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Popular Culture in Edmonton During the Second World War

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David Leonard

Reprinted with permission of the author and publisher of For King and Country: Alberta in the Second World War

For King and CountryIn Edmonton, the American-oriented movies, radio programmes, music, magazines, comics and cartoons were, of course, made even more abundant by the fact that over 33,000 American military personnel would reside in or near the city.10 They also were made popular by virtue of the unity of purpose shared by Canadians and Americans, and their common attitude towards the enemy. The war served not only to disseminate American popular culture, but also to break down cultural barriers among Edmontonians; war industries did not hire along ethnic lines, and many women were brought into the labour force at this time. People worked and enjoyed themselves together as never before, and the popular entertainment of the day, in so many ways, spoke of the one subject that occupied every adult's mind and kept them unified, the war. The city collectively took pride in news stories about the exploits of local heroes no matter what their ancestry. It also was collectively saddened by stories of those local men and women who became casualties, and at the never-ending casualty lists which appeared regularly in the daily papers. American popular culture provided a conduit for all people to escape from the horrors of the war, to reflect on war circumstances, or to vent their anger towards the enemy. It also resulted in less attention paid to folkways brought over from other nations.

Many of the local German population, along with residents from Eastern Europe and a number of Japanese immigrants and naturalized citizens, were to endure many indignities and suffer much abuse during the war, and for several years thereafter. Hutterites and Mennonites in particular were singled out for their pacificism, while the Japanese were forbidden to travel more than twelve miles from their homes. Most of the city, however, was socially in harmony and politically stable during the war. Provincially, Social Credit settled into being another conservative party on its way to 36 consecutive years in office. In Edmonton, Mayor Fry would remain in office until after the war.

When the war was finally over and the Americans departed, Edmonton was a much changed city. Its physical appearance was only slightly altered, for there had been few permanent buildings constructed during the war, aside from those located at the airport, and a host of Quonset huts at various locations. The character of Edmonton, however, was much different. The feeling of urgency created by the war continued as people bustled to get reacquainted with a civilian way of life. New nightclubs like the Silver Glade and the Skyland were opened, while the Edmonton Eskimos and Edmonton Flyers were soon engaged in semi-professional baseball and hockey. A new Community Theatre Society was added to the arts scene in 1946. The local press reflected the new sense of economic optimism which was in the air; there was a distinct feeling that the wartime boom would continue. In 1946, the population of Edmonton had grown to 111,745, exclusive of the adjacent towns of Beverly and Jasper Place. In 1947 the Leduc oil strike would lend further credence to this postwar faith in the future.

Notes

10. See Sean Moir and Steve Boddington, op. cit., p. 1.

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