Commercial fisher, community activist.
Born at Gimli on 26 February 1918 to Blanche Bristow (1896-1930) and Svenbjorn Valgardson (1890-1946), he lived at Gimli all his life. His mother died when he was 12, her role taken over in 1932 by Katherine Victoria Koch (1912-1986) upon marriage to his father. On 9 September 1938, he married Rachel Iris “Rae” Purvis Smith (1921-2011), with whom he went on to have two children.
As a commercial fisher on Lake Winnipeg, he was devoted to fighting for industry rights. He believed that freshwater fishers were exploited by a system that saw profits go to the fishing companies and not the fishers. He fought for and helped organize the Manitoba Federation of Fishermen. Later, he worked to organize support for the Manitoba Freshwater Fish Marketing Board and was one of its directors. He was also one of the original members of the Board of Directors of the Gimli Credit Union, which saw an early period of its existence conducted in his home with the help of his wife. Eventually he took charge of building an office for the credit union in Gimli.
Another interest of his was the penny stock market, particularly mining stocks, where he became so expert in the field that brokers would call him to ask about obscure companies that were digging for gold in obscure locations. He was one of very few people who knew that diamonds had been found in Canada decades before Canada’s diamond rush began.
During the off-season when he was not fishing, he ran a barbershop, often giving his younger customers a nickel for ice cream as they left his chair. He was also known by the locals for his dapper clothing style that usually included a homburg hat and a tie, even when he was going out to set or lift his nets. Whenever asked what fishing meant to him, he unhesitatingly said, “Freedom.”
He died at Gimli on 25 July 2007 and was buried in the Gimli Cemetery.
Birth registrations [Alfred Herbert Valgardson, Rachel Iris Purvis Smith], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Death registration [Blanche Valgardson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [Alfred Herbert Valgardson, Rachael Iris Purvis Smith], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 28 July 2007.
Obituary [Rachel Iris Purvis Valgardson], Winnipeg Free Press, 3 December 2011.
“Alfred Herbert ‘Dempsey’ Valgardson,” Wallace Family Tree, Ancestry.
“Alfred Herbert “Dempsey” Valgardson,” FindAGrave.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 18 November 2024
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