Mr. Jesse Gouge was born in Iowa in 1867, the only boy in a
family of eight children.
He was a man of varied occupations lawyer, merchant, farmer
and coal operator; all these activities occupied his attention
at one time or another, and in each of them he excelled. He
received his education in Iowa, and was called to the Bar in
1897. However, he did not practise law too long, as he moved to
Canada in 1907, settling first in Manitoba, and two years later
coming west to Calgary.
Then he moved to Acme, a little village on the railway which was
a distributing point for what is now
Drumheller, Verdant Valley
and Munson, so Mr. Gouge decided to open an implement business
there.
The story is told that he had occasion to go to Verdant Valley
to set up
a binder. He had to cross the Red Deer River at the Greentree
Ferry,
which was located at the present site of the Canadian Utilities
plant,
and here he met a man with a load of coal which he had dug out
of the
bank up around Newcastle way. So impressed was Mr. Gouge at the
quality of the coal that he soon hurried to the Land Office in
Calgary
and secured a lease on what was to be the foundation of one of
the
greatest coal fields in Canada. It was here that he founded the
industry
that today stands as a monument to him more than any other
single
individual.
With
Garnet Coyle of Montreal he founded the Newcastle Coal
Company and the Alberta Block Coal Company. He was one of the
most dynamic figures in an industry which has had a long line of
distinguished practitioners. During his period as a coal
operator in the
valley, he saw the payroll expand from less than 50 names to
over 2000.
Copy Western Can. Coal Review
Mr. Gouge was married to Maude McGuire, and they had two
children, Wilson and Helen.
Mr. P. S. Brown built their fine brick family home on Second
Street West, where they lived for many years. The family entered
whole-heartedly in the life of the growing community, Mr. Gouge
being
a member of the Board of Trade and Rotary Club. The young
people,
Billy and Helen were interested in furthering music in the town,
and
Mrs. Gouge often sought unfortunate and needy people with whom
she
shared willingly anything she had. Many families would have had
no
Christmas dinners if Mrs. Gouge had not arrived with generous
hampers and messages of good cheer.
Mrs. Gouge died in Drumheller in 1938, and Mr. Gouge in
Victoria at the age of 86, in 1953. Surviving are his son Wilson
in
Victoria, two grandsons, Jesse in Victoria, John in Vancouver,
and
grand-daughter Ann (Mrs. Herman Lind) in Spokane and Miss Helen
Gibson in Victoria, and seven great grandchildren.
This article is based on the article titled "Jesse Gouge" in the book The Hills of Home: Drumheller Valley (Drumheller
Valley History Association, 1973). The Heritage Community Foundation and the
Year of the Coal Miner Consortium would like to thank the Drumheller Valley
History Association for this contribution.
|