The first version of the News logo, from 1959.--ARCHIVED IMAGE
The Medicine Hat News logo is one of the most iconic pieces of our city’s history. More than just the News, it’s on city police cars, and flies on a flag at city hall – almost everyone has seen the effigy of the “Medicine Man” logo.
Recently at the Archives, we welcomed a researcher from the United States who was venturing to our city for the first time to study some of our collections, and brought up a question I hadn’t put much thought into before: Who drew the logo?
The question seemed quite straightforward, but when I really started to look into it, I found that the answer wasn’t easily available in our records, or in the records at the News. Combing through issues of the Medicine Hat News, I found the first use of the logo in early 1959. Yet, there appeared no other information about who the logo was of, or who the artist of the logo was.
One of the greatest tools we have for information sharing in archives are the grassroots connections within in our own community, including a post on social media and talking to a few regular archives users. Once I reached out, I heard from people with tattoos of the logo, people who pointed me to the logo’s use on vintage BATUS souvenirs, and finally I received the breakthrough tip: a name of an ‘English fellow’, Ted Tate.
Edward Victor Theodore “Ted” Tate was born in Yeovil, England, and through his service during the Second World War, trained with the R.A.F at the Service Flying Training School (S.F.T.S) in Medicine Hat. He fell in love with the city, and also with Miss Mabel Storrs, and he immigrated to Canada in 1946, marrying Mabel in October of that same year.
He was a graphic artist, and his obituary notes, with little fanfare: “he used his talents at the Medicine Hat News, which can be seen in the form of the “Medicine Man” as the newspapers’ logo.” While it’s difficult to know who (if anyone) that Mr. Tate modeled the logo after, there was a suggestion it could be in relation to Chief Tatanga Mani or Chief Walking Buffalo, a Stoney-Nakoda elder who went on a world tour in 1959 promoting peace and Indigenous rights and culture – the same year the first News logo version was created. Chief Tatanga Mani was well known for his buffalo-horned regalia he wore, which is very distinctive and shares some similarity to the one worn in the News logo.
Unfortunately, Mr. Tate passed away in 1992, and the full details of his work on the logo may never be revealed. Yet, I was able to pass along the answers to the visiting researcher, and highlight Mr. Tate: a humble, quiet man, who loved this city. It is through his artistic work that we have such a well-known piece of our Medicine Hat personality, vision and history, 65 years in the making.
For more information about any historical research you might be doing or archival records you are looking for, visit the Archives Reading Room in person Tuesday to Friday, noon to 5 p.m., or check out collections.esplanade.ca 24/7.
Jenni Barrientos is the assistant archivist at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre
