Baby born on bridge, named Poncella (“bridge”)

On April 21, 1935, there was a traffic jam on the High Level Bridge in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

In the back of a taxicab stuck on the bridge, a baby girl was born to Mrs. Edward Beauchamp.

The Beauchamps asked the public for help naming the baby, and the Edmonton Journal turned it into a contest, putting up a $5 prize.

Now Mr. Beauchamp has suggested to the Journal that it think of a name for his baby daughter and which is symbolical of the event, and having due regard to the fact that it occurred on the high level bridge.

We thought of Bridget or Bridgette, or maybe “Girda,” but we are leaving it to Journal readers. The successful name, of course, must be acceptable to the parents.

(“Girda” would be a reference to a girder bridge.)

The winning name, suggested by a twelve-year-old girl, was “Poncella” — roughly “this one from the bridge” in French. (The French word for “bridge” is pont.)

The baby’s full name was Olive Marie Poncella Beauchamp.

Sources:

• Christensen, Jo-Anne and Dennis Shappka. An Edmonton Album: Glimpses of the Way We Were. Toronto: Dundurn Press Ltd., 1999
• “‘Who’s Got a Pretty Name for Me?’ Is the High Level Taxicab Baby’s Plea.” Edmonton Journal. (See image; I don’t know the date or page number.)