The Lethbridge Herald has been in publication for 115 years. During that time, it has served as the eyes, ears and voice of Lethbridge. Through photographs and articles, it has shared every facet of Lethbridge life: the exceptional and the mundane, triumphs and tragedies. The collection of Lethbridge Herald photographs stored at the Galt Museum & Archives are a visual record of the city.

Many talented photographers and photojournalists contributed their talents to the Lethbridge Herald over the years. Among the most prolific are Orville Brunelle, Lloyd Knight, David Rossiter and Ian Martens. The technology used to capture these images has changed greatly over the last century, from early 35 mm film to digital sensors. Even though the technology has changed, the most important parts of being a photojournalist haven’t changed: skill, presence and timing.

The images taken by these professionals are a wonderful historical resource and record. Several of the images have won awards and been featured in media around the world. In 1953, Orville Brunelle captured an iconic photo of Mayor Shackleford being electrocuted when he grabbed two ungrounded microphones at a Valentine’s Dance. Brunelle’s photo was featured in around 1,300 publications across the world and earned him accolades from the Canadian Press. Ian Martens won two National Newspaper Awards from the Canadian Press for his photojournalism, one for an impressive shot of a bride silhouetted against a full moon in 2008, and another for his capture of a CF-18 pilot as he ejected to safety moments before his jet crashed into the tarmac.

Discover more about the photojournalists who contributed to the Lethbridge Herald and the phenomenal reservoir of their photographs available at the Galt Museum & Archives in our new exhibit, Extra! Extra! Through the Lens of the Lethbridge Herald. Visit the online portion at www.galtmuseum.com/exhibit/extra-exhibit, and check out the in-person portion of the exhibit when we reopen to public visitors. The exhibit will be available on site until June 3, 2021. You can browse the collection of documents and objects related to the Lethbridge Herald available in our database at https://collections.galtmuseum.com.