ANDREW BOWER

Tombstone Location:
Memorial Wall North
02nd Column
02nd Plaque from the top

Hello. My name is Andrew Bower and I was connected with some of the pioneer – and tragic – history of Waterton Lakes National Park.

For several years in the early to mid 1920s, I was a popular Park Warden at Waterton Lakes. My outgoing personality and efficient work ethic won me many accolades with the public and fellow workers. My promising career was tragically cut short when I passed away at 3 p.m. the afternoon of Saturday, June 6th, 1925. Although the details of my untimely death were hard to piece together as I was alone at the time of my accident, it appears that I was bucked off my horse while on Park duty mid day the previous Wednesday. The unfortunate calamity took place at an old saw mill site on Stoney Creek Ridge situated half way between the Belly River Park Wardens’ station and the Waterton Mills townsite to the west. Here I lay undiscovered for nearly thirty hours, suffering much due to exposure from the mountain weather conditions as it was raining and snowing. I was found late on Thursday and rushed in pioneer style to the Cardston hospital.

I was a resident of Pincher Creek and was a member of the Masonic Lodge as well as the United Church. My funeral was well attended. In addition to my widow Mary, there were six small children, three boys and three girls, in the family.

Previous to being appointed to the Park service at Waterton Lakes, I worked as a Forest Ranger for the Crow’s Nest Forest Reserve. Here I was stationed at Kelly’s Camp located at the confluence of the South and West Branches of the South Fork of the Oldman River (now known as the Castle River). I knew the back country trails well.

I was born in Scotland on April 16th, 1886, immigrating to Canada as a young adult. I served with the Royal North West Mounted Police for seven years before enlisting in 1916 for overseas service during the Great War. At that point, my family and I resided in Lundbreck.