Interior then and now shots are tough! With everything so tight and close in and all those complex lines it’s near impossible to make things look right. Move a fraction to get a better angle on axis X and you’ll ruin Y. Fix Y and ruin X and so on. At best it’s a compromise, so forgive us if this series, in respects to this problem, is not as good as most we’ve presented lately. We’ll get better with time.
In this report we’ll be looking at a few screen captures from the 1985 Disney flick, Journey of Natty Gann. It’s not a terribly well known movie, but it’s a good one, if not a bit overly sweet and sentimental, that we recommend you watch. It follow the exploits of the film’s namesake (played by Meredith Salenger), as she travels the “US, having earlier run away from her guardian, in search of her father who’s said to be working in a lumber camp out west.
Join us as visit some locations seen in the movie to see how things look today. A fun project!
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Scroll down for photos or to comment ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Much of this production, these scenes included here, were shot in the Crowsnest Pass of Alberta. It’s always been cheaper and easier to come up here I guess. Canada, in many movies, doubles for the US.
In these scenes, Natty has been forced to attend reform school for being vagrant. She quickly escapes however and continues on her way.
The building seen here is an old school. It was closed down prior to filming and has sat vacant ever since which explains why it’s so little has changed between then and now. The building itself, soon to be a subject of its own report, is in fine shape overall, although vandals have gotten in and made a bit of a mess. We had permission to enter. It’s otherwise not publicly accessible.
A lot of scenes form the Natty Gann movie was shot in this area we frequent and so expect more then and now posts that use it for fodder.
Images from the movie Journey of Natty Gann are copyright Disney Studios.
It's a strange curiosity in south Kananaskis, there on a hillside and we have no idea who created it. We asked around and no one's completely sure about its history. In the past it showed the Canada 100 logo from 1967 but in 2017 someone changed it to reflect the country's 150th.
That's our friend Emily from DanOCan.com having a look.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
April 13th 2024, the Beer Parlour Project visited the Viking Hotel, Viking Alberta and it too was an awesome time. There's Rob Pohl with his curious view camera and in the other photo Chris is seen interviewing local character Doug.
The Viking dates back to the 1930s and replaced a hotel on this same lot, which had earlier burned down.
Incidentally April 13th is also Chris and my 28th anniversary. Chris said he forgot this when scheduling this but that's fine and it doesn't matter where we celebrate but that we celebrate.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2024. Posted by Connie.
April 12th 2024, the Beer Parlour Project visited the Warspite Hotel, Warspite Alberta and it was a great success. They put up our sticker and look for it if you ever drop by. This will be another chapter in what will be a multi-year adventure documenting small town hotels all over the west. We chat with owners, patrons, old timers, local characters and we learn about the building too.
It's believed this one is 100 years old in 2024 and we'll confirm details during the research phase done later.
When we're done we'll have a huge collection of digital and film photos, plus voice recorded interviews for an art exhibit and a book is likely.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2024. Posted by Connie.
This little stone house was built in the 1910s and while it's not exactly clear when last occupied, research suggests it was empty only a couple decades later. This is a dry area of the Alberta and most settlers moved out by the '30s. Trees in back were planted by the folks that lived here and there's no others around as far as the eye can see. In fact, there's nothing but natural prairie in every direction. When the word "remote" comes up, this is the place they're speaking of.
Look to the comments for more info and to see a stone smokehouse also on the property 👇
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
The hardware business is long gone but their old sign from about a century ago remains. We were doing a little walk-about in Three Hills and had a tip to look here. It's little things like this that we love the most, hidden reminders of things that came before and clues to the past that aren't so obvious.
More info in the comments👇
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2023. Posted by Connie.
The Canadian Pacific Railway at Summit Lake Crowsnest Pass in 1983 and 2023. The trains still run, but the railyard and associated infrastructure is a distant memory. Haze in the now photo is from distant forest fires. The old Summit Hotel can be seen in back in both and it's one of the few things still standing here from earlier times.
The Then photo come thanks to the John Bjorklund collection at the Center for Railroad Photography & Art and is used with permission. They sent us others and we'll hopefully be putting them to use later this year.
Go to the comments for more info 👇
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Posted by Connie.
Thanks to the The Val Family for making this post possible. If you like what we do and want to support this ongoing project (12 years now), go here: https://www.BIGDoer.com/help-the-society/
Javascript is required for this site to function. Please enable it in your browser settings and refresh this page.
Please log-in to continue... This allows unrestricted access to every post @BIGDoer.com, popups are eliminated, commenting is on and the "contact us" page is enabled.
Your social site may send you a routine notice of login.
Or signup, here: Subscriber Register ___ BIGDoer.com: Serving up POP HISTORY & other McFun!…(Mmmm, yummy bite-sized pieces.) One million plus words & tens of thousands of photos!
Is this the same school as featured in your “Skool dayz” article?
Yes, the same place. Looks like they’ve finally started work on the building, so we’re told, to make it into condos or some such thing.
So very good. One of the best movies evahhhhh! I can not watch it without crying at the end.
You sure seem to like it!
I just watched this last week and had no idea this film was shot in the Crowsnest Pass.
I am surprised more films are not shot there.