John Wesley Fry

John Wesley Fry
John Wesley Fry
21st Mayor of Edmonton
	In office; November 10, 1937 –November 7, 1945
Preceded by	Joseph Clarke
Succeeded by	Harry Ainlay
Alderman on the Edmonton City Council
	In office; November 9, 1932 –November 10, 1937
Personal details
Born	December 5, 1876; Woodstock, Ontario, Canada
Died	December 23, 1946 (aged 70); Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Political party	Citizens Committee, Civic Government Association, United Citizens of Edmonton, Independent
Children	Four daughters, one son
Profession	Teacher, realtor
Signature

Last updated April 12, 2019

John Wesley Fry (December 5, 1876 – December 23, 1946) was a politician in Alberta, Canada and a mayor of Edmonton.

Alberta is a western province of Canada. With an estimated population of 4,067,175 as of 2016 census, it is Canada's fourth most populous province and the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces. Its area is about 660,000 square kilometres (250,000 sq mi). Alberta and its neighbour Saskatchewan were districts of the Northwest Territories until they were established as provinces on September 1, 1905. The premier has been Rachel Notley since May 2015.

Edmonton Provincial capital city in Alberta, Canada

Edmonton is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchors the north end of what Statistics Canada defines as the "Calgary–Edmonton Corridor".

Biography

Early life

John Fry was born in Woodstock, Ontario on December 5, 1876. He grew up in Woodstock and Owen Sound and moved to Regina, Saskatchewan in 1897 to attend Normal School. He received his teaching certificate and taught for three years in Gainsborough, Saskatchewan. He married and moved to a homestead near Lloydminster.

Woodstock is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The city has a population of 40,902 according to the 2016 Canadian census. Woodstock is the seat of Oxford County, at the head of the non-navigable Thames River, approximately 128 km from Toronto, and 43 km from London, Ontario. The city is known as the Dairy Capital of Canada and promotes itself as "The Friendly City".

Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Sherwood No. 159.

Gainsborough is a village within the Rural Municipality of Argyle No. 1, in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. A small farming community, the village is located on Highway 18 in the southeastern corner of Saskatchewan, the corner-most community in the province. Gainsborough is approximately 4 miles from the Manitoba border, and 12 miles from the North Dakota, United States border. The village had a population of 254 in the 2016 Canada Census,.

In 1911, he moved to Edmonton and entered the contracting and real estate business.

Political career

John Wesley Fry sought office eleven times in his political career, and was never defeated. His first attempt took place in the 1932 election, when he ran for the position of alderman on Edmonton City Council. He was elected, finishing second of fifteen candidates. He was re-elected in the 1934 and 1936 elections, finishing second each time (of eighteen and sixteen candidates, respectively).

The Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Fry resigned midway through his third two-year term to run for mayor in the 1937 election, challenging incumbent Joseph Clarke. He defeated Clarke by three thousand votes, and would go on to be re-elected in 1938 (defeating three challengers, including Clarke), 1939 (defeating local member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta Samuel Barnes), 1940 (defeating two challengers), 1941 (defeating alderman George Campbell), 1942 (by acclamation), 1943 (defeating Thomas Cairns), and 1944 (defeating Rice Sheppard). He did not seek re-election in the 1945 election, and did not seek political office again thereafter.

Joseph Andrew Clarke was a Canadian politician and lawyer. He served twice as mayor of Edmonton, Alberta, was a candidate for election to the House of Commons of Canada and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and was a member of the Yukon Territorial Council.

Personal life, death, and legacy

In addition to his political activities, John Wesley Fry was a member of the Kiwanis Club, the Masonic Lodge, the Union of Alberta Municipalities, and the Canadian Federation of Mayors and Municipalities (serving as President of the latter two). He died December 23, 1946, survived by his wife, four daughters, and one son. One of his daughters, Gladys Fry Douglas, was captain of the Edmonton Grads basketball team (undisputed world champions for seventeen years before they disbanded in 1940 and called by basketball's inventor, James Naismith, the "finest basketball team that ever stepped out on a floor").

Freemasonry or Masonry consists of fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons, which from the end of the fourteenth century regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. The degrees of Freemasonry retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of Apprentice, Journeyman or fellow, and Master Mason. The candidate of these three degrees is progressively taught the meanings of the symbols of Freemasonry, and entrusted with grips, signs and words to signify to other members that he has been so initiated. The initiations are part allegorical morality play and part lecture. The three degrees are offered by Craft Freemasonry. Members of these organisations are known as Freemasons or Masons. There are additional degrees, which vary with locality and jurisdiction, and are usually administered by their own bodies.

The Edmonton Grads were a Canadian women's basketball team. While long disbanded, the team continues to hold the North American record for the sports team with the best winning percentage of all time. The Grads won the first women's world title in basketball in 1924.

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one or more one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.

His eight years as mayor were the longest in Edmonton's history at that point. William Hawrelak surpassed the record in 1963 (Hawrelak, who served three non-consecutive stints as mayor, would serve a total of more than nine years). Fry's record of eight consecutive years as mayor stood until 2003, when Bill Smith surpassed it.

William Hawrelak was a politician in Alberta, Canada, the longest-serving mayor in Edmonton's history, and a candidate for election to the House of Commons of Canada.

William Smith is a Canadian businessman, former politician, and former professional football player. Smith was a mayor of Edmonton, Alberta from 1995 until 2004. Smith was a Grey Cup champion with the Edmonton Eskimos.

John Fry Park, a baseball park in Edmonton, is named in Fry's honour.

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References

Preceded by Joseph Clarke	Mayor of Edmonton 1937–1946	Succeeded by Harry Dean Ainlay

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John Wesley Fry


21st Mayor of Edmonton
In office November 10, 1937 –November 7, 1945
Preceded by	Joseph Clarke
Succeeded by	Harry Ainlay
Alderman on the Edmonton City Council
In office November 9, 1932 –November 10, 1937

Personal details
Born	December 5, 1876 Woodstock, Ontario, Canada
Died	December 23, 1946(1946-12-23) (aged 70) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Political party	Citizens Committee, Civic Government Association, United Citizens of Edmonton, Independent
Children	Four daughters, one son
Profession	Teacher, realtor
Signature

v t e Mayors of Edmonton
McCauley Wilson Gallagher McDougall Edmiston MacKenzie Short MacKenzie May Griesbach McDougall Lee Armstrong Short McNamara Henry Evans Clarke Duggan Blatchford Bury Douglas Knott Clarke Fry Ainlay Parsons Hawrelak Mitchell Roper Hawrelak Dantzer Dent Hawrelak Cavanagh Purves Decore Cavanagh Reimer Smith Mandel Iveson
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