There’s something in the water in Didsbury Alberta, or so one would think in looking at the century+ old image used in this comparison. Take a peek and it’s evidently clear that something was going on in town long ago. There’s a big line up of moms and tots in the scene and I’m sure it’ll pique your curiosity as it did ours. We’d sure like to know more.
The Then image dates to 1911 and shows a group of ladies with baby carriages out front of the William George Liesemer House. How curious and it’s all the more puzzling given the town’s modest population at the time. Just under a thousand according to the local history book. Crunching the numbers tells us a higher than normal percentage of eligible ladies all had a babies around the same time.
Baby Boom in Didsbury Alberta (1911): and the same house today. Across time with Chris Doering & Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd)
Thanks to “Jeanne Torvalis” for helping out and sponsoring this post. Be like Jeanne…
A connection is suggested. Was this baby boom the result of weather event a year or so earlier. You know, one that forced everyone home for an extended period? Maybe break the monotony after being snowed-in (wink, wink)? Was there some magic properties in the local diet? Perhaps it’s something purely coincidental? Read on.
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The WG Liesemer House is still here today, as you’ll see, and it’s a gorgeous place. It’s not that old in the original photo (heck the town was fairly new) and is one of many fine historical dwellings in Didsbury. We approve of that colour. In 1911 it was located very near the edge of the community, but that’s not the case any more. It’s grown several-fold in the 100+ years since.
The Liesemers built the house, and occupied for a few decades or so (missing and conflicting data). Since then it’s had many owners.
Mr Liesemer ran the local hardware store for a number of years and was active politically. “He was one of the first Commissioners of the town and served two years.” – Echos of an Era.
The Then image is thanks to the University of Calgary Archives and titled “Women and Baby Carriages, Didsbury, Alberta.” Some information about the people in the photo accompanied the file, but the context or reason(s) for it are not explained. Why so many babies…why the gathering? Why this house?
The names of most of the adults, plus some of the children are presented below.
Left to right front row: Miss Jackson with Mrs O Hembling’s children – Mrs Finkle – Mrs Louis Kalbfliesh (ed: possibly Kaulbfleisch or Kalbfleisch) – Mrs Liesemer with Laura, Evelyn and Ongeha (ed: spelled Orpha in the history book) Liesemer – Mrs Jack Findlay with George Finaly – Unknown – Mrs Bob Martin with Donald Martin – Unknown – Mrs Geiger with George Gieger – Mrs Amelia Perrin with Margaret Perrin – Mrs Chambers with Edith Chambers – Mrs Studer with Winnie Studer – Mrs Harbottle – Mrs Murray – Mrs J Hallman – Mrs H Siebert – Mrs Weigand with David Weigand – Mrs Huget with Aleda and Melvin Huget.
Left to right in the background: Mrs WG Liesemer – Mrs Ballard.
The local history book used this same photo and captioned the image. It reads: “1911 – A year celebrated for the fact that every woman in Didsbury was wheeling a baby buggy.” We’re not sure if that’s a completely accurate statement, and maybe it’s said jokingly or as an exaggeration. Still, an oddly curious number gave birth within a short span of each other.
The caption adds a little to the story, but doesn’t explain it all. I guess we’ll never know why all the kids and perhaps it’s chalked up to random chance. After all, people did have way more children back then compared to today.
Let’s run some names and see if we get any hits to help further explain the image. Many names didn’t show up at all, and others were mere footnotes, but a few came with some interesting tidbits. Even so, none offered any solid insights into the photo.
The first Liesemer: She’s called Martha and was an inlaw to Mr and Mrs WG. So WG’s brother’s wife. Martha was very active in the Temperance Union movement, so it’s possible the photo was organized by her and done in support of the cause. As part of a meeting? The Temperance movement was in full swing in the early 1910s, so it’s plausible.
Chambers: Interestingly, one Edith Chambers wrote the family entry in the local history book and presumably she’s the Chambers baby mentioned in the old photo. Studer: Mr Studer and WG Liesemer were in business together for a time and they lived only a few houses apart.
The second Liesemer:: It’s Annie and she’s wife to William George. Arnold, their son, was the the first boy born in the then village of Didsbury. Interestingly, the name Liesemer also appears many times as Leisemer (i and e switched) in the town history book.
A further search of Echos of an Era offers up nothing more about the old photo. Perhaps circumstances brought them all together and they decided a photo was in order? A support group maybe? A Temperance meeting as suggested earlier? Or maybe just for fun? Even a search of old Didsbury Pioneer Newspapers of the era offered up nothing definite.
So some the questions remain unanswered, but at least we sort of know the players and have some educated guesses at the reason for their gathering. Birds of a feather flock together and perhaps this includes ladies with young ones in Didsbury Alberta in the early 1910s. That’s good enough I guess, but being haters of open files, we’ll continue to search when time permits.
The Then image is a bit on the small side, so some details are hard to see. One thing is certain – hats were a big thing back in 1911. It appears all but one or two of the ladies are sans a head covering. They’re rather big, elaborate hats too and some appear adorned with flowers or feathers. Any children clearly seen also appear to be wearing chapeaus.
Didsbury boasted two millinery shops back then, including one belong to Miss Bowers (“what lovely hats she sold!”). Man, woman, rich or poor, it was normal to don a hat when outside and old photos prove this time and again.
Heavy full-coverage dresses were the fashion then and don’t look all that comfortable. Then add in all the layers underneath and it’d be a hot time on a summer’s day.
As you can see, the WG Liesemer House is little changed from then to now, so we don’t have much to babble on about on that front. The building itself is nearly exactly as it was, but other old photos found show this wasn’t always the case. In about the 1970s-80s period it’s seen with a modified upper floor, which eliminated the dormer above the front door, and there was no porch or picket fence either. These modifications rather ruined the aesthetic but interestingly, it was the same yellow back then.
At some point, someone (bless their souls) restored it to an as-built appearance and the WG Liesemer House looks great. Those obvious marks on the roof in the Now photo are not damaged shingles, but on closer examination they’re newer ones not yet weathered.
Didsbury was founded with the coming of the railway in the 1890s and that’s a story shared by many small prairie towns. With one came the other. It quickly grew, becoming a village in 1901 and then a town five years later. The railway still runs (right through the middle of town in fact) and it’s the Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s Edmonton to Calgary line.
The town present day has a population of about five thousand and surely some of those folks are descendants of the very people seen in the old photo. That’s a rabbit hole we’d surely go down had we the time and resources. However, we did a quick search and several of the last names shared in this post show up in local directories.
Most of the Then images used in these direct comparisons are sourced by the Team, but we also accept contributions from readers. If you have an old photo from a personal or family collection showing a scene like this, please reach out and we’ll guide you in. Broad street views and landscapes work best.
Then we’ll visit the location, shoot something similar, build a backstory and post it all on our various sites. You’ll get credit of course. If a direct comparison is not possible for what ever reason, we can still work with them and create something interesting. It’s about connecting places, or even things, across time. If we can match it up exactly, all the better, but it’s not the only goal.
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Date of adventure: 1911 and March 2025. Location: Didsbury, Alberta. Article references and thanks: Book – Echos of an Era, History of Didsbury & District, Didsbury Museum, Government of Alberta, Didsbury Pioneer Newspapers of the time, Medicine Hat & District Genealogical Society and the UofC Photo Archives.
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