Kenneth Alexander Blatchford (March 5, 1882 – April 20, 1933) was a

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politician who served both as the

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Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

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and as a member of the

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Early life

Kenny Blatchford was born in Minnedosa,

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. He was educated at a commercial college. As a youth, he was also an excellent

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

and all-around athlete . He moved to Edmonton with his parents by ox-cart during the 1890s, and began selling newspapers. During the Klondike Gold Rush, he took over operation of the grist mill operated by Daniel Fraser, and later worked in the Edmonton Power Plant. He married Grace Lauder Walker on 19 December 1904, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. Kenny Blatchford was a member of the

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Municipal politics

Blatchford first sought public office in the 1921 municipal election, when he was elected to

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for a one-year term as an alderman, finishing fifth out of seventeen candidates. While the top five candidates were to have been elected to two year terms, with the sixth and seventh-place finishers winning one year terms, Bickerton Pratt, who finished seventh, won a two-year term by virtue of being from the south side of the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows event ...

, due to the guaranteed southside representation; resultingly, Blatchford won only a one-year term. He was re-elected, this time to a two-year term, in the 1922 election, in which he finished third of sixteen candidates. He resigned midway through his term to run for mayor in the 1923 election, in which he handily defeated James Ramsey. He was re-elected with relative ease in the

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and

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elections, and did not seek re-election thereafter. As mayor, Blatchford convinced the city to purchase a farm to establish an "air harbour", which later became the Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport. After his federal political career faltered, Blatchford attempted a return to municipal office by running for mayor in the 1932 election. However, he finished a distant third of three candidates, behind incumbent Daniel Kennedy Knott and perennial candidate (and former and future mayor) Joseph Clarke.

Federal politics

While still mayor, Blatchford ran for the

in the 1926 election as a Liberal in

Edmonton East Edmonton East (formerly known as Edmonton Centre-East) was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 2015. The district included a portion of the city of Edmonton. Geo ...

. He defeated incumbent

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Member of Parliament

Ambrose Bury Ambrose Upton Gledstanes Bury, KC (1 August 1869 – 29 March 1951) was a politician in Alberta, Canada, a mayor of Edmonton, and a member of the House of Commons of Canada. Early life Ambrose Bury was born in Downings House, County Kildare ...

by fewer than two hundred votes. He served until 1930, when he was defeated by Bury (who had gone on to succeed Blatchford as mayor of Edmonton) in that year's election.

Death and legacy

Five months after his defeat in the 1932 mayoral election, Blatchford suffered a nervous breakdown and disappeared. His body was found in the

on April 22, 1933, after he had been missing for two days. His death was ruled a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. His son, Howard Peter "Cowboy" Blatchford went on to become a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

in the

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during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Blatchford Field, location of the former

Edmonton City Centre Airport Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA), was an airport within the city of Edmonton, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It was bordered by Alberta Highway 16, Yellowhead Trail to the north, Kingsway (Edmonto ...

, was named after Kenny Blatchford. The carbon neutral community of

Blatchford Blatchford, a surname, may refer to: People * Christie Blatchford (1951–2020), Canadian newspaper columnist and broadcaster * Claire Blatchford (born 1944), deaf American author * Edgar Blatchford (born 1950), Alaska politician and newspaper publ ...

, which is being developed on the grounds of the former airport, is named in his honour.

References

Edmonton Public Library Biography of Kenny Blatchford

City of Edmonton biography of Kenny Blatchford
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External links