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on his visit , and even though he only stayed in the city for a few hours , it was very memorable for the people of Lethbridge . Members of the community were determined to cram as much activity into that limited time as possible . A 21-gun salute was performed by the artillery veterans , and a smoker was held at the Veterans ’ Club that evening . There was also an informal reception at the mess room of the Royal North-West Mounted Police , where the Prince met with people who had lost family in the war , inspected the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides , and met with the Blackfoot .
Another Prince of Wales , this time , Charles , visited in 1977 for the 100th anniversary of Treaty 7 . In addition to his time related to the treaty where there was a treaty signing re-enactment at Blackfoot Crossing , Prince Charles came to Standoff and unveiled a statue of Red Crow . Prince Charles was also given Red Crow ’ s name ( Mekaisto ), and he visited Kainai Industries . According to the July 4 , 1977 , Lethbridge Herald , the visit to Standoff was an opportunity for members of the Blackfoot Confederacy to tell “ the heir to the British throne that they had become a forgotten people , their traditional way of life destroyed , and they lacked job opportunities .” Following the visit to the Blood Reserve , Prince Charles and his brother Prince Andrew attended the Calgary Stampede ( among other stops in Southern Alberta ).
British royals weren ’ t the only ones to visit Lethbridge . In some cases the other royals came for their own reasons and sometimes they were invited .
In 1916 Prince Eric ( or Erik ) of Denmark visited Southern Alberta to learn about farming . In May 1916 , the prince checked in to a hotel in Lethbridge under a pseudonym . During his time here , he participated in a roundup at the McIntyre Ranch . For one day Mayor Hardie and his wife , and G . R . Marnoch showed the Prince the mines , the city , and the Experimental Farm . The Prince may have been influenced by his time in Canada as a few years later he married a Canadian , though his bride was from Ontario and not from Southern Alberta .
In 1967 , it was Japanese royalty who came to Lethbridge . Prince and Princess Takamatsu came for the official opening of Nikka Yuko Centennial Garden on July 14 , 1967 . This makes great sense as the name Nikka Yuko translates to “ Japanese-Canada Friendship ” and the event and the garden were designed to highlight the relationship of the two countries . For the occasion of the opening , Princess Takamatsu broke with Japanese custom and used a large pair of golden scissors to officially cut the ribbon for the opening . The newspaper noted that in Japan members of the royal family attended events to grace them with their presence , but didn ’ t take an active role in the affairs . Japanese royalty returned again for Nikka Yuko ’ s 25th anniversary in 1992 when Prince and Princess Takamado came for the rededication of the Garden .
1967 , the Prince and Princess sitting on a bench overlooking part of the Nikka Yuko Centennial Garden .
Prince and Princess Takamatsu came for the official opening of Nikka Yuko Centennial Garden on July 14 , 1967 .
There are also people who might be considered Hollywood royalty who have come to Lethbridge . It would be impossible to list all the various stars who have visited . Some will remember when Robin Williams was here for the RV movie , or when Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal were here for Brokeback Mountain . With so many movies filmed in this area , the sightings of stars have been numerous . But some were here for activities other than their jobs . Bing Crosby used to come to Southern Alberta to hunt . Roy Disney , Walt Disney ’ s brother , came to Lethbridge in 1945 when his son had an emergency appendectomy at the Galt Hospital .
Some Hollywood stars came to Lethbridge for more formal reasons . In 1946 a large Victory Rally and Rodeo was held in Lethbridge to celebrate the returning service personnel coming home from the Second World War . There was a parade , rodeo , dancing , midway shows and rides , and more . Gene Autry , the Singing Cowboy , served as marshal for the parade and provided entertainment at the exhibition .
So many people have visited our city , many more than mentioned in this article . Can you think of other famous or royal people who have visited Lethbridge and Southern Alberta ? Did you ever have the opportunity to meet them ? If so , what ’ s your best story about such an encounter ?
40 LETHBRIDGELIVING . COM JUL-AUG 2017