The Goodell cherry pitter is a tool that has led me to a very broad picture about the relatively recent history of Edmonton in the context of the development of western Canada, propelled by the development of the railway, bringing not only settlers and ranchers, but entrepreneurs: The Edmonton Journal noted that Nathan Bell “was the first hotel operator to purchase his site and building.” He was well-known as a hotel proprietor, and the Pendennis dining room, according to The Edmonton Bulletin , was “admittedly one of the best in the city.” I can imagine 1908 patrons of the original Pendennis Hotel sitting down in the Buffet dining room to fresh cherries from the Okanagan that had arrived in Strathcona on the train the day before and were carted across the Low Level Bridge over the South Saskatchewan River to the grocery stores on the north side in Edmonton, the capital of the new province of Alberta. It must have been a time of great optimism that was especially cheerful while enjoying a sweet seasonal dessert on a warm July day. q
David Murray
on site review 39: tools
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