Mike Drew, Hemaruka, and A mention in passing

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 […]

#FABTrip15: Bindloss, Buffalo, and beyond.

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 […]

#FABTrip15: Impressions of Empress

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 […]

#FABTrip15: We end up in Empress

Constructed in 1914, the former C.P.R. railway station at Empress is located in a railway cut, situated on the north end of the village. During its hey-day, Empress served as a divisional point along the now-abandoned “Royal Line”, which operated between Empress and Bassano from 1914 to 1997. The Royal Line is so-named as Empress, […]