There are a lot of ways to look for love, but have you ever thought to ask the mayor?
The City of Calgary recently dusted off the archives and discovered that a Montreal woman did just that a hundred years ago.
On Aug. 26, 1921, Calgary mayor Samuel Adams received a letter from 35-year-old Etta Foster, prompting his journey from mayor to matchmaker, according to the archives.
“I hear the number of ‘lonely bachelors’ in your part of the country quite exceeds the number of ‘lonely women.’ For this reason, I am hoping you will do me the favour to refer this letter to some source whereby I can meet some of these eligible Westerners,” Foster wrote.
The archives call Foster’s view of an isolated Calgary inaccurate. Susanne Clark with the City of Calgary said the area was a bustling metropolis with a great social scene a centennial ago. In the early 1920s, Calgary’s population was over 63,000, according to the archives.
“She gave quite the shopping list as far as what she was looking for and introduced herself as a young businesswoman,” Clark told Global News on Saturday.
Foster wrote that she brings domestic abilities to the table in addition to her laundry list of qualities she was searching for in a partner.
“My ideal man is one who fears nothing, is manly in all his dealings. I do not expect a saint and am broadminded in my views but I believe in absolute frankness and square-dealing in everything,” she wrote.
Adams put a public ad in the Calgary Daily Herald.
“There were a number of gentlemen who did respond, and they gave their resume, including one that wanted to join the police in Calgary,” Clark said.
“All of them seemed to have the means to care for her but we think that she may have gotten a little skittish and was a little pickier than her initial letter might have suggested because we have correspondence from her near the end where she kind of takes them to task and asks them to be a little bit more discreet and careful as to who they are providing her information to.”
Foster was “hesitant to communicate with any of the men,” according to the archives, stressing to Adam that he only supply her name to the candidates who meet her standards.
“For I should be unhappy with less than my equal,” she wrote.
No labourers.
No one who is illiterate.
Someone with social status.
Even though the city doesn’t have evidence of other letters from women searching for mates, Clark said personal requests to the mayor “were not uncommon at the time.”
“They usually were more dealing with people who are writing to locate family members or it would be people who were looking for either letters of introduction or information about the city for their families or businesses looking to move to Calgary,” she said.
The mystery showcases the evolving role of the mayor.
Clark said the city doesn’t know if Foster ever found her perfect match, and archivists have not been able to track her down.
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