Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 15, 1971, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winning wik muss Ftp Obday. Dic Imiri 15. 1971 Alta. Priest remembered St. Albert Alta. Up even the indians traditional stoics wept As the funeral procession passed through the snowy streets of Calgary the cortege had a Rendez Vous with a special Canadian Pacific railway train which was to take away the body of the Man they their brother. Albert Lacombe Pioneer peacemaker and priest had died dec. 12, 1916, at age 89. The waiting train would re turn to a Hillside just North of Edmonton where he had established St. Albert Mission 54 years earlier. When he died at his Midna pore Alta., retirement Home just South of Calgary Albert Lacombe had been a Frontier missionary 67 years. He had brought religion and civilization to the Plains and peace among the indians and White men fighting to control them. To the Blackfoot people he was the Man of the Good heart to the Cree the Noble soul. Some people says one of the few living men who knew him considered him a half a a he was a Superior Man in his appearance stature and says. Rev. Jules Bidault a retired priest living in St. Albert. Everyone was conquered by his presence. When i first saw him in 1909, everyone was talking about him As the greatest missionary of our a Small Man in Plain Black Robes adorned Only by a Black and Gold Crucifix father la Combe was More of an Indian than his Brothers realized. His grandmother had been carried off by an ojibway chief in Ontario when she was 17. Found later with the Indi ans at Sault Ste. Marie she had. Two children one of whom became l a c o m b e s Mother. Young Albert was proud of his Indian blood and liked to be called the Little Savage in his Hometown of St. Sulpice que. Inspired by tales of the Frontier he dreamed of be coming a missionary a vicar of the Lew than three weeks after his ordination in 1849, he was on his Way West where he would join the oblate fathers. In 1861, he started the St. Albert Mission on the Banks of the Sturgeon River and Organ wed the settlers into work parties to build a Bridge 200 by 15 feet the first Bridge West of the great by 1865 Albert Lacombe was 38. His greatest works Lay ahead of him. That year he left his favorite settlement to become a missionary at Large spreading christianity among the Indian Camps. Father Lacombe won the lifelong respect of the Black foot chiefs through a. Clever piece of negotiation. A Blackfoot Princess had been enslaved by a Cree War party and the priest who spoke both Indian languages bought her Back with a horse and 25 Beaver pelts. Not Long after he almost was killed when 800 Cree at tacked a Black Foft Camp. White Flag in one hand Crucifix in the other he walked into the fray pleading for peace and was shot in the head and father Lacombe faced death again Wheir a smallpox epidemic swept Alberta in 1869. More than 300 persons succumbed at St. Albert and he hurried to the Mission to give assistance. He. Suffered some of the symptoms but recovered Only to find trouble brewing at fort Edmonton. The indians blamed the White men for the disease and were gathering to storm the fort. They refused to listen to the priest but later called off the. Attack. News of his work spread East and the Federal govern ment asked him to be its representative i n negotiating treaties. Father Lacombe championed the cause of roman Catholic schools in the West compiled Indian language dictionaries and toured Europe to search for missionaries to handle the flow of immigrants flooding the Plains. He spent his last five years at Lacombe House a Retreat paid for by an Anonymous millionaire. Cantor s 2202 Gallagher meat specials red or Blue Brand beef sirloin Cross rib roast Blade roast spareribs pork teen sausage Hinds of Ait. Hosn to Vic Cai turkeys ims u. Armaos Canada Mam a 1c hams Houm Shank hmm. 54 .11. Canada Mist Oak by i wet Sik Post customs with pukka m oust u. 62 i japanese mandarin mandarin potatoes can. No. Cranberriesttsf.--------------3 Robin Hood flour . Ay1mer peas carrots 19h.oz. Is Loo Apple Manzilla olives instant Coffee tuffts nuts t bolts Zee towels Crisco veg. Kao Ana Tea bags fruit onion soup mix bleach deep browned Beans. Cranberry Sake Toweill Akpem 24 happiness at Christmas is a visit from Santa Caus even if he is injtvisrt.-. Christmas eve placed Santi for Abri Tsoo Indian children at Brochet a Small to son Nelson Nick did Chuck who was Sant and Lions club member Ait Drinnan prepare to leave for Brochet. Lions Fly v to Brochet Lynn Lake Man. Staff a massive Roar from More than 300 Chipewyan and Cree Indian children greeted the first stage of the Lynn Lake Lions club s ;