History books, websites help uncover the southeast’s forgotten history
I received an early Christmas present this year. Out of the blue, a reader of this column offered me two local histories from his collection, and I was happy to accept. I’d like to express my sincerest gratitude to Frank Horvath of Barrhead, Alberta for his kind donation. I developed a love of local histories [...]
Alberta History Matters
I only found out this week the Canadian Museum of Civilization, soon to be renamed the Canadian Museum of History, is asking Canadians: What would you put in your national history museum? What stories would you tell? How would you reach Canadians across the country? Public consultation has been ongoing for a month, and unfortunately [...]
True Grit
To eake out a living in these parts, you have to possess true grit. On a recent trip through the Eastern Irrigation District, the Calgary Sun’s Mike Drew encountered some of that grit, in the form a nascent black blizzard: The black blizzards of the Dirty ’30s became became just another part of the endless [...]
Getting it right – Alberta’s American Fact must not be forgotten
“Settlers and farmers founded this province and their values run deep. Albertans are proud, resilient, generous and independent-minded. We believe in family and freedom, and are passionately devoted to the land on which we live.” – Premier Alison Redford, speech to AAMDC Fall Convention, 24 November 2011 I started this blog two years ago to [...]
Coming soon to the Prairie Post – Forgotten Alberta
I am happy to report that starting in January 2012, select articles from the Forgotten Alberta website will begin appearing in print, on the pages of the Prairie Post newspaper. My column, to be called “Forgotten Alberta – Stories of the Southeast”, will run the third week of every month for readers in SW Saskatchewan [...]
For Vauxhall, like Retlaw before, disillusion could lead to dissolution
As some in the town of Vauxhall consider dissolving their municipality, it’s interesting to note that the town’s survival was due in part to the dissolution of the neighbouring village to the west. The former village of Retlaw, now a ghost town located six miles west of Vauxhall, was for a time considered the principle [...]
Bassano CPR Station reaches the end of the line?
It appears the days are numbered for Bassano’s 99 year old Canadian Pacific Railway passenger station. According to the Brooks Bulletin, the Town Of Bassano recently learned the Canadian Pacific Railway planned to demolish the local landmark only after they were informed by an ATCO Gas employee: “I’m a little bit disappointed that the town [...]
Something about a “Triangle”…
Federal Geologist Stephen Wolfe and Christopher Hugenholtz of the University of Lethbridge have confirmed what many of us who are from the Sunny Southeast suspected all along: A large swath of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan was an active desert just 200 years ago, with forbidding expanses of shifting sand more commonly associated with Death Valley [...]
BBC notices Canada’s ‘cowboy city’
Brooks, Alberta’s Centennial City, prepares to celebrate its centennial with murals depicting its history. The BBC notes: “The small Canadian cattle-ranching city of Brooks, in south-eastern Alberta, is preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. Painted murals depicting a proud western heritage of cattle farming, cowboys, ice hockey and the oil and gas industry [...]
About
Drawing on 100+ years of family history in southeastern Alberta, Prairie Post columnist Jonathan Koch highlights the region's almost forgotten pioneer-era people and places.
Subscribe to our feed
