We always called it Viewpoint because of the panorama from the point on its eastern edge, remembers Muriel Clarke, daughter of five-time Edmonton mayor Joe Clarke. Muriel, now 85, still lives in the family home at 7852 Jasper Avenue, overlooking the valley. It was a great place to grow up because it had everything recreation, a streetcar nearby and downtown just a short ride away.

Known as Fightin Joe, Clarke was a quick-tempered champion of the underdog and a man always ready to take up a challenge. His most notable achievement while mayor from 1919 to 1938 was perhaps getting the federal government to donate the land for an athletic park for Edmonton, which later became the site of Clarke Stadium. Joe travelled to Ottawa to personally convince his friend Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to make the deal.

Clarke was also renowned for his ability to negotiate with his fists, such as the time he and Mayor William MacNamara had a skirmish inside Council Chambers. The fistfight spilled outside and onto the street.

The Clarkes lived next to the Blatchfords, the family of Kenneth Blatchford, who served as mayor between 1924 and 1926 before being elected as a Member of Parliament for Edmonton East in 1926. The two-storey house at 7864 Jasper Avenue was built in 1919 and, when the Blatchfords moved in, their daughter Grace was just four years old.

We used to play down in the valley and in the ravine, recalls Grace, whos now 87. I can still remember we used to go down to the end of the point and have a wiener roast. They were great days.

She also remembers men coming around during the Depression, desperate for work. My mom used to get them to chop wood in return for lunch and then they would eat overlooking the river valley.

There have been a lot of changes in the old neighbourhood over the years, with big new houses replacing some of the older diminutive ones and additions and renovations changing the character of most of the vintage homes. Blatchford House, which endured virtually unaltered until the 1960s, was the subject of an extensive renovation in 1969, says current owners Ron and Sharyn Hewitt, who have now listed the house for sale.

The Hewitts bought the property five years ago and launched an ambitious rejuvenation of the house. We just fell in love with the house and the neighbourhood, Ron explains.

Their love for Viewpoint made it all the more difficult to decide to put their house on the market. Its a lifestyle decision, basically. Were buying a place down in the old brickyard in Riverdale.

Ron says the history of the house has drawn him into the life of Kenneth Blatchford, who was born in Minnesoda, Manitoba March 5th, 1882 to Scottish-Canadian parents. He arrived in Edmonton in the 1890s and initially earned a living selling papers and periodicals. During the Klondike Gold Rush, he operated the old Fraser grist mill in the river valley and later was employed at the Edmonton Power plant.

In 1904, he married Grace Lauder Walker and the couple were to have three children little Grace and two sons. Kenneth was an expert wrestler and keen athlete in his youth and was educated at high school and commercial college. In the 1920s he began working as an insurance and real estate broker and was elected alderman in 1922.

He went on to serve two years as mayor in 1924, becoming the first mayor of genuine working class background. Blatchford then ran in 1926 as the Liberal candidate Edmonton East and won, defeating Ambrose Bury, another councillor and soon-to-be mayor.

Grace remembers her father as a man driven by a love of public life and service and guided by a strong intellect. I entered a contest to come up with a name for Edmonton and he suggested Gateway to the North. It didnt win, but all these years later, thats how Edmonton is known, so obviously my father was onto something.

In its early days, Edmontons municipal airport was called Blatchford Field, named for Kenneth. During the citys 25th anniversary celebrations in 1929, he predicted: If we could all return in 30 years, we should find a scene of progress beyond our most extreme imaginings.

Unfortunately, Kenneth Blatchford was not around to see his prediction come to pass. When the stock markets crashed in October 1929, Grace says he lost a pile of wealth and never really recovered from the jolt. He was reported missing April 20, 1933 and his body was found in the North Saskatchewan River two days later, just below his Viewpoint home. He was 51.

Unable to pay the bills, the bank foreclosed on the house and the family was kicked out. I still miss it sometimes, Grace says. She married Rev. Jack Barford, son of Edmonton musician Vernon Barford and between 1946 and 1953 they lived in a Viewpoint house at 11032 76th Street. Rev. Barford passed away five years ago.

While the Blatchfords were forced to move by the banks foreclosure in the mid-1930s, the Clarke family stayed put and, even after all these years, Muriel still calls the old neighbourhood home. My father called this house our shack and said we would move onto something bigger and better, but we never did. Im glad we didnt.

Next week: A sheriff, a builder and a vaudeville king who also made Viewpoint their home. If you'd like to offer your thoughts, please drop me an email at lawrenceherzog@hotmail.com. For information on reprints of previously published articles, check out my website at www.lawrenceherzog.com