My friend Bill Stewart recently shared the 911 recording of this with the gang at the poker game…

Distraught husband to 911…”My wife needs an ambulance!!”

911…”What is your address sir?”

Husband…”24 Eucalyptus Drive!”

911…”Can you please spell that?”

Husband…paaaaaaaaaaause….”I’ll drag her to Oak Street!”

…and a little reminiscing from old Airdrietown

My brother Floyd celebrated a birthday this week.  I’d like to relate a little story he shared with me. In the early 60’s Airdrie’s population was a staggering 200 and change.  The hiway ran through Airdrie on today’s Edmonton Trail, which required four service stations to handle the volume.  Gordon Morris’s Royalite station was situated where the Horseman Inn is now, Wally & Ed Anderson’s Esso would have been where the new car/truck wash is between the old Flames restaurant and Hugh Hamilton’s Registry office.  Arne Neilson’s Shell was where the Dairy Queen is and Wilson Cool’s Texaco stood tall between centre and First Avenue where the A&W stands today.

Our closet RCMP detachment was in Crossfield then. (This does pertain to the story…kind of.)

Upon Floyd’s hiatus from school (he would eventually return for his GED), he sought employment at both the Esso and the Texaco stations.  On the particular night in question, Floyd was working with Billy Lovell at the Texaco.  The Texaco occupied most of the frontage between first and centre and was situated smack dab in the middle which set up perfectly for the two boys to observe a car coming off the hiway rather slowly,  rolling up to the building and eventually coming to a stop.  Shortly thereafter a man opened the car door and sort of rolled out.  I think the lads thought he was drunk, not an uncommon occurrence in those days.   They helped him into the station but couldn’t get much out of him as he was very incoherent.  He did manage to convey to them that his buddy was still in the car though.  When Floyd investigated,   the buddy looked like he was sleeping and Floyd gave him a couple of nudges to wake him up to no avail.  They phoned the RCMP and the constabulary had Floyd try a few things including shaking him some more,   making Floyd a tad uncomfortable as he was convinced the guy was dead now.  NOT a common site in Airdrie, I might add!  Finally the cops advised Floyd that someone should drive the car into one to the stations bays until they could get there…not a pleasing thought to a couple of 16 year olds!  Floyd must have chose the short straw and with much grimacing he reluctantly got the car in.  Apparently these two gentlemen were returning to Calgary from Edmonton when sleepiness started to take its toll, so they pulled off the hiway for some shuteye.  Unfortunately, they backed up with their tailpipe in a snowbank and proceeded to gas themselves.  The driver awoke and somehow made his way in Airdrie and survived.  His friend did not though…Made for an exciting evening in sleepy town Airdrie on a winter’s night I’m sure!

I love these kinds of stories….enjoy

Two Stories Worth Reading
BOTH are true!!!! 
    STORY NUMBER  ONE 

      Many years ago Al Capone virtually owned Chicago.  Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
      Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason.  Eddie was very good!  In fact Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
      To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well.  Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends as well.  For instance he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day.  The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.
       Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.  
       Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly.  Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld.  Price was no object.
       And despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach his son right from wrong.  Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.
       Yet with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.
       One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.
       He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity.  To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great.  So he testified.
       Within the year Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay.  Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.