Inner-Row Jumper - May
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Carver: Ed Sczesny
Painters: Sharon Abbott, Marney Allen & Maxine
MacKay
Size: 36" chest to rump
Status: finished
Sponsor: Marion Taylor Blackett
Local artists, Sharon Abbott and Lauren Baker, collaborated on May's design. Prior to sponsorship, carver Ed Sczesny affectionately called his horse "Rosie" - short for Alberta Rose. One look at her happy face tells you why. Ed, an accountant, just loved working on this beautiful horse. In fact, he misses his horse more than his fellow carvers when he is away! Sharon Abbott, Marney Allen and Maxine MacKay have combined their artistic talents in bringing May to life. Our sweet May is truly an Alberta Rose.
PTC horses often carried banners and shields. Although the shield may have depicted the logo of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, it did not always do so. It frequently carried the insignia of the company purchasing the carousel. This practice suggested to us the appropriateness of a flag/banner emblazoned with the emblem of the Province of Alberta. The Alberta Rose, the official flower of the province, seemed like a most suitable additional embellishment.
Sponsor Marion Taylor Blackett, always referred to as May by her family and friends, was raised on a “gentleman’s” farm on the outskirts of Edmonton in the early 1900s. She married Cecil Robert Blackett following graduation in nursing from the University of Alberta. Although she left Alberta over fifty years ago, her favourite flower has remained the Wild Alberta Rose.
The Blacketts came to Edmonton in 1903 from the Klondike in Atlin, British Columbia, becoming one of the founding families of Edmonton. Indeed, throughout his life, Cecil told stories of playing as a child on the original site of Fort Edmonton, located just below the present-day Legislature Building.