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Last updateMon, 29 Apr 2024 2am

DinoFest roars into town today

    This weekend there are literally dozens of things to roar about; after all, it’s DinoFest.
    This is the second annual DinoFest and leading up to the event, organizers were promising to make it bigger and better. They have lived up to their word; more food, more music, more fun.
    “There is just all kinds of great things going on,” said Mike Dooley, member of the Drumheller Festival Committee, which organizes the event.
    A number of the events you came to know and love are back, including Taste of Drumheller, where a full slate of Drumheller restaurants will be set up letting residents and visitors have a sample of their offering. Last year this was one of the highlights for many who attended.
    “There is going to be a farmers market too, with quite a few different vendors from around town and special guests from outside of town, including the Tour of Alberta,” said Dooley.
    Also back is the Encana Kidszone where there will be all kinds of fun for youngsters ready to run off some energy.
    There are also kids activities presented by the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Dinosaur Provincial Park, and the Atlas Coal Mine.
    New for the kidlets, is the Kids Dino Costume Parade. This is on Saturday morning at 9:50 a.m. This is a chance to get scary and "Walk the Dinosaur".
    The Main Stage will be rocking all weekend with great musical entertainment from a variety of acts including Western Canadian Music Award winner Joel Camp in Friday to Sit Down, Servant, featuring Gordie Johnson Saturday.
    End Friday and Saturday nights in front of the ATB Financial jumbo screen at MovieNites at DinoFest. The show starts at 10:45 p.m. Friday night features Ice Age 3, Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Saturday, The Land Before Time is the feature.
    This is just a smattering of all the fun and activities this weekend. A full Schedule is available at www.drumhellerdinofest.com or see pages 8 & 9 of this week's edition of inSide Drumheller.


Name a dinosaur with Dino Arts contest

    Residents and visitors are being asked to help leave their mark on the community.
    Over the next couple weeks, inSide Drumheller is accepting submissions to officially name two of Drumheller’s newest dinosaurs.
    It’s every young palaeontologist’s dream to name a new prehistoric beast and now that feeling can be experienced by everyone.
    “We thought it would be something fun to do. It would be great for the community to get more involved, because there would be that sense of ownership,” said John Shoff, chair of the Dino Arts Association.
    Submissions are only limited by imagination. Entries will be judged and two chosen by the Dino Arts Association to be the official names of the dinosaurs.
    “Well, the name does have to be family friendly. Other than that, we’re really interested in seeing whatever people submit,” said Shoff.
    The two dinosaurs are unmistakable.
    Last summer, the Dino Arts  Association unveiled the first new dinosaur downtown on the corner of Centre Street and 3rd Avenue. Since then, locals and visitors alike have constantly stopped by to have their picture taken.
    A second dinosaur was added on May 17 in the parking lot of The Brick. A bad-to-the-bone Pachycephalosaurus riding on a motorcycle, with room for a passenger in a sidecar.
    Fundraising continues to add more similar dinosaurs to Drumheller and there may be more opportunities to name a dinosaur in the future.
    “We could do this with every new dino we put in,” said Shoff.
    To submit a name for the contest, see, free, on newstands and at DinoFest.

Fallen firefighters honoured

    The Drumheller Fire Department has served the valley for more than 90 years and in that time, has had an impressive record saving buildings and numerous lives.
    There have only been two fatalities in the department in that time, but these deaths strike right at the heart of the Drumheller Fire Department.
    Harry Lefebre died battling a fire in 1937 and Adolf Guterson perished in 1951, also protecting the community. Harry was the brother-in-law of Drumheller’s first Fire Chief, William Guterson, and Adolf was his son.
     In response to  a suggestion, members of the Drumheller Fire Department  took a few moments Wednesday night  to tidy up the graves  at the Drumheller Cemetery of these three dignified Drumhellerites.    
    William Guterson was the first and longest standing Drumheller Fire Chief. Local lore recalls he was selected as chief in 1919 because as a painter, he owned a ladder. He was married in 1915 to Antoinette Lefebre, and as well as operating a contracting business and a hardware store, he served until 1961 as fire chief. When he retired, he was honoured as Canada’s oldest and longest serving Fire Chief. While a firefighter, Queen Elizabeth II cited him for his heroics, saving the life of “Tip” Nicholas in a fire at the Alexander Hotel in 1940.
    Guterson’s history of firefighting is not all heroics. In  fact, two of his greatest tragedies were great losses to the community.
    The first came on February 2 1937. Henry Lefebre, brother-in-law of Guterson, was also a veteran firefighter and responded with the department to a fire at the NB Vickers Hardware Store. According to a newspaper account, Lefebre was handling a stream of water at the rear of the premise with fellow firefighter James Mains, when the roof of the Vickers Store collapsed. This caused a rush of air that buckled the concrete and brick wall.  Lefebre was struck by the debris and killed instantly.
    According to the Lefebre/ Guterson family history, the family endured, because only a short time before the tragedy, the Fire Department became a part of the Workers Compensation Board, which gave the family a benefit.
    What was more important was the family connection that helped the family rebuild.
    As written in the family history by Frank Lefebre: “The biggest benefit we received was from the Guterson and Lefebre families living in Drumheller… the aunts and uncles provided a lot of support to Ma in the raising of her three boys. She always mentioned how much she appreciated having this family around her and how much they accepted and helped her in these tough times.”
    The second tragedy of the Drumheller Fire Department struck even closer to William Guterson, and that was the loss of his son Adolf.
    In the early hours of December 7, 1951, the Drumheller Fire Department was called to the Napier Theatre. William’s 23-year-old son was among the firefighters who responded. Firefighters spent several hours fighting the fire in the bitter cold. Adolf was on the west side of the building when the wall collapsed and a 200-pound piece of coping hit him in the middle of his back. Suffering from numerous injuries. He was rushed by ambulance to the University Hospital in Edmonton. He succumbed to his injuries on December 16.
    The Drumheller Fire Department has not forgotten the heroics and the tragedy of their fellow firefighters.

(l-r) Firefighters Jeff Hatt, Bob Boyce and Ryan Young gather around Adolf Guterson’s grave at the Drumheller Cemetery last Wednesday, June 5. The firefighters were busy maintaining the graves of Drumheller’s first Fire Chief, William Guterson, Harry Lefebre who was killed in a fire at the NB Vickers Store in 1937 and Adolf  Guterson, son of William, who was killed in the Napier fire of 1951.


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