TidBits from the Archives - June 6, 2025

The Ballad of Lucille Jones, Walker Turner, and some telegrams

Walker Turner, according to the Edmonton Capital, was a black man who was the secretary of the Douglas Club, a club for black folks. [1] [2] On Friday, July 3, 1914, he was interviewed as part of the investigation.

His address is listed in the transcript as the Douglas Club, at 450 Fraser Ave, now 10434 98 street, where the Royal Alberta Museum sits. [3] [4]

Interestingly enough, this is also the address Billie Morton says she was at during the first few months of 1914.

At the moment, I am not sure what the Douglas Club was. It seems to be one of many clubs that existed in the city; it was incorporated in 1913 and in October 1914, it is included in a list of clubs that have lost their liquor license. The newspaper does not say why. [5]

Turner’s interview centres not around the club, but his relationship and correspondence with a woman by the name of Lucille Jones, formerly of Edmonton, but as of the end of May 1914, in Seattle.

His interview starts with Biggar asking him “You know Mrs. Lucille Jones?” to which Turner replies with an affirmative.

Biggar then says - “She has a place on Queens Avenue, I have forgotten the number.” Turner simply responds that he thinks she lived there but doesn’t provide the missing number.

He is asked if he was at her place the night of May 16 - he doesn’t remember the exact date. Was he there when Detectives Fryant and Seymour were there?

Yes, that he does remember; he had come to see furniture Lucille Jones was selling. [6] Or at least, that’s what he says.

Fryant - May 16

May 16 was an eventful night in the city. This was the failed gambling raid plus a strange stroll about town by some police officers looking to arrest sex workers.

As with the gambling raid, they were not particularly successful in their goal.

Richard Fryant was a detective on the morality force in Edmonton, May 1914. On the evening of May 16, he started his shift at 8pm and was instructed by Detective Seymour to join him on a patrol. Seymour told him there had been several complaints about “coloured women” soliciting in the area and he wanted to catch them at it. [7] 

Fryant describes their patrol as within a 4 block range east-west and roughly a 5 block range north-south. He says they were north of the train tracks and he’s not sure exactly how far they north they went, though he thinks not up to the “Boulevard”; this appears, from comparing a current map to the 1913 fire insurance maps, to be starting at 105 Ave and ending at Norwood Boulevard, now known as 111 Ave. [8] [9]

For an estimate of their patrol area, I have put their northern boundary as 110A Ave. Fryant puts their east-west boundaries as Queens Ave (now 99th street) and Syndicate Ave (now 95th st).[10]

Around 9PM Seymour told him they needed to hurry up and get back to the station - they had a raid to pull off before midnight. [11] The police station, for reference, was at 10228 98St, three blocks south of their patrol route. [12]

However, by Fryant’s admission, they don’t make it back to the station until 1AM.

The lawyer who interviews Fryant, Albert Ewing, begins to pick apart this story.

As the raid did not start until after midnight, between 1-2AM, what had they been doing in the interval after Seymour had mentioned the raid? 

They were patrolling. And they’d been patrolling the side streets as well, not just the main ones. [13]

Ewing asks him again at what point did Seymour tell him about the raid. This time Fryant says it was on their way back down Queens Ave; Seymour told him they needed to hurry in order to conduct the raid, they were late, as it was supposed to be conducted before midnight. 

This conversation happened sometime between 12-12:15AM. [14]

On their way down Queens Ave, however, they were delayed. 

“Well, we seen a man and a woman go in this house on Queen’s Avenue, and Detective Seymour went in the back way and I went in the front,” Fryant reported. [15]

Inside they found two women and a man; everyone was placed under arrest. Seymour attempted to call for the patrol wagon to take them back to the station, but found it was already out and unable to be reached. [16]

Here is where Turner and Fryant’s stories collide.

The lady of the house, Mrs. Lucille Jones, according to Fryant, called Mr. Walker Turner and told him that the house was raided and he needed to come over. [17] But Turner has a different explanation as to how he ended up there.

Turner - May 16

Turner agrees he did come to the house that night and that Fryant and Seymour were there but that is where their agreement ends. [18] His version goes as follows:

The evening of May 16, Walker Turner went to the Pantages Theatre, a vaudeville venue, to see a show [19]. 

The Pantages Theatre was located at 10209 Jasper Ave [20] and had advertised that the week of May 16th the headliners would be Harry Girard and his wife, Agnes Cuin-Brown, performers in the company “The Luck of a Totem”. [21]

“The Luck of a Totem” is described as an “original and tuneful production and has the realistic atmosphere of the northern mining camps” and a cast of stereotyped characters are listed as having been “woven into this musical playlet” by Mr.Girard. [22] 

Other attractions for the week were:

• Woodward’s Posing Dogs, who pose in “living pictures”. They were “presented by Professor Woodward, assisted by Emmie LaToy”. 

• Harry Jolson, an operatic singer who “gives a peculiar burlesque of grand opera singing” and sang with the Orpheus Comedy Four.

• The Basy Troupe, “a group of Russian dancers, introduced by Alexander Basy”. [23]

After taking in the show (supposedly), Turner walked down Queens Ave and stopped in at Lucille Jones’ place to look over furniture she was selling.

Turner says the furniture was the only reason he came over - he had not received a telephone call from her but she did tell him she had tried to phone him once he arrived at the house. [24]

Why did she call you?

“Why would she telephone you when the detectives came to her house?” Biggar asks.

Turner has no idea. [25]

Biggar tells him that Fryant said she called him and told him the house was raided, come over.

“Did Detective Fryant say she communicated with me?” asks Turner.

“He said she said that into the telephone,” responds Biggar

“She did not talk to me.”

Biggar continues to push Turner - why would she call him this instance? Isn’t that astonishing? [26]

Turner continues to repeat he has no idea, he was concerned he was under arrest, and he was trying to leave.

Fryant’s recollection of the incident is more colourful. According to him, once Turner got there, Seymour instructed Fryant to go into the back room with the prisoners and keep watch over them.

The door between rooms was closed but Fryant was able to make out that Turner made a phone call. He wasn’t able to hear what Turner was saying but he did hear Seymour say “he didn’t like that at all, they should go down the same as anybody else.” [27]

He then heard Seymour say that he will let them go if they get out of town. When they came back into the room, Seymour turned to Turner and asked him if he could promise that they would be out by Monday, to which Turner agreed.

Fryant was instructed to let the prisoners go. [28]

Turner has a different take on events. He now says he didn’t know Lucille Jones had tried to call him until he heard Fryant mention it on the stand. [29] He is not asked about making a phone call at her place and says nothing of it.

Biggar wants to know why he stopped by so late at her place to look at furniture - did he usually conduct business at midnight? [30]

Turner insists it wasn’t that late - Biggar offers half past 11 or half past 10 as possible alternative times, both of which Turner says no to.

He reiterates that he had been at the theatre, was on his way to the “club” (presumably the Douglas Club), and stopped in at her place to look at the furniture. [31]

As to promising that Lucille and company would leave town - Turner asks why he possibly would have said that? It’s not up to him to agree that she would leave town [32].

He is careful to avoid swearing to not having said this and he avoids admitting he is contradicting Fryant. He says it was a casual conversation and he doesn’t remember the details. 

Biggar wants to know - does he have a lot of casual conversations about people leaving town? No he doesn’t and he doesn’t remember what was said in this conversation.

“You have a rather unfortunate memory?” inquiries Biggar.

“Yes, I have,” replies Turner. [33]

Telegrams

Lucille Jones did leave town, though whether she left two days later on the Monday or a week later (as suggested by Turner [34]) is unknown. 

She did end up in Seattle and exchanged at least a couple telegrams with Turner after the fact. Biggar asks him about these telegrams several times in their interview.

Biggar - “Have you communicated with her at Seattle since she left?”

Turner - “Yes, I think I have.”

Biggar - “Asking her to come back?”

Turner - “Yes.”

Biggar - “And open a house at 477 Queens Avenue under your protection?”

Turner - “No, I did not say that.”

Biggar - “What was it?”

Turner - “I do not remember the telegrams, the word of the telegrams.” [35]

Turner says the general gist of the telegrams was that he wanted to hear from her and find out how she was getting along. [36]

Biggar and the judge hammer Turner about the content of these telegrams. Turner claims he can only remember one of the ones she sent, letting him know she had arrived in Seattle safely and asking him to reply to her. [37]

Turner does not remember the date he sent his response and continues to insist he did not ask her to come set up a house with him. 

Biggar then asks him what line he sent the telegram through. Turner thinks it would have been the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway). 

And then, I imagine, to Turner’s great chagrin, Biggar lets him know that a copy of this telegram can be procured.

“Will you just leave the box now and go down to the CPR and ask them to be good enough to give you a copy of any telegrams you sent to Lucille Jones?” 

“Will they give them to me?” 

“Yes, they will give them to you and come back when you get them,” Biggar responds. [38]

Sadly, that is the last we hear from Walker Turner. The telegrams aren’t mentioned anywhere later in the transcript and I, so far, cannot find any mention of them or Walker Turner, as he relates to this case, in the papers. 

A not small part of me thinks he went down to the CPR and immediately hopped a train out of town. 

References:

1. “Also Explains Bank Deposits Made By Wife”,The Edmonton Capital, (Edmonton, AB), July 3, 1914

2. “Douglas Club Moves To Larger Quarters”, The Edmonton Capital, (Edmonton, AB), May 6, 1914

3. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 1, part I, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 160

4. Henderson Directories, Henderson’s Edmonton City Directory (1914), (Winnipeg: Henderson Directories, 1914) pg. 211, accessed through Internet Archive 

5. “34 Licensed Clubs Beginning of Year”, The Edmonton Bulletin, (Edmonton, AB), October 21, 1914

6. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part I, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1572

7. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 2, part I, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 654

8. Ibid.

9. “1913 Fire Insurance Plan, Volume 1, Sheet 61” (Rg 200.6.1, Edmonton, AB 1913) sheet 61

10. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 2, part I, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 653-654

11. Ibid.

12. Henderson Directories, Henderson’s Edmonton City Directory (1914), (Winnipeg: Henderson Directories, 1914) pg. 211, accessed through Internet Archive 

13. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 2, part I, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 653

14. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 2, part I, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 655

15. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 2, part I, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 656

16. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 2, part I, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 657

17. Ibid.

18. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 2, part I, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 658

19. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part II, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1573

20. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part II, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1572

21. Henderson Directories, Henderson’s Edmonton City Directory (1914), (Winnipeg: Henderson Directories, 1914) pg. 218, accessed through Internet Archive 

22. “Next Week’s Attractions”, The Edmonton Bulletin, (Edmonton, AB), May 9 1914

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.

25. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part II, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1573

26. Ibid.

27. Ibid.

28. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 2, part I, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 658

29. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 2, part I, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 659

30. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part II, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1574

31. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part II, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1576

32. Ibid.

33. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part II, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1579

34. Ibid.

35. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part II, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1577

36. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part II, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1576

37. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part II, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1577

38. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part II, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1580

39. “City of Edmonton Civic Investigation” (Rg 8.18,Vol 3, part II, Edmonton, AB 1914) pg. 1581