The Old Mercantile

Sometimes I will do a longer post, today just an image of a favourite building. Apparently it is full of junk and may be haunted. Enjoy this now and then of the Prudden Mercantile.

Courtesy of prairie-towns.com. Can you spot the Mercantile?

Hope everyone is staying home and staying healthy, not just for yourself but for those around you.
In the meantime, travel through blogs!

Canada 150 and Staycation Destination: Wetaskiwin AB

Sunset on Sylvan Lake

I just had 6 days off and am now back to work...needless to say, I am a bit tired today. It also means that I have time to catch up on reading blogs and work on some posts that have been partially forming in my vacation mode brain.

Over the long weekend we celebrated Canada Day (the big 1-5-0, did you know a 150th anniversary is called a sesquicentennial?) by visiting family in Calgary for a BBQ, we also had friends over, did some bike riding, yard work, sat on the patio and enjoyed the nice weather. Even though we live in a lake town, we only went down to the lake once for an evening walk and some ice cream.

There are so many great museums and attractions close by so we are going to be doing a lot of 'staycations' this year. One that we visited over the long weekend was the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, which is about an hour north of home. This huge museum focuses on transportation, aviation, agricultural machinery and industrial equipment. The current exhibit is the McLaughlin Story, telling the tale of the McLaughlin family and their contribution to the automobile industry.

There are dozens of vehicles on display, from restored to as-is. This is definitely the place for lovers of vintage automobiles! Stroll through the main gallery and take a transportation trip through time, from horse drawn carriage to early autos, 1920's grain elevator (with working parts to show how an elevator operates), 1930's service station and 1950's drive in movie theater. The aviation display is in another building and is jammed full from floor to ceiling (outside as well) with early flying 'contraptions' to vintage aircraft. This is only a fraction of their collection, which is the 2nd largest in Canada. Outside is also where you'll find the gigantic 1917 Bycyrus Dragline and a variety of agricultural equipment. I could've taken dozen of photos...here are a few highlights:

Clear the road!

I would love to own a 40's era truck, I am taking donations. Any make is fine.

Neon signs, another of my favourite things

Cruisin'

Royal Canadian Air Force jet

SCIENCE!

On the way to Wetaskiwin, you can't miss picturesque St. John's Lutheran Church and Cemetery. Of course I stopped for a photo. Beside the church is a vacant house that is for sale. I thought it might be where the Pastor lived? In any case it appears to be for sale separate from the church. I couldn't confirm if the church was still in regular use but it is well cared for and looks to be in great condition.

Matching Mailbox!

Also, because I have never been to Wetaskiwin, we took some time and drove around town. They have a 'Prehistoric' Downtown, as my son said he read on a sign. Pretty sure it said 'historic' but we were on the lookout for dinosaurs just in case.

Ghost sign, now. 

Ghost sign, then. Courtesy of Wetaskiwin & District Heritage Museum

Ghost sign and neon!

Wok On!

I hope everyone had a good Canada Day and a hope it was a Happy 4th of July for my American friends!

Ghost Signs - Winnipeg

It's 2017, let's get nutty!

Happy New Year Everyone! Today is probably my least favourite day, the Christmas decorations are down and packed away (the living room looks so booooring) and back to work tomorrow. It's also the day I look at all our Christmas cards and letters again and feel slightly bad about chucking them in the recycle bin. I picture my mother standing in the card aisle looking for the most sentimental, mushy, gushy card about what a great daughter I am and feel guilty as I toss it.  Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying one more day of whatever they want to do before it's back to work, life, school etc. 

On with the show!  Today's featured ghost signs are from Winnipeg, MB.  I spent a glorious afternoon by myself wandering around downtown Winnipeg, I was told later that was probably not the best idea but I am here to tell my tale. Winnipeg has a very picturesque downtown and I would like to get back and explore more.  

The CAN-D-MAN

You might recognize the Nutty Club name if you're in Canada. Founded in Winnipeg in 1905 by A.E. Scott and J.L. Bathgate. They still make candy, nuts, baking items and some products under the 'Food Club' label and have warehouses across Canada. Their striped packaging and logo seems to have remained the same over the years and is a nice reminder of days gone by. I found a complex of a few buildings here but found out later that the oldest buildings are on another street and I never saw them unfortunately. The Mr. Can-D-Man logo looks like he is about to tip his hat and break into some barber shop quartet style song.  I hope he never retires and I hope to see his other buildings next time I go. Here's to another 100+ years of the Nutty Club and the Can-D-Man!

Thank for visiting!  Cheers to a happy and healthy 2017!

2016: One Heck Of A Year

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
OK maybe not that dramatic but it was an interesting year...personally, creatively, nationally and globally. For me it was the year my amateur photography and infatuation with exploring the back roads of Alberta really took over. In that spirit I figured I would highlight a few of my favourite images from 2016 in no particular order.

Kirkcaldy, AB

Dorothy, AB

Daisy Bank School, near Halkirk, AB

Botha, AB

Near Didsbury, AB

Near Bowden, AB

Greenridge School, near Rumsey, AB

Vulcan County, AB

Barn near Eckville, AB

Ennerdale School, near Olds, AB

WWII Royal Canadian Air Force Aerodrome, near Vulcan, AB

Near Bentley, AB

I hope you enjoyed these, I think they sum up me and my year pretty well.  

The new year offers a new start and I am looking forward to whatever next year brings.  I don't make resolutions but I will make an attempt to blog regularly as I am really enjoying it!  I hope everyone has a fantastic 2017 and I appreciate everyone who takes the time to visit, read and comment on my blog.  Happy New Year!

Ghost Signs - Alberta

Old vs new in downtown Calgary.  See what you find while lurking in an alley!

Another favourite thing of mine is ghost signs. These you will not usually find on back roads or in rural areas. They are most likely to be found in older downtown commercial areas of cities and towns. In the US there are several great examples of ads painted on barns, but I have not ever come across one in Canada.  If you don't know what a ghost sign is, I can guarantee you've walked by one at some point and not even noticed. I bet after reading this you'll start seeing them! A ghost sign is what's left of old hand painted advertisements. These were popular in the early 1900's. I've seen them from illegible, to just uncovered (usually when an adjoining building get demolished), to restored. The paints that have lasted the longest likely contain lead, which is why in some cases you can see ads showing through other ads.

Painted over. 

With all things I photograph, you never know how long they will be around, so shoot it now, don't wait. Case and point, a ghost sign that I photographed 3 years ago has now been painted over, for no apparent reason.  This particular sign was on a side of building in a narrow alleyway, why not leave it?? You can make out 'Jenkins Groceteria'.  It was a chain in Calgary and by 1928 they had 17 stores. This was about the same time Safeway came to Calgary and offered to buy Jenkins stores.  He refused and instead opened up a bunch more in Calgary, central and southern Alberta.  He was the first in Canada to change to self-serve groceries. Now every time you go grocery shopping and grab a cart you can thank the forward thinking of Mr. Jenkins. These Groceterias have been gone for decades and now this sign is gone too.  For more info on Jenkins Groceteria 'checkout' this: http://www.glenbow.org/collections/stories/jenkins-groceteria/index.cfm.
On the flip side the revitalization of Calgary's East Village has restored some of the old buildings including some ghost signs. These include the Biscuit Block and Simmons Building pictured below.

I have many more photos of ghost signs but have chosen a few here to highlight.  If you want more info please drop me a line, I could go one for hours about these and what came next for advertising, Hint: it's bright and flashy and glowing!

The writing is on the wall:

Calgary - Simmons Building

Calgary - Biscuit Block

Downtown Calgary

Downtown Calgary

Calgary - 17th Ave SW

Calgary - Kensington (almost gone!)

Edmonton 

Medicine Hat - area now turned into a park/plaza

Coleman, AB

Lethbridge, AB

Lethbridge, AB

Nanton, AB (see similar ghost sign below)

Okotoks, AB

Fort Macleod, AB