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Chapter Two James Lougheed: His Story

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Calgary's Grand Story
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21Ch apter Two Ja m e s Lough eedChapter TwoJa mes LougheedH i s StoryWho was the man who built the building that now bears his name?Shortly before James Lougheed’s death in 1925 the national Canadian magazine Saturday Night identified him as “A man of charming personality, courteous and well-versed in the arts and graces of leadership, he is not only an outstanding figure in the Senate, but a public man of wide experience, with a broad grasp of national questions.”1 Other favourable opinions include his obituary in the Ottawa Citizen on 2 November 1925, which states that he was “one of the ablest and also one of the most popular men of his party.”General William Griesbach, a fellow Alberta senator, had a less positive view. The former Edmonton mayor and World War One veteran2 served under Conservative Senate Leader Lougheed as his party whip for four years in the early 1920s. The deco-rated war hero, over twenty years Sir James’s junior, recalled him as, “a very clever man with a wide knowledge of many subjects.” The general admired his punctuality, always in time for all functions, but noted as well a distinct authoritarian side to his character: “He could meet a delegation and be as sweet as pie, but finally having made up his mind he became a boss and was vigorous and sometimes ruthless in carrying out his ideas.” His paternalism could grate. Often they went golfing, and the younger man remembered: “Normally, I used to beat him at every hole but that did not prevent him from telling me what was wrong with my stance, what was wrong with my driving and the like.” Lougheed, he continued, was “the exact opposite” of Dr. Brett, Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor in the late 1910s and early 1920s, whom Griesbach recalled “as a kindly man, very considerate of the opinions and feelings of others.”3Sir James said little about himself, as the Toronto Star Weekly commented in a feature article in July 1921: “He is a man of few words.”4 The fact that he left behind no personal collection of papers also makes any assessment of his character challenging. Without any doubt he owed his cherished role in the governing class to competence. Even if one accepts Griesbach’s reservations about his lack of concern for others and capacity for occasional ruthlessness, the general also recognized his administrative abil-ity. Lougheed’s selection as Conservative senate leader, and later as a cabinet minister by both Prime Minister Robert Borden and his successor, Arthur Meighen, confirms the respect he enjoyed among his peers. But his meteorite-like emergence in Alberta from a modest background in Ontario requires additional explanation. Time and circumstance also played a key role. This man of relatively humble origins from East Toronto had the
© Donald B. Smith

21Ch apter Two Ja m e s Lough eedChapter TwoJa mes LougheedH i s StoryWho was the man who built the building that now bears his name?Shortly before James Lougheed’s death in 1925 the national Canadian magazine Saturday Night identified him as “A man of charming personality, courteous and well-versed in the arts and graces of leadership, he is not only an outstanding figure in the Senate, but a public man of wide experience, with a broad grasp of national questions.”1 Other favourable opinions include his obituary in the Ottawa Citizen on 2 November 1925, which states that he was “one of the ablest and also one of the most popular men of his party.”General William Griesbach, a fellow Alberta senator, had a less positive view. The former Edmonton mayor and World War One veteran2 served under Conservative Senate Leader Lougheed as his party whip for four years in the early 1920s. The deco-rated war hero, over twenty years Sir James’s junior, recalled him as, “a very clever man with a wide knowledge of many subjects.” The general admired his punctuality, always in time for all functions, but noted as well a distinct authoritarian side to his character: “He could meet a delegation and be as sweet as pie, but finally having made up his mind he became a boss and was vigorous and sometimes ruthless in carrying out his ideas.” His paternalism could grate. Often they went golfing, and the younger man remembered: “Normally, I used to beat him at every hole but that did not prevent him from telling me what was wrong with my stance, what was wrong with my driving and the like.” Lougheed, he continued, was “the exact opposite” of Dr. Brett, Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor in the late 1910s and early 1920s, whom Griesbach recalled “as a kindly man, very considerate of the opinions and feelings of others.”3Sir James said little about himself, as the Toronto Star Weekly commented in a feature article in July 1921: “He is a man of few words.”4 The fact that he left behind no personal collection of papers also makes any assessment of his character challenging. Without any doubt he owed his cherished role in the governing class to competence. Even if one accepts Griesbach’s reservations about his lack of concern for others and capacity for occasional ruthlessness, the general also recognized his administrative abil-ity. Lougheed’s selection as Conservative senate leader, and later as a cabinet minister by both Prime Minister Robert Borden and his successor, Arthur Meighen, confirms the respect he enjoyed among his peers. But his meteorite-like emergence in Alberta from a modest background in Ontario requires additional explanation. Time and circumstance also played a key role. This man of relatively humble origins from East Toronto had the
© Donald B. Smith

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Table of Contents vii
  3. Acknowledgements ix
  4. Introduction xv
  5. Opening Night! February 5, 1912 1
  6. James Lougheed: His Story 21
  7. Belle Lougheed: Her Story 45
  8. Neighbours: Alfred Terrill and Paddy Nolan 65
  9. Construction of the Lougheed and Sherman Grand 81
  10. W J Tregillus: The Prime Tenant 97
  11. Fred Albright: From Calgary to Passchendaele 115
  12. Jeff Lydiatt: The Grand in the Great War 137
  13. An Albertan Political Revolution, 1921 161
  14. Sir James at the Top and After 177
  15. The Grand Transition 199
  16. The Barronial Era, 1937– 1969 225
  17. Modern Times: The 1960s to 2005 257
  18. Appendix 291
  19. A Note On Sources 297
  20. A Select Bibliography 301
  21. Notes 303
  22. Index 339
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781552383018-004

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Table of Contents vii
  3. Acknowledgements ix
  4. Introduction xv
  5. Opening Night! February 5, 1912 1
  6. James Lougheed: His Story 21
  7. Belle Lougheed: Her Story 45
  8. Neighbours: Alfred Terrill and Paddy Nolan 65
  9. Construction of the Lougheed and Sherman Grand 81
  10. W J Tregillus: The Prime Tenant 97
  11. Fred Albright: From Calgary to Passchendaele 115
  12. Jeff Lydiatt: The Grand in the Great War 137
  13. An Albertan Political Revolution, 1921 161
  14. Sir James at the Top and After 177
  15. The Grand Transition 199
  16. The Barronial Era, 1937– 1969 225
  17. Modern Times: The 1960s to 2005 257
  18. Appendix 291
  19. A Note On Sources 297
  20. A Select Bibliography 301
  21. Notes 303
  22. Index 339
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