Rutherford House Provincial Historic Site

10/22/2026

On October 22, 1957, Cecil Rutherford sadly passed at the age of 66.

Cecil was an avid sportsman, playing tennis, golf, and ice hockey throughout his life. He also loved the outdoors and made regular trip to the Rockies, particularly Jasper, to go camping, hunting, fishing, and canoeing. Cecil also loved spending time at his cottage at Kapasiwin with his wife Helen, daughter Margaret, and other extended family. Boating was a favourite cottage activity for Cecil, and he could often be found out on the water. In a similar manner to his father’s generosity with books, Cecil generously made the cabin and boats available for friends and family to use.

Located on the eastern shore of Wabamun Lake, the name derives from kapesiwin (ᑲᐯᓯᐃᐧᐣ), the Cree word for "campground". It was known as the Village of Wabamun Beach from 1913 to 1918.

Find out more about Kapasiwin athttps://dn711607.ca.archive.org/0/items/31221055258847/31221055258847.pdf

10/20/2026

Alexander and Mattie Rutherford were avid gardeners, tending to many trees, shrubs, and flower beds throughout the spring and summer. However, as cold weather approached each year, much work was required to prepare the garden for winter including the trimming or perennials, weeding, and raking of leaves. As Eric McCuaig, Alexander and Mattie’s grandson, recalled, Alexander enjoyed this work, and on fall evenings he could often be found “standing by a bonfire of raked leaves chatting with neighbourhood friends” (A Gentleman of Strathcona, p.108, 111).

Although we no longer burn leaves or hold bonfires at Rutherford House, much fall gardening is still done to prepare the beds for winter. Perennials are trimmed and transplanted (if required), beds cleaned and weeded, and an insulating layer of leaves added to each bed. Each year, Rutherford House staff and volunteers spend upwards of 40 hours preparing the garden beds for winter!

10/18/2026

Today is Persons Day, and a number of Albertan women played a key role in this landmark decision.

“In 1927, five women who have since become known as the Famous Five launched a legal challenge that would mark a turning point for equality rights in Canada. Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Henrietta Muir Edwards were journalists, politicians, reformers and activists from Alberta who asked the Supreme Court of Canada to answer the following question: Does the word “person” in Section 24 of the BNA Act include female persons? After five weeks of debate, the Supreme Court decided that the word “person” did not include women.

“Although shocked by the Court’s decision, the Famous Five did not give up the fight and took their case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of Great Britain in London, which was then Canada’s highest court of appeal.

“On October 18, 1929, Lord Sankey, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, announced the decision: “The exclusion of women from all public offices is a relic of days more barbarous than ours. And to those who would ask why the word ‘person’ should include females, the obvious answer is, why should it not?”

“On Persons Day, we honour the bravery and determination of the Famous Five whose landmark case helped pave the way for women to participate equally in all aspects of life in Canada. We also honour all those whose work in the years since then has expanded and strengthened those rights.”

October 18 is Persons Day in Canada.

10/17/2026

Please join us on November 8th for Rutherford House Remembers.

After the Great War, people around the world honoured the brave men and women who fought for them on Armistice Day, now renamed Remembrance Day. Join us as we reflect on their bravery and sacrifice through letters, poetry, and song. Try some of the foods that soldiers would have made for themselves while at the Front. Presentations begin at 2:00pm.

10/15/2026

The United Way Campaign's Coats for Kids and Families Collection Drive is now underway and runs until November 6.

Whether you donate a single pair of mittens, contribute a winter coat, organize a workplace collection, or help deliver donations to a local organization, your support helps provide warmth, comfort, and dignity to people facing Alberta's winter weather.

Small contributions add up, and together we can make a meaningful difference right where we live and work, wherever that is in the province.

Visit us at Rutherford House to drop off your donations!

10/14/2026

Happy Dessert Day!

We know Thanksgiving was only a few days ago, but hopefully you’re not yet sick of pumpkin pie!

Here are some of Hazel Rutherford’s recipes for pumpkin pie and filling. We don’t know if Mr. Rutherford had pumpkins in his vegetable garden, but we do know they were available.

Let us know how it turned out!

Images from Hazel Rutherford's recipe books courtesy Alberta Tourism and Sport. "Shoppers in open air market, Market Square, Edmonton, Alberta.", [ca. 1910s], (CU180145) by Byron-May Company Limited. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives, Glenbow Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.

10/12/2026

Happy Thanksgiving!

It wasn’t until 1931 that Thanksgiving was regularly on the second Monday of October.

Then, as now, there were sports and poultry of all kinds. If you didn’t feel like making a Thanksgiving meal yourself, you could always go out!

You’re welcome to come and visit us today. Sadly, there will be no turkey.

Images from October 10, 1931 edition of Edmonton Bulletin courtesy newspapers.com.

10/11/2026

As the seasons change, one of the tasks we do at Rutherford House is to switch out the exterior windows.

In the spring, Conservation and Construction Services exchanges the storm windows for screen windows, and in the autumn, they switch the screen windows out for the storm windows.

To make space for this work to happen, Curatorial and Collections moves the furniture away from the windows to avoid any mishaps. The many lace curtains are removed and cleaned, repaired, or replaced as needed.

Once the windows are installed, everything is returned to its place!

10/10/2026

On this day in 1941, the Edmonton Public Library introduced Canada’s first streetcar library.

Carrying approximately 2000 volumes, the streetcar library was an efficient and practical means of getting books to Edmontonians, especially for those living in neighbourhoods far from Edmonton’s two public libraries. As reported by the Christian Science Monitor, the streetcar visited “the outlying districts, such as Calder and North Edmonton, once a week, where it parked on new spur tracks out of the way of regular street-railway traffic from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. This brings the library service within reach of many families who would not be able to come into town regularly … .”

The streetcar library was well patronized, with over 17,000 books borrowed in just its first two months of operation. Demand for the streetcar library’s services were so great that a second weekly stop — and two additional staff — was quickly added. The streetcar library continued to serve Edmonton residents until its retirement in 1956.

Although introduced a few months after Rutherford’s passing, we think he would have steadfastly supported the streetcar library and its objectives of providing easier access to books for Edmontonians given his love of books, reading, and education.

“Edmonton Library Streetcar on 80 Street, north of 117 Ave, 1941-1947” January 1, 1941 courtesy Edmonton Radial Railway Society Archives. “Librarian Jack Fearon helps a young visitor inside Edmonton's streetcar library, while two other children play with a dog” July 7, 1949 from “Edmonton's Electric Railway,” by Colin Hatcher and Tom Schwarzkopf.

10/08/2026

On this day in 1906, the inaugural “Premiers’ Conference” (now called the “First Ministers' Conference”) began. In attendance was Alexander Rutherford.

Held in Ottawa, between October 8 and 13, 1906, the Premiers’ Conference was convened at the request of the premiers of Canada to discuss the inadequacy of the federal subsidy each province received annually from Ottawa. The premiers worked together to pressure Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier to increase the subsidy, and despite Laurier’s initial opposition, the premiers were successful in convincing him to increase it.

As Charles Lanctot, the secretary of the conference noted, “The greatest cordiality and unanimity prevailed. … Both Liberal and Conservative ministers unanimously agreed in the demand for the increased subsidies. … The conference broke up with the most harmonious feelings all around, and all the members expressed confidence that in addition to securing a need of justice to the various provinces it had done a splendid work in bringing the various governments into closer and more friendly relations”.

Images from the October 9, 1906 edition of the Windsor Evening Record and October 15, 1906 edition of the Montreal Gazette courtesy newspapers.com.