Another Kick at the Can Just over a year after the Town Hall riot, another such brawl raged in the streets of Wainwright. The town had grown somewhat since the last scuffle, its population now approximately 2000 strong. The Park Hotel had opened its doors to customers this year, the Wainwright Hotel still flourished and the Legion was also a popular tavern, all of these cutting off liquor sales at 9:30 PM. On the long weekend September 1, 1952, when the pubs and shows closed, 400 just - paid troops were in town. It was common for the men to stop for a bite to eat before returning to camp on their evenings off, but on this particular night, the Buffalo Cafe seemed to be the only spot available for a snack. This meant a mob of soldiers converged on the only restaurant open, the establishment owned and operated by Fordie Wong. Troops lined the streets outside the cafe in hopes of being the next lucky customer to nab a spot to sit. Fordie, aware of the numbers waiting outside, locked the door to avoid having the building become even more overcrowded. This ruffled a few feathers ouside, and as customers unlocked the door to leave, twice as many from the street would rush in. So went the evening until an argument broke out in the back of the restuarant and the fight was on! Fordie knew there’d be no stopping them; he phoned the police, grabbed his cash box and sat on it while chaos engulfed him. Dishes flew, tables upset, food spilled, and when one unfortunate was crowded to the front and pushed against the window, he fell through the glass and onto the street. Rebel Rousers Bodies were climbing over other bodies, some of them MP’s, to get away from or closer to the fights that had begun throughout the building. For those of you who know the building (Four Seasons Restaurant of today’s Main Street), you can appreciate knowing the space would certainly be filled with about 200 people jammed into it, and fighting to boot. As if this wasn’t enough, those outside who wanted in on the action resorted to throwing rocks, bricks or people in any direction; Main Street was a madhouse! The MP’s called for extra assistance, RCMP became involved, Chief Perv Patterson of the town police needed additional aid, and officers not part of the policing unit tried to help. With a free - for - all such as this it might have appeared hopeless, but with the mysterious arrival of the town fire truck to hose the hapless bunch down, order was gradually maintained. The Board of Inquiry held the following week was unable to accurately establish who had started the fracas and other than six specific arrests by the MP’s it was decided the damages be settled by equal amounts paid by each unit involved. Businesses submitting claims for damages were: Robinson Stores, Manager Jack Morgan; Service Meat Market, owner Mr. Schumacher; Marshall Wells Store, owner W.J. Winnick and ; Buffalo Cafe, owner Fordie Wong; all totalling just under $1000. Most of the expense was to replace broken storefront windows. The stores involved, in the order listed are still here in Wainwright as Morgans Dept. Store, the Book Chalet, and Allied Hardware. And A Wee Bit More As Lt. Col. J.G. Poulin, commanding officer of the 3 R22eR, forsaw holiday difficulty, he had witheld pay parade for his men until after the weekend. He protested his battalion’s obligation to share costs. Others of the 25 CIBRG involved were 3 PPCLI and 3 RCR.