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George Pollock was born in La Chute, Quebec in 1859, the son of Robert and Martha Pollock. He had six brothers, Jerry, Thomas, William, Robert, John, and Simon, two sisters Mary Jane and Nancy. Their parents died while the children were still young. In 1873, Mary Jane (age 19) and George (age 14) came west to live with their eldest brother, William, on a ranch 20 miles west of Austin, Nevada. Arriving in Austin, they spent the next ten years in and around there and Winnemucca. With a desire to move on, the Pollock brothers, Bill, George and Bob, trailed up through Salt Lake City, up to Helena, to Fort Benton and into the southwestern part of the Northwest Territories near Maple Creek. In 1885 or 1886, George and Bob took up homesteads in that area. James Warnock from Ireland was engaged in the railway business. Having established himself, he sent for his widowed mother, his sisters, Margaret, Rachel and Sarah and brothers, Matthew and John. Rachel Warnock became the bride of George Pollock on January 24th, 1893. A family of twelve was born: Jennie, George, William, Louise, Rachel, John, Charlie, Myrtle, Reta, Howard, Eveline and Ruth who died in infancy. George Pollock died in 1927; his wife, Rachel, passed away in 1948.

Gunther Poppe, a member of the German Army, was taken prisoner on November 10, 1942, close to El Alamein. He and other captured prisoners were first sent by ship to Africa and South America. They were then sent via the Queen Mary to New York. A four day train journey brought them to Prisoner of War Camp #132 at Medicine Hat. Twelve thousand prisoners were housed at the local camp. In 1943, Gunther was sent to a labour camp in Northern Ontario, to cut pulpwood. The POW's were paid 50 cents for each cord of wood they cut, and were allowed to spend their earnings in the camp canteen. In 1946, Mr. Poppe was repatriated to Germany via a camp in South Wales. He settled in East Germany to be with his brother. Four years later, he escaped from East Germany and later immigrated to Canada.

Philip Hamilton Wedderburn was born on May 7, 1868 in Seven Fountains, South Africa, and was christened on 31 May 1868. He married Elizabeth G. (nee Keeting), and the couple had four children: Ethel Grace (Mrs. John Beattie) (1893-1964), Lorimer Hamilton (1897-1917), Constance May (1903-1908), and Iris Amm (1907-1988). In August, 1907, the family emigrated to Canada from Durban, South Africa. Philip's brother George and his family joined them. They spent their first year in Canada in Winnipeg, and the following spring George and his family returned to South Africa. In 1908, Philip got a homestead seven miles north of Redcliff, Alberta. He worked for Tom Bell to learn the skills of farming. Philip was very active in the community, forming a cooperative in 1907 with seven other farmers. They purchased a threshing machine. He was a trustee and secretary-treasurer of Harvest Vale School District, and he was also active in the United Farmers of Alberta in the 1920's. In 1921, Philip and Elizabeth moved to Redcliff, where Philip worked for the Brick and Coal. In the 1920's he was employed by the government to head rabbit drives throughout southern Alberta. Later, Philip and Elizabeth moved to Edmonton, where Philip was employed by the government in the Debt Adjustment Department. Lorimer Hamilton Wedderburn was killed in World War II on Vimy Ridge in 1917, and Iris moved to the United States, where she died in 1988. Philip Hamilton Wedderburn passed away in 1937;Elizabeth G. Wedderburn passed away in 1929. Ethel Grace married John Beattie on January 24, 1912. John came from Chambly, Quebec, to the Bowell area in 1903, at the age of 17. Ethel and John met at a social gathering at the Ellis Ranch. Ethel and John's wedding was the first wedding in Bowell. The Beattie's settled four miles northeast of Bowell and they had three daughters: Eva (1913), Mildred (1914-1991), and Ruth (1919-1938). They attended the Harvest Vale School. Mildred married George Parks, from Tees, Alberta, in 1936, and they had two daughters: Aileen and Bernice. In 1934, Eva married Tom Rutherford of Redcliff, Alberta. Tom and Eva had two daughters: Kay and Carol. Tom passed away in December, 1977. Carol (nee Rutherford) married Reginald Porter in 1960. They had two children: Hal and Mark. Reginald worked as a parts salesman at Gardner Motors, and Carol worked as a teacher at Margaret Wooding School in Redcliff. The couple is now retired and lives at 561- 14 St. NE, in Medicine Hat. Their son, Hal, passed away in August, 1985.

R.C. "Dick" Porter was born in Goderich, Ontario, on December 1, 1857, the son of Samuel and Marg (nee Dundas) Porter. He ventured west to Winnipeg in 1882, and farmed there for about a year. Dick came to Medicine Hat in September of 1883, with his brothers Bob and Jim, after they had worked their way west with the CPR from Manitoba. The three brothers, along with their father Samuel, worked on the steel railway bridge spanning the South Saskatchewan River. The boys carried nuts, bolts and hot rivets used in the construction, while Samuel had the contract to haul the sand and gravel for the bridge pilings. A homestead was taken out near the area now known as Porter's Hill. The family ranched there and on the Gros Ventre Creek near Pashley. The range was open at that time, and the cattle drifted into the sheltered valleys south of Irvine, so in 1900, the Porter Brothers established their ranch on the Stoney Creek. The RP cattle brand was registered in the 1880's, with Bob using it on the right rib and Dick using it on the left. These brands, still in use, have been used by 4 generations of the Porter family. Although ranching was Dick Porter's chief occupation, he and his brother-in-law, John Hawke, started their own team and freighting business between Medicine Hat and Lethbridge for the Northwest Coal and Navigation Company. Dick Porter married Miss C. MacAuley in October, 1883, during a return trip east to Ontario. The couple had 5 children: Etta, Bob, Earl, Jack and Ewart. Dick returned to Medicine Hat and joined the 1st volunteer armed unit recruited for the Riel Rebellion in 1885. He also operated the Ford House, a hotel in Dunmore, Alberta, until December 1892. Mr. Porter later moved into town and owned a house at 205-1st Street S.E., in which he resided for well over 50 years.

Emerson Porter, son of Robert Dundas Porter, grandson of Samuel Porter, was born in 1902. He attended the Univesity of Alberta in 1921 enrolling in medicine; however, he was forced to return home when his father was killed in a gas explosion in Medicine Hat. Emerson took over the operation of the RP Ranch, the family business. In 1932, he married Thelma (nee Sodero), a Medicine Hat nurse. The two were very active in the community of Irvine. Emerson helped organize the Irvine stampede during the 1920's, while Thelma was active in the Irvine Women's Institute. Emerson Porter passed away in 1965. Emerson and Thelma had 1 son: Bob. He married Donna-Lee (nee Harstead), a teacher from Brooks in 1957. Bob became a Member of Parliament in 1984 for the Medicine Hat constituency. The RP Ranch celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 1983.

Edgar Potts emigrated to Canada from England around the 1900's to start farming; he lived in the Medicine Hat - Empress area in 1912 - 1913. He returned to England to enlist in the military and was killed during World War One in 1915.

Rural school districts were formed in the Medicine Hat area in 1890, with the creation of School District No. 173 at Dunmore. From then until 1935, when Bluebird S.D. No. 4698 was established, approximately 100 country schools were built in the southeastern corner of Alberta. Education became a major burden in the 1920's for the people of the region. The depression provided the impetus for the establishment of the large unit of school administration. When the Social Credit government began consolidating school districts in the 1930's, the schools in the Medicine Hat area were placed in two divisions, Tilley East School Division No. 5 and Cypress School Division No. 4, both based in Medicine Hat. In 1943, the two divisions were amalgamated to form the Medicine Hat School Division No. 4. The latter name was kept until January 1, 1985 when the name reverted to Cypress School Division No. 4. In 1995, an amalgamation of school divisions based in Dunmore, Oyen, Redcliff and The County of Forty Mile resulted in the establishment of The Prairie Rose Regional School Division. This move towards regionalization, one of many in the province, was designed to streamline public education and reduce the costs of delivery. According to Alex Shand, who served as Secretary Treasurer for the School Board, from when he started in 1948 to when he retired in 1979, the number of schools under the jurisdiction of the Board went from 89 to 9. Today, Prairie Rose Regional School Division consists of 20 Public schools, 15 Colony Schools, and a number of alternate school programs. Their main office is located in Dunmore, AB.

Richard Bell Pratt was born in Yorkshire, England, on December 14, 1886, the son of James Pratt and Jane (nee Bell), farmers from the Yorkshire area of England. Richard arrived in Medicine Hat in 1912, and joined the CPR that same year. He fought in World War I, joining the 31st Battalion in Calgary in 1914. He went overseas in 1915, serving in France and was wounded there. He was sent to Bath to recuperate and then on to London, England, in 1916, to work in the Canadian Records Office. Richard married Kathleen Bullimore? (nee Head), the daughter of William John Head, a fisherman, and Elizabeth Jane (nee Clark), of Sussex, England, on May 11, 1918, in the District of Kensington, County of London. They returned to Canada in 1919, and he commenced work at the CPR Freight Office in Medicine Hat. Richard and Kathleen had 5 children: Agnes and Richard, who both died as children, Eleanor, James and Dorothy. On December 1951, Richard Pratt retired from the CPR and in 1954, moved to Kelowna, B.C. Mr. Pratt had been active in the community, serving as an Alderman on City Council for 13 years. He was also President of the Medicine Hat Branch of the Canadian Legion, and was a member of St. Barnabas Church and of the Canadian Club. Richard Pratt passed away on January 1, 1976, in Kelowna, B.C. Richard's son James, and his wife Kathleen (nee Conners) are also well known citizens. James has maintained an active roll in the areas of historic preservation having been involved with the preservation of Medalta Potteries, the restoration of the Mitchell log cabin, and the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede's Pioneer Village. Jim Pratt passed away suddenly, as the result of a fall, on September 27, 1994. He is survived by his wife, daughters Geraldine, Erica and Barbara, and his son Richard.