It was in the year 1910 when The Jungle Book's author Rudyard Kipling campaigned against the name change for one of Alberta's cities and saved it from becoming an economic joke.
The British author convinced the authorities in the city to stick with the name Medicine Hat rather than change it to Gasburg.
Yes, the city was on its way to becoming renamed Gasburg due to the newfound natural gas industry in the city. Thankfully, British author Kipling wrote a convincing letter to the local newspaper - Medicine Hat News - and got attention. The rest, they say, is history.
According to CBC, Philip Pype, an archivist from Esplanade Archives of Medicine Hat, the people in the city were "horrified" at the possibility of the name change. Gasburg could become the target of fart jokes in the future (referring to now) if it was approved. It would become a laughing stock when cities would gather for economic and business forums.
"He basically said that if such a place as Medicine Hat were to rename itself and turn its back on its own heritage and on its own values, it might as well rename it Judasville," Pype said.
Why did The Jungle Book author like Medicine Hat, anyway? "He was actually intrigued by the name itself and received an invitation during his trip across North America. So, he came here by train, he and his wife, and took a tour of our city and became a big fan of Medicine Hat," said Pype.
Pype further said that the author was treated as a celebrity and showed him the beauty of the city and the richness of the natural gas industry by throwing a match on a gas well, which is one of the traditions in the city.
"And certainly health and safety regulations were not what they are today. They would turn on a gas pipe at full blast, light it on fire and it would flare up several hundred feet in the air," Pype said.
The locals were trying to impress the author. Unfortunately, none of these were documented.
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