Lady Isabella Lougheed or Belle as she was fondly known, was a remarkable woman.  Lately I have had the good fortune to come to know her as I have been invited to come to her beloved Beaulieu Mansion (also called Lougheed House) to share stories of her family life for Alberta Culture Days 2014.

It is an honourable journey that we undertake as storytellers, as detectives.  It is also a daunting one.

Where do you start?

I began with a meeting with Adrienne Leicht and her peers who work to preserve the stories of Lougheed House. My primary tools were bequeathed to me there.  I was given a copy of Dr. Donald B. Smith’s Book – Calgary’s Grand Story and Jennifer Bobrovitz and Trudy Cowan’s information booklet; Lougheed House.   Both were an excellent starting place for me and a great inspiration for my stories.  Don Smith’s book is a marvelous compendium of information; the result of countless years of carefully pouring through archival documents and other written sources as well as interviews with what must be more than 150 people.  I give great thanks to him for his exhaustive efforts to uncover rich stories of our community of Calgary.

I carried out my own interviews with family and friends of the Lougheeds.  I read excerpts of Brock Silverside’s book Fort de Prairies; the Story of Fort Edmonton.  A tour of the house led by Jessica was a bonus!  I spent a great deal of time too dreaming and imagining that I could slip into the skin of Isabella Lougheed.  I dreamed about her days both as a young child and then through the years as she watched her family grow.  She and James entered into the community of Calgary as leaders and role models.  Perhaps they were the annointed ones.  Perhaps they were simply lucky to be there near the beginning.  Whatever the reason, it cannot be denied that Lady Isabella gave her heart to our community and did her utmost to bring beauty, culture and a sense of belonging to those around her.

She made waves as far away as Montreal for a reporter at the Montreal Star commented on her special talents as hostess both at the family Bungalow at Banff and at Beaulieu.  “She is an ideal hostess, full of honest fun and unassuming.”

Her generosity paid off in spades for when Beaulieu was repossessed by the city of Calgary during the depression due to the family’s inability to pay taxes, they allowed the mistress to stay and live out her final years at Beaulieu, the beautiful place that was her home.

Later, I will include a photo of her here.  Come to Lougheed House at 1 pm Saturday, September 27th to share tea with Lady Isabella and Mr. Grierson her butler.  Indeed they will be there from 1:30 until 4 pm.  If you are sympathetic listeners, she may offer some of her best stories with you!