A significant name in Calgary’s political history was remembered in a ceremony on Wednesday that saw the return of an Olympic Plaza brick to his family.
Infamously know for his “Ralph Bucks,” former Calgary Mayor and Alberta Premier Ralph Klein saw a brick inscribed with his name handed over to his daughter.
“He cared, he loved Albertans, he loved Calgarians…this is his home,” said Teresa Klein. “He loved everybody here, so to be able to take this piece back and keep it for the family, keep it in Calgary, it’s an incredible honour.”
As the city’s 32nd mayor, Klein oversaw the 1988 Winter Olympic Games and the construction of Olympic Plaza. The site once housed over 33,000 inscribed bricks.
The bricks were engraved by residents who paid $19.88, as a way to memorialize the 1988 olympics. People were invited to pick up their legacy bricks earlier this month after efforts to convince the city to return the bricks to Calgarians.
The city initially said it wouldn’t be able to return them when it announced the Arts Commons and Olympic Plaza transformation.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek was on hand Wednesday to present the brick with Klein’s name to his daughter Teresa.
“These bricks are not merely mementoes, they are reminders of the immense contributions that your loved ones made to our city,” said Gondek.
Gondek said a place for the brick to commemorate the late Klein’s legacy is also currently in the works.
“An amazing legacy,” said Teresa Klein. “And that’s the whole point of having a legacy, it just carries on forever.”
Wednesday’s ceremony also included a brick returned to Charlene Love, the widow of Rod Love, who served as a chief of staff to Ralph Klein during his tenure as mayor and premier of Alberta.