Earnest-Minded Men : An Account of Local Government in the County of Vermilion River

Hardcover with dust jacket, 648 pages, 6x9 in - 15x23 cm, B&W photographs, maps on endpapers.

Cover corners worn. Fore and top edges lightly soiled. Dura-Life-wrapped jacket worn and soiled at edges, with closed tears at top and bottom; jacket front chipped at bottom, jacket back (incl. flap) bears tidelines. Jacket spine bumped at head and heel. Pinholes to spine at pp.646-647, else pages clean and binding sound.

Allen Ronaghan (1923-2020) was an Alberta teacher who, after completing his Ph.D. at the University of Manitoba at age 65, dedicated himself to studying and writing western Canadian history. In this volume, he edits histories of local-level government and oversight in Alberta’s Vermilion River County. Most of the book details the history of the area’s school districts. Organized alphabetically, each district’s section summarizes major events in the district’s formation and development, its Board members or influential individuals, and descriptions of important policies, financial matters, or issues. The book's final section collects brief histories of the region’s Local Improvement Districts and municipalities. A fine-grained collection detailing civic governance in eastern Alberta in the early/mid-1900s. No publication date indicated, but p.3 identifies 1972 as the time of writing, making a publication date of 1972 or later likely. Includes index.