Fonds F0803 - Clem Gardner fonds

Clement Gardner, 1885-1963, was born in Russell, Manitoba and came as an infant to the Pirmez Creek area southwest of Calgary with his parents, Meopham and Margaret. In 1907 he competed in his first rodeo and was one of the top competitors at the first Calgary Stampede in 1912. He also entered a chuckwagon from his VU Ranch in each Stampede from 1923 to 1936. He supplied much of the stock for the annual event as well. He was a member of numerous horse associations including the Alberta Horse Breeder's Association and was a senior judge of the Canadian Horse Shows Association. He was also an associate director of the Calgary Stampede. He married Helen Taylor, 1884-?, and they had three children, Joan (Morgan), 1918-1972, Audrey (Macdougall), 1915-1974, and Noel, 1913-1995. The Calgary Boy Scouts' primary camp on the Elbow River west of Calgary was named Camp Gardner in his honour. Gardner was inducted int the Professional Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1985. For further information see "Meopham Gardner : Ranching in the Bragg Creek area" in Eye on the Future : Business People in Calgary and the Bow Valley, 1870-1900 / Henry C. Klassen. -- Calgary : University of Calgary Press, 2002, p. 350-354.