Tag Archives: #FABTrip15

General, I'm just sayin', Places, Road trips, Stories

Mike Drew, Hemaruka, and A mention in passing

March 19, 2021 Jonathan Koch 4 Comments

My friend and colleague, Lorena Franchuk, alerted me to the fact that the legendary Calgary Sun photographer and columnist, Mike Drew, was on CBC Radio earlier today.

While I don’t know him personally, Mike was a great inspiration to me in the early days of this project. I was pleased to hear he and I are clearly cut from the same cloth, as he adheres to the same philoshphy on the Rockies as myself: you’ve seen one mountain, you’ve seen them all.

Be sure to listen in here:

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-1/clip/15832445

The interview was also notable for the surprising amount of time taken discussing the desert outpost of Hemaruka.

Located roughly about half-way between Veteran and Youngstown on SH 884, this almost forgotten prairie burg is notable for its name, which is derived from a rather prolific railroad official named Warren:

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Places, Road trips, Sights

#2015bestnine from Forgotten Alberta

January 4, 2016 Jonathan Koch Leave a comment

That was fun. Thanks everyone for the likes in 2015, and all the best in 2016! #2015bestnine

A photo posted by Jonathan Koch (@forgotten_alberta) on Dec 30, 2015 at 10:27am PST

People, Places, Road trips, Sights, Stories, The Map

#FABTrip15: Bindloss, Buffalo, and beyond.

December 17, 2015 Jonathan Koch 18 Comments

Leaving Empress, we journeyed westward, following the abandoned Royal Line onto our next stop, the hamlet of Bindloss. Located in Special Areas No. 2, Bindloss, according to ‘Place Names of Alberta’, is named after Harold Bindloss (1866-1945), a prolific British author of “western” novels, some of which were set in the Canadian West. No word on whether Bindloss ever visited the hamlet that bore his name, although some of his tomes, including “The Harder Way”, “The Lean Years” and “Long Odds”, could very well have been set here. #Alberta #Canada #history #abandoned #mybadlands #FABTrip15 @gregfarries

A photo posted by Jonathan Koch (@forgotten_alberta) on Nov 2, 2015 at 3:37pm PST

Having logged over 1000 km in two days, we finally headed for home on a lazy Sunday morning. Along Secondary Highway 555 we stopped in forlorn outposts of the prairie, the communities of Bindloss, and Buffalo, and a forgotten graveyard near the ghost town of Cavendish. As the warm winds whipped the dirt and tumbleweeds around us, and the sun bore down through the high haze, I felt a communion of sorts with the dry belt denizens of decades ago, who left these parched plains en masse, having endured too many seasons of promise turned to dust. I wondered how the residents of today would endure, and what would be left to see our next time around. Continue reading #FABTrip15: Bindloss, Buffalo, and beyond. →

Places, Road trips, Sights, Stories

#FABTrip15: Impressions of Empress

October 26, 2015 Jonathan Koch 8 Comments

Lights and darks. The sign reads “Empress Laundry – Cleaning Pressing”. #abandoned #Empress #Alberta #Canada #mybadlands #FABTrip15 @gregfarries

A photo posted by Jonathan Koch (@forgotten_alberta) on Oct 6, 2015 at 3:44pm PDT

On the final day of #FABTrip15, we emerged from comfy confines of the Forksview Motel and Manor, ready for another dry and dusty day in #SEAlta. After a wander around the village, Greg and I stopped at That’s Empressive for a coffee, a chat, an ice cream, and a Kit Kat, before hitting the road for Bindloss and points west along the abandoned Royal Line. Continue reading #FABTrip15: Impressions of Empress →

People, Places, Road trips, Stories

#FABTrip15: The mystery of the Empress caduceus

October 9, 2015 Jonathan Koch 11 Comments

Having been a bank (twice), a boarding house, and a jeweller’s studio, the old CIBC building in Empress is now home to arts, crafts, groceries and gas, and it still looks great after almost a century. Now “That’s Empressive!” #Empress #Alberta #Canada #history #explorealberta #mybadlands #returntorural #FABTrip15 @gregfarries

A photo posted by Jonathan Koch (@forgotten_alberta) on Oct 8, 2015 at 3:29pm PDT

Is it a symbol of a mysterious medical past? Or a relic of pioneer history, its meaning lost over time? What is the deal with the winged thingy atop the old bank building in Empress anyway?

Continue reading #FABTrip15: The mystery of the Empress caduceus →

Chronicling the pioneer-era people and places of the southern Alberta drybelt since 2009. Alberta Heritage Resources Foundation Heritage Awareness Award recipient.