The Prairie Tressure

This page will contain a description of the Prairie Branch’s journal, The Prairie Tressure, and an archive of back issues. For the moment, the only items on offer are:

this link to the first issue, of Spring 2003, from Editor Darren George’s site for our local predecessor organization, the Prairie Heraldry Society, and
the following article.

The Wheat and the Chaff

It was with much pleasure and a great deal of pride that I accepted the Presidency of the Prairie Branch of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada in November.

Three years ago, on the 25th of January, 2003, we held our first organizational meeting in Red Deer for the purpose of forming a heraldry society. At that meeting we discussed a number of ideas relating to the creation of a prairie-wide society. This would entail assembling an executive, attracting members, drawing up bylaws and initiating a newsletter or magazine. In short, we decided that we would bring heraldry to the Prairies.

The forming of such a society was at once recognized as a worthwhile endeavour, and we were encouraged by the support of members in other branches and by the national body of the Heraldry Society of Canada. The membership grew steadily to about thirty members and representation was established in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

The Prairie Tressure was chosen as the name of our magazine, which from the beginning has been recognized as a substantial contribution to heraldic education in general. Despite our Editor’s several relocations and expanding family, he has worked unceasingly to maintain its high standard. In addition to our members, The Prairie Tressure subscribers include institutions such as libraries.

Since the inception of the society, nineteen regular meetings, which have included three annual general meetings, have been held in the Red Deer, Edmonton and Calgary areas. Bylaws for the society were drafted, a bank account was opened and minutes of our meetings have been carefully recorded.

From the start, it was our intention that the Society would eventually become a branch of the national body, and on the 9 May 2005 this was achieved when a charter was issued for the Prairie Heraldry Society to become the Prairie Branch of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada.

Our branch has not been without its social functions and whether it was the sharing of a bottle of wine at meetings, a roast beef barbecue at an annual general meeting or a black tie dinner for a visiting celebrity, the levity of its members has always been enjoyed.

In 2004, the branches of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada were invited to design their own badges and as a new branch we embraced the idea. The badge chosen was a roundel vairy of Or and Sable. Predominantly, the yellow represented the wheat of the Prairies and the black fur, while representing the fur bearing animals of the Prairies, produced a distinct likeness to the grain elevators which have long been landmarks throughout the Prairies. The branch has since incorporated the badge into a collar jewel by attaching a black ribbon so that it can now be used to recognize special contributions to the branch.

Two highlights marked the year 2005. In September our branch hosted the Annual Conference of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada in Edmonton. Amongst the many participants at the conference were the Chief Herald of Canada, Robert Watt , our National President, Dr. Kevin Greaves , and from England, Henry Paston-Bedingfeld, York Herald of the College of Arms in London.

The second highlight of the year was a Black-tie Dinner that was held at Calgary in November. This was to honour a visit by Sir Conrad Swan , Garter King of Arms Emeritus, also of the College of Arms in London.

This website has recently been established to provide information on the Prairie Branch and an Armorial of armigerous members is to be completed shortly.

Since its formation, the branch has supported several grants of arms to municipalities and institutions. This has been accomplished where members have assisted in the creation of the arms or through their participation in the unveiling of the arms at special functions for that purpose.

To speculate on the future of the Branch, I envision an ever-growing interest in heraldry, by the public at large. This has been particularly evident in Alberta and Saskatchewan during the past year, during which their one-hundredth year was celebrated. Many of the public gatherings included coats-of-arms, banners, and flags that reinforced their rich histories in Canada’s symbols of sovereignty. At the present time, our Prairie population is relatively sparse but its growth is inevitable and the exciting possibilities for heraldry on the Prairies are unlimited.

Thomas Hargreaves
President – The Prairie Branch