of Alberta as a province.”
Prince Edward succeeded his father King George V to the throne on January 21, 1936. He still owned the EP Ranch near High River, Alberta, which he had bought back in 1919.
According to hhhistory.com, Edward wrote in his memoirs that he had been "overwhelmed by an irresistible longing to immerse myself, if only momentarily, in the simple life of the western prairies."
Along with Dartmoor ponies, Edward had Shorthorn cattle, Shropshire sheep, and Clydesdale horses imported to the ranch from the breeding farms in the United Kingdom.
One of the more controversial monarchs, Edward abdicated the throne in less than a year, so he would be free to marry an American, Wallis Simpson, who had divorced her first husband and was seeking a divorce from her second. The Church of England did not approve.
Another item up for auction is a bronze figure of an early hunter done by Malcom Mackenzie, who’s most well-known sculpture is the “Men of Vision” statue that overlooks Cochrane.
A personal tour of the Canadian Museum of Making, one of Cochrane’s best-kept secrets just west of town, will be one of the more interactive prizes for some lucky bidder.
In 2001 the museum began acquiring machinery and tools that were built and used from 1750 to 1920 in Canada, Britain, and the United States. The machines have been carefully preserved and restored to working order.
The museum maintains a small collection of vehicles these include: automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, steam tractors and horse drawn vehicles.
Other silent auction items include: single malt scotch, paintings, a large prime rib roast (uncooked), an Husqvarna chainsaw, a Cochrane Lions Rodeo VIP package, a cord of split firewood (delivered), a set of longhorns from the Hooves of History cattle drive, and a residential septic tank pump out.
The live auction will feature the Malcolm Mackenzie sculpture, a bundle of posts valued at over $1,000, two tandem loads of gravel delivered within 30 km of Hillstone gravel, Calgary Flames tickets, two 1,500-lb bales of mixed hay, and a weekend rental of an “executive outhouse with generator option.”
And Grattidge made sure there was something for those who just can’t get enough bull. There will be a large box of frozen calf testicles available, one of the executive director’s favourite delicacies. Grattidge eats them barbecued and in his Caesars.
Those who did not get tickets for the dinner can view the silent auction items at the RancheHouse from 9 am to 3 pm, from the 24th to the 27th. Online bidding opens Oct 21 at 7 am and closes Oct. 28 at 7 pm.
For a complete list of items and more information on online bidding go to stockmen.ca, or call 403-932-3782.
