MR BANFF BUILDS A LEGACY
BY JACKIE GOLD BANFF CRAG & CANYON STAFF
Known as "Mr. Banff" to locals, Norman K. Luxton
helped build the town up to the great heights that it has reached.
As publisher of the Banff Crag & Canyon in the early 1900s,
he brought news and entertainment to Banff townsfolk while
also finding time to be involved in a number of other
projects including building the King Edward Hotel, the Lux
Theatre and founding the Sign of the Goat Curio Shop.
The shop eventually led to the development of the Luxton Museum
of Plains Indians, which became known later as the Buffalo
Nations Museum. The Luxton Museum grew in several phases,
between 1950 and 1961, and today is the oldest Museum
in Alberta dedicated to the history and contributions
of Aboriginal people.
His philanthropy towards the native community did not end
there, however. From 1909 to 1950 Luxton helped organize Banff
Indian Days and was made an honorary chief of the Stoney tribe
with the name Chief White Shield for his efforts and contributions.
Son of the Winnipeg Free Press co‑founder William Luxton,
Norman was a newsman to his core, and after working for his
father's paper he decided to spread out on his own. He ended
up joining the Calgary Herald newspaper for eight years before
working for a paper in British Columbia. In 1901 he decided
to go on an adventure with his friend Captain Jack Voss, whom
he had met while working in B.C.
In April of 1901, for $8O Voss purchased a 100‑year‑old
Nootka dugout canoe that he found in a small cove on northern
Vancouver Island, with the intention of sailing around
the world. They made some modifications to the canoe,
which they named Tilikum, to help facilitate that vision.
They built up the sides of the Tilikum by seven inches and
added three masts, oak frames, a set of close‑hauled
sails totalling 230 square feet of canvas, a cockpit for steering,
a half ton of ballast, 400 pounds of sand for trimming
the ballast and a five‑by‑eight‑foot cabin.
The necessary provisions made, the two men headed out on the
open sea. After five months Luxton had had enough and
abandoned the trip in order to get medical attention in
Australia. Though the two had experienced bad weather
on the trip, Luxton later said that the storms they encountered
were, “as nothing compared to the clash of personalities" the
two men had had while stuck in the close quarters of the canoe
for weeks on end.
Luxton returned home to Banff to recover, leaving the rest
of the journey to Voss, who completed the round‑the-world
trip. Both men wrote of their experiences and had
them published for the world at large to view.
In 1902 Luxton bought the Banff Crag & Canyon, and remained
on board as publisher until 1951. That same year he established
the Sign of the Goat Curio Store, which offered up Stoney handicrafts
and taxidermy animals for sale. Two years later, in
1904, Luxton married Georgina Elizabeth McDougall, of
the pioneer missionary McDougall family of Morley, Alberta.
Four years later she gave birth to what would be their only
child, a daughter, Eleanore Georgina, in 1908.
Above and beyond his already full life Luxton also helped
found the Banff Winter Carnival, and became involved with the
native events at the Calgary Stampede for 25 years running.
Norman Luxton died on October 26,1962 survived by his wife
and daughter, and his legacy as Mr. Banff.
in 1901.
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