As Seen in Central Alberta: Gadsby, Botha and More!

While on a day trip to the Stettler Town and Country Museum this weekend, (fantastic place and subject of a future post!), I made a couple of pit stops. OK...like 5 pit stops. Mainly to view 2 old schools that a friend brought to my attention. I love finding old schools on my own, either by chance or by research, but after seeing photos of these two, I knew I had to go in person. Also, it just goes to show that even after being all over an area there is always some roads you haven't been down yet.

The first stop was at the former Shooting Lake School. It was originally opened from 1907-1938, the building was condemned by the County and sold for use as a barn. In 1949 Mathano School was moved to the district and became Shooting Lake School (version 2.0), until 1953 when it became a Community Centre. It's in rough shape, open to the elements and appears to have a crumbling foundation. Glad I saw it now before it's gone.

The second school, can be found in a neighboring district and is called Big Knife. In case you were wondering, yes, there was also a Little Knife nearby. Big Knife operated from 1906-1943. It was sold to the Halkirk School District in 1954 and then sold again in 1964 to a local farmer. It stands in the same location today.

Just north of these schools is Gadsby. It is the 'Smallest Village in Alberta'. The 2016 population was 40, up from 25 in 2011.  Population boom!! There are a few interesting buildings, including a church with a very steep peaked roof.  It piqued my curiosity. I'd love a peek inside this beautiful old place. There was no sign or marker outside, but I read that this was the Gadsby United Church built in 1910. It has been repainted sometime in or around 2010.

There is also an old 2 storey brick former bank building, common design in many small towns it seems. That picture is not included here (technical difficulties). Also found an old store front with mostly unintelligible words...I can see 'Service Shop' and 'Repairs'. Also, likely newer old writing, 'Ye Ole Ice Cream Shoppe'.

Peaked and Piqued! 

Garage/Ice Cream Shoppe, probably not at the same time.

Next stop, Botha! To pay a visit my favourite old building. I think you can see why from the photo. It's even haunted, if you believe in that sort of thing. Unfortunately its been boarded up more recently. It's sad to see this majestic building boarded up.

Last but not least, a barn. One of my favourites. It was fall last time I saw it, so it's nice to see it in the summer surrounded by lush green fields.

Happy to see me?

Special thanks to Tim for the tips on the schools and to my kiddo for coming on another adventure with me. There's no one I'd rather be with on a backroad trip.

Auburndale: Massachusetts to Alberta

I drove by this area on my travels, and since it would be wrong to pass by an old church or school without stopping, I stopped.

Auburndale is an unincorporated area in East Central Alberta, between Vermilion and Wainwright. Like many of these areas, it used to be the centre of a community. I spotted what looked like a school then the Church and cemetery. In reading more about this place, I found that a post office was in operation here from 1907-1944. The first postmaster was L.W.Crowe from Auburndale, Massachusetts.

More often than not, the community centre was once a school. The Auburndale School, as it was originally called, opened in 1908. In 1917 it changed names to become Battleview School. The Battleview School was centralized with 3 other schools in 1954. The Battleview Community Association then bought the school in 1955. I am not 100% sure if this is that school but with the original Auburndale name. I have seen that happen before so it is a plausible explanation.

Auburndale Community Centre

The Auburndale Church building was completed in 1924, but there has been missionaries in the area since 1908. Upon formation of the United Church of Canada on June 10, 1925, the Auburndale United Church was dedicated that afternoon, giving it the distinction of being the first church to be dedicated under the newly formed United Church. Boooom, HISTORY!

Auburndale United Church

Have a great weekend everybody! Alberta is in the middle of a 'heat wave', so I will be enjoying the sun and also enjoying my cool basement when I have had enough heat...the best of both worlds!

References: Pioneering With a Piece of Chalk; Earnest Minded Men: An Account of Local Government in the County of Vermilion River.

July 12th - Update! Thank you to everyone who has read and shared this post, it has reached more people than my usual posts, which makes my day!  If anyone has old photos of the Auburndale area, I would love to see them! My email is jktanaka@gmail.com

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!

That's a Wrap! Part 3: The Ranch House

I intended to post Part 3 (of this 3 part series) closer to the first 2 but other adventures happened and more photos got taken and truth be told, I am not very organized. So there you have it.

If you've been reading my blog, you may recall my trip to a western movie set in Southern Alberta earlier in May with the BigDoer team. You can view the previous posts here if you'd like:
Part 1: Outlaw Camp
Part 2: Western Town

Scene from Monte Walsh (Google Images)

The Ranch set was were I took the most photos. The sun was setting while we were there which made for a totally different set of photos from when we first arrived. I got to play around a bit with my camera and try some different settings.

There was a main house, a couple other smaller houses/shacks, a barn and a shed that inside looked like a blacksmith shop. The main house appeared to be a beautiful grand stone building. Upon closer inspection it was a hard foam like material made to look like stone. Well done set designers, well done. Just for fun above is a photo of the house in the movie 'Monte Walsh' starring Tom Selleck. Of course, there have been many movies, TV shows, commercials and music videos filmed here but this is the only still I could find showing the house. I don't even mind Tom Selleck blocking part of it.

There isn't much I haven't already said in the other parts of this series. The backdrop of the foothills and Rocky Mountains will forever take my breath away no matter how many times I see it (and I grew up in the area!). These buildings look like they belong here and it certainly doesn't feel like a movie set. I wonder what it is like when filming is happening? I imagine a lot of people running around making sure everything is just right. Perhaps a director on a megaphone shouting directions and actors and actresses in costume waiting for their scene. QUIET ON SET!

Barn full of prop animal skulls

One of my hosts, Chris of 'BigDoer' in his signature yellow jacket

Thanks again to Chris and Connie for allowing me to tag along on this adventure! I had an amazing time and took a ton of photos and enjoyed the company, hope to do it again in the future!

The Leaning Church of Bresaylor, SK

Bresaylor, Saskatchewan. What can I say about this place that will accurately portray my short time there? I am not a writer, in fact I have always disliked writing. I like to think of myself as a recreational photographer who has to say something about the photos I take. I am fully aware that my writing could be better and I look up synonyms a lot to avoid using the same words over and over. I really hope the pictures tell the story when I cannot.

Photo Courtesy of Sask History Online

A friend suggested I stop and see a church in Bresaylor.  I noticed that it was not far from Paynton, so I added it to my stops. I thought Bresaylor was a town but it's what's left of a hamlet and is now a heritage museum. If you look at the historic photo above, you can see it was a small village with 2 grain elevators across the road and the church in the top right, where it still sits. There is still a grain elevator across the highway, it's privately owned and repainted to read 'Blais Farms'. I read it is the old Federal Elevator as pictured above. It also appears to have been moved a bit west and turned a quarter turn judging by the buildings I recognize in the photo and where I was standing when I took the photo.

There was not a person in sight in Bresaylor but a sign that pointed to a house that said Museum Office and Gift Shop. The door was not open so I looked it up online and called a number that came up...I didn't come all this way to not see the church and I didn't want to go traipsing through someones property. A did get someone on the phone and asked if I could just take photos of the church and be on my way. She offered to come let us into the museum but warned they hadn't been cleaned or made ready for visitors. I didn't want to bother her and make her come from wherever she was but she insisted it was no trouble and to give her 10 minutes. While waiting for her we walked to the church, through a maze of fences and openings, and took some photos. I was instantly infatuated with this old, tilted, quirky looking church.

I assumed the lady I spoke to lived close but she came out of one of the houses in 'town'. I mistakenly thought that no one lived there. Oops. I had just met Velma, the museum curator, resident, groundskeeper and owner of the church. Velma was originally from the area but it was when she had returned to visit relatives that she found out the church was not being used, this drew her back to the area. She bought the church and actually lived in for a time. The church, Ste. Anne's Anglican, was built in 1906, coinciding with the arrival of the railroad, although services had been held in various homes and schools since 1882. The last service was held in 1966 for Joseph Sayers Sr. Velma has had the church foundation repaired but as you can see it has a lean to it due to being it being partially lifted and plopped back down during a tornado! The cost is too much to restore it completely.

The name Bresaylor is a mix of the 3 founding family names, the Bremners, the Sayers, and the Taylors. These Métis families had come here from Manitoba together in 1882. The museum contains artifacts from these early settlers as well as from the Barr Colonists who settled the area a bit later, around 1903. There is a ton of interesting history here!

Office and Gift Shop, former Bresaylor elevator across the highway

The Main museum house is known as the Alex Lennie house and was added to the Register of Canada's Historic Places in 2009. It was built in 1907. You can see this house (and possibly the office) in the historic photo, it is also still in it's original place. More on this house can be found here. Velma let us in through the back of the house. Inside the back entry the floor felt a bit soft under the old linoleum, I am guessing people normally enter through the front door. The museum as well as the office in the other house, were full of photos, old tools, kitchen implements, gadgets, the old post office window, and old Apple Mac computer (like I had in the late 80's at school), cobwebs, memories and history. These kinds of places are the types of places you need to see more than once because chances are you've missed something. I can't believe I didn't take photos inside! I guess I was busy listening to Velma. You can tell how much she cares about this place and it made me wonder what will become of it in the future?

The marker reads: This Plaque was Dedicated in the Jubilee Year 1955 to Honour the Pioneers who
Founded the Bresaylor Settlement in the N.W.T ? to 1905. Year unreadable but 1882 would make sense.

School Marker for Federal School #4048 1918-?

I gave Velma my address (mail not email) so I can receive the Bresaylor newsletter. I'd like to visit again and keep up with the activities. Thanks for reading!