George "Baldy Red" Yeomans - Hythe, Alberta
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 55° 18.894 W 119° 33.087
11U E 338087 N 6132799
George "Baldy Red" Yeomans sign is in the Hythe Cemetery just west on 672 Hwy. near the junction of Hwy. 43 and south of Hythe.
Waymark Code: WM1186J
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 09/04/2019
Views: 1
GEORGE "BALDY RED" YEOMANS
1877 - 1936
"Baldy Red", well-named with his shiny bald head rimmed with a flaming fringe, was well known throughout the Peace Country in the early 1900's.
He was a freight hauler who was convinced he was performing a public service by combining bootlegging with his legitimate business. Baldy was happiest when he could outfox the law and successfully deliver his illegal merchandise and to do this he was capable of amazing feats.
One especially notable effort was when he enlisted the help of two unsuspecting Catholic Sisters who needed a ride in this freight sleigh. He seated them comfortably on packing cases and kept them warm with buffalo robes knowing that no self-respecting Mountie would search a sleigh with the good Sisters aboard. Little did the Sisters know the cases they were sitting on were full of whiskey nor did any Mountie conduct a search.
Baldy was also known for "adopting" the odd horse or cow that did not belong to him. When he know, this is my rope but I don't know how the cow got attached to it." confronted by a Constable asking "Who's cow have you get there, Baldy?" his reply was "I don't know, this is my rope but I don’t know how the cow got attached to it.
Strangely enough, no one believed his story and he was invited to be a guest of the Government at the Provincial Gaol in Fort Saskatchewan.
George "Baldy Red" Yeomans died at the age of 69 and was buried on February 14, 1936.
Transcribed from sign
He was known as the most famous bootlegger and is buried in the Hythe Cemetery.
Hythe Cemetery is within the County of Grande Prairie No. 1 in northwestern Alberta and was established around 1929. This cemetery has approximately 397 known interments and is about 8.5 areas in size. There is a circular roadway through the cemetery which is quite flat. The only trees line most of the perimeter. These seems to be a large unused portion to the west side of the cemetery, the roadway passes through this area.
"Kelly Sunderman was an early settler in the region and was the first to dig a well in Hythe and the town was soon known as "The Town of Flowing Wells. It is situated on top of a large underground water supply."
"HISTORY OF HYTHE, ALBERTA
Hythe was first known as Happy Valley named after "Happy Fletcher" one of the early homesteaders. It was officially named Hythe by its early settlers after their home town in England. In 1913, the first post office was established." Source: Discover Peace Country