William McCartney Davidson, whose distinguished life included nearly a quarter century as owner and publisher of the Calgary Albertan, once lamented that very few pioneer westerners wrote about life in early Alberta. In 1938, twelve years after selling the newspaper, he expressed that thought in a column for the new Albertan (1) owners.

It is most regrettable that public men of western Canada leave no reminiscences and write little. From the notes of four public men the story of the prairies could be written, as it will never be written. The four men are Frank Oliver, pioneer editor, member of the old Territorial legislature, minister of the interior during the eventful years of 1906 to 1911, and active for many years later; Arthur Sifton, member of the Haultain Government, Chief Justice of the North West Territories and later of Alberta, Premier of Alberta, and later member of the Union Government at Ottawa, one of the signers of the Treaty of Versailles; Dr. R.G. Brett, member of the old Territorial Legislature, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta for eight years, and one of the best raconteurs of the West. These three have gone leaving neither book, nor references nor reminiscences. The fourth man I would mention is Sir Frederick Haultain. His memoirs, written as he could do them, if he would, would be priceless. (2)

Sadly, Davidson became another of those who died without leaving a formal memoir, but he did leave writings nearly as good--a rich collection of columns written years after retiring from the Albertan newspaper scene. Those columns--about 1,000 of them--appeared in the Albertan between 1938 and 1942. Under the title Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, they covered current events in that time, speculation about future developments and colourful, insightful reflections on Davidson's early days in Alberta. His thoughts about Alberta, and especially Calgary, reveal personalities and characters, social life and habits, and anecdotes about everything from baseball to buffaloes. Though not exactly a memoir, the columns are an interesting and useful glimpse of an early newspaperman and his world.

Davidson wrote from the perspective of a man intimately involved in Alberta's public life. From 1902 when he purchased his newspaper, until he sold it in 1926, Davidson was deeply engaged in his community as a publisher, a MLA, and as a leading figure both within the Alberta Liberal party and on its flanks. He observed and wrote about some of Alberta's pivotal events and trends --formation of the province, selection of a provincial capital, the rise of the women's movement, the reign of Alberta Liberals, their eclipse by the farmers' movement, and building of his beloved Calgary.

Much material for Davidson's columns came from his close connections to men of influence of the day. His links to the Liberal party earned him a spot on a delegation that travelled to Ottawa in a vain attempt to convince the Laurier government that Calgary should be the capital of the new province of Alberta. It was a lesson...