Lethbridge doesn’t talk about “Those Women,” — you know the ones I’m talking about. Prostitutes — the seedy underbelly of Lethbridge which nobody wants to talk about.
Well, local author Belinda Crowson, thinks the time has come to talk about them, so she wrote a book — “We Don’t Talk About those Women— Lethbridge’s Red Light District— 1880s to 1944.”
“I’m not tying to glorify prostitution. I’m trying to personalize it,” Crowson said adding she put two years of research into her second book trying to give a face to “those women.” It will be released this Thursday night with a Reader’s Theatre at the Galt Museum. Seven local actors including community members (including me) as well as Galt Museum volunteers and university students will be reading excerpts from the book and fictionalized accounts of what Crowson envisioned happening at the time.
I’m playing Northwest Mounted Police, Superintendent R Burton Deane writing the 1894 annual report, which includes his observations about the issue. As well, other actors are playing Madame Madeleine having a discussion with a local minister as well as another Madame, Miss Miller discussing the issue with one of her staff, Pearl writing an angry letter to the editor defending prostitution against Octave Ursenbach as well as Mayor W.D.L Hardie and Alderman Dr. James Lovering in the midst of a pre-election debate.
“I think I wrote it just because I kept hearing so many questions which lead to a lot of people wanting to know more,” Crowson continued adding research began with James Gray’s book “Red Lights on The Prairies,” which was followed by newspapers which had accounts of these women’s court cases followed by accounts from people who actually lived in the Red Light District with the women.