Elizabeth “Lizzie” Rummel’s life story could be summed up as a riches to rags story, but that would not be at all truthful, or fair, when one considers the wealth of adventure and experiences she partook in in the Canadian Rockies in the 20th century.
Born in Germany in 1897 as Baroness Elizabet von Rummel, she and her family were forced to leave due to the beginnings of the First World War. For more than 20 years, Rummel, her two sisters and mother operated a ranch in southern Alberta, and at the age of 41 she decided to try something new and began her long career running lodges at Mt. Assiniboine and Skoki. There it is believed she picked up her nickname of Lizzie, given affectionately by her patrons and friends.
Now in the 21st century, one local woman is paying homage to Rummel’s memory with her program A Woman in Wildflowers, taking place April 27 at The Canmore Public Library, 7-8 p.m.
“I started doing a program about Lizzie in 1986 for the first time and that was for Parks Canada and mostly for tourists, but that program was not the same, and was mostly about wildflowers. This one is actually more centered on her, Lizzie was quite a good naturalist,” said A Woman in Wildflowers’ Shirley Truscott.
“It’s similar to a play, but people will learn a lot about Lizzie and her family and how they came here and about her life, especially centered around her life in Assiniboine when she had her tent camp, Sunburst Lake Camp.”
Truscott said it’s easy to see the courage and tenacity shown by a woman coming from another part of the world and class, and who was still able to take on new experiences headfirst.
“She thought she saw things differently, though I talk a bit about the riches and different kinds of treasures she gained by being here and her family story,” Truscott said. “Her mother and her two sisters and herself working at the ranch near Millarville when they came here … that’s pretty amazing and it was just circumstances that they got stuck here during the First World War and they couldn’t go back to Germany.”
A Woman in Wildflowers discusses their life on the ranch and being marooned in Canada during the war. Lizzie’s mother could also be viewed as a “pioneer” in her own right, having divorced Lizzie’s father Baron von Rummel.
“I really don’t know how scandalous it was at the time because of their class, maybe it wasn’t so scandalous among the upper classes,” Truscott said. “I don’t talk much about her father, I mention him and then I say, ‘We weren’t allowed to speak of him in the house and then later I went back to see him,’ so it is mentioned a little.”
Truscott explores Rummel’s life in the Canadian Rockies in her 50-minute program, which will include a small introduction, accompanied by a few slides at the beginning with a short voiceover, “Mainly to set the scene and for atmosphere,” Truscott said.
The program will also include Elizabeth Sorochan’s accompaniment on cello at the beginning and end of the program. Admission is by donation for the April 27 showing of A Woman in Wildflowers at Canmore Public Library.
