From bootleggers to corrupt cops to cheating husbands, the community has a wealth of historical crime stories, a fact Tourism Moose Jaw plans to promote through a new trolley tour.
The first True Crime Tour launches on Friday, Sept. 11, with excursions happening at 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. This is a new endeavour for Tourism Moose Jaw, as the tour focuses exclusively on true crime stories of some of the most notorious criminals and incidents from the last 135 years.
Executive director Jacki L’Heureux-Mason was tight-lipped about what guests can expect since she wanted to keep the tour a surprise. However, she explained that the idea to have a dedicated crime stories tour percolated during the past couple of years as she revamped the ghost stories tour. She had noticed that crime stories were crawling their way into that tour and wanted to keep the ghost stories as “ghosty” as possible.
“I’m a huge podcast listener, so as I’ve been listening to more and more podcasts, I’ve gotten more and more into the concept of true crime (and) I do know it’s a very popular idea,” she said. “So I wanted to take some of our … notorious history and put it out there for people to understand it a bit more.”
So, tourism staff removed the more popular crime stories from the ghost tour and dug up more details — including using author Bruce Fairman’s book Moose Jaw Murders and other Deaths for accuracy and truth — to add to those stories. This is why the tour is geared toward residents older than age 16, as it is considered “not for the faint of heart.”
One interesting fact staff discovered was community police executed a murderess on the same that the Louis Riel trial was taking place in 1885.
Another story that sticks with L’Heureux-Mason is a murder-suicide that happened in the 1930s. The incident was a mystery to law enforcement since so little was known about it. Tourism Moose Jaw has dubbed this anecdote, “The Train Track Story.”
“It’s pretty intense and fascinating because of the motive and relationship behind it; we could not figure out at all,” she added. “It’s pretty dramatic.”
Tourism Moose Jaw is showcasing these stories in a reverent way, L’Heureux-Mason pointed out. The goal is not to glorify what happened, but instead, keep the names and memories of the victims alive, along with some of the infamous villains and the despicable things they did.
The route for this tour is new; while there are a couple of locations that will be familiar to visitors, the rest of the excursion takes people to areas of the city other tours have not visited before.
“It’s pretty intense, it’s very detailed, and I think that people who love true crime are going to love this,” she remarked.
Due to how quickly tickets have sold for the two events on Sept. 11, Tourism Moose Jaw plans to run another night on Friday, Sept. 25. Then, if the weather co-operates through the fall, it will hold more True Crime tours every Friday until the snow stays.
“I’m really excited for it. I did the dry run (recently) … ,” L’Heureux-Mason added. “I had goosebumps six separate times. I’m really pleased with it. I hope people get the same reaction I did.”
Anyone interested in attending a True Crime Tour excursion should call the tourism office at 306-693-8097 for tickets. Due to pandemic restrictions, the organization has to seat people in certain spots with the proper physical distancing measures.
