History Society of Alberta Honorary

Lifetime Membership Awarded to Ralph Erdman

Nominated by the Lethbridge Historical Society

Ralph Erdman has worked hard on behalf of the Lethbridge Historical Society for the past 25 years. From the time he joined the Society in 1981, he was a Councillor on the Executive until 1994. He joined the Book Committee in 1981 and took over book sales at that time, continuing tirelessly in that position until he retired in 1998 at the age of 84. Besides ensuring that the Society's publications were available in local vendor outlets, he travelled to various outlets in the south, taking the Society’s new and old publications to venues such as Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump and the Fort Macleod Museum.

Ralph Erdman was born in 1913 at Barons,

Alberta , to Gustav and Magda Erdman. He attended

Ralph Erdman receives Honorary Lifetime Membership plaque from Mrs. Jeane Johnstone.

school in Barons and, in 1930, graduated from the Claresholm School of Agriculture. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree from the University of Alberta in 1936, and a Master of science degree in 1938. In the early part of his career, he used his knowledge working on soil surveys for the University of Alberta, and as a soil specialist at the Lethbridge Research Station. In 1949, he returned to farming in the Barons district, where he became interested in exhibiting grain. His efforts brought him the 1961 World Wheat Championship at the Toronto Royal Winter Fair. Ralph married Karen Suitso in 1950, and they have one daughter, Katheryn Anne Beveridge, and two grandchildren.

Ralph has received several awards in recognition of his work. In 1990, he received the Alex Johnston Award of Merit from the Lethbridge Historical Society. He also received the Historical Society of Alberta Millennium Award in February 2000.

Ralph Erdman is a man of many interests, including photography, archeology, and banding mountain bluebirds. He is one of the world's best kept secrets and richly deserves this Honorary Lifetime Membership.