Serving up POP HISTORY & other McFun!…
(Mmmm, yummy bite-sized pieces.)
- Boler! (221)
- Exploring History (514)
- Hikes And Summits (251)
- Old Things (140)
- Other Fun (170)
- Short Subjects (207)
- Then And Now (254)
- Uncategorized (3)
Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie - BIGDoer.com4 days ago
Chris rushed in excitedly and showed me this comparison, but after a short pause, his look changed. It's that confused expression one gets just before the face-palm, when they realize something they did just doesn't add up.
One year shy of a century separates the two images but as it turns out, they're not even of the same building. The top is Westmount School and the bottom McDougall School, both in Edmonton and not far from each other.
It took this long to realize we'd been shooting at the wrong place all this time! The two schools were built in the same year and very close in design, so it's still an interesting comparison. We had a good laugh and we'll give Chris a mulligan on this one.
Looks like we're going have to head back for a do-over.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Photos: 1924 and 2023. Submitted by Connie.
One year shy of a century separates the two images but as it turns out, they're not even of the same building. The top is Westmount School and the bottom McDougall School, both in Edmonton and not far from each other.
It took this long to realize we'd been shooting at the wrong place all this time! The two schools were built in the same year and very close in design, so it's still an interesting comparison. We had a good laugh and we'll give Chris a mulligan on this one.
Looks like we're going have to head back for a do-over.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Photos: 1924 and 2023. Submitted by Connie.
Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie - BIGDoer.com4 days ago
It's amazing how many of these Canada Centennial Maples Leafs still exist out in the wild across the prairies. We could fill an album with the ones we've photographed. It seems rural folks embraced patriotism with more fervor than their urban counterparts, but that's just an observation.
This example was found in a small Saskatchewan town. When they placed this up above the community hall there was a certain optimism that's not seen now. Today, only a handful of people call the community home, and it's that close to being a true ghost town. Almost sixty years in place and this memorial to a 100 year celebration is still here.
If our readers have found any of these while out exploring, please share in the comments. We'd love to see them.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Photo: 2014. Submitted by Connie.
This example was found in a small Saskatchewan town. When they placed this up above the community hall there was a certain optimism that's not seen now. Today, only a handful of people call the community home, and it's that close to being a true ghost town. Almost sixty years in place and this memorial to a 100 year celebration is still here.
If our readers have found any of these while out exploring, please share in the comments. We'd love to see them.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Photo: 2014. Submitted by Connie.
Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie - BIGDoer.com4 days ago
Billy Clarkโs Cabin in Meadow Creek BC and it dates back over a century. Now at the local museum it formerly stood in a valley a little to east and on the shores of Duncan Lake (now Ducan Lake Reservoir).
Billy was a trapper, hunter, and woodsman. All he had was this tiny log house, a small plot of land, the surrounding wilderness, and his wits for survival. Nothing more. That spirit of self reliance seems to be a lost art today.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Photo: 2022. Submitted by Connie.
Billy was a trapper, hunter, and woodsman. All he had was this tiny log house, a small plot of land, the surrounding wilderness, and his wits for survival. Nothing more. That spirit of self reliance seems to be a lost art today.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Photo: 2022. Submitted by Connie.
Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie - BIGDoer.com4 days ago
Both Chris and I both grew up in the malaise era for cars and get giddy when we spot one from that time out in the wild. It's like meeting an old friend. This '80s beauty was found out in a hiking area of Kananaskis and by all appearances, looks to be driven regularly.
The malaise era is marked by cars with uninspired design, quirky traits, hobbled performance and often questionable quality. Depressing stuff. This Cutlass is probably one of the better GM cars of the time, and both Chris and our son Will have owned examples in the past.
Have a malaise era story or photo to share? Post it in the comments!
Out in nature with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Photo: 2023. Submitted by Connie.
The malaise era is marked by cars with uninspired design, quirky traits, hobbled performance and often questionable quality. Depressing stuff. This Cutlass is probably one of the better GM cars of the time, and both Chris and our son Will have owned examples in the past.
Have a malaise era story or photo to share? Post it in the comments!
Out in nature with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Photo: 2023. Submitted by Connie.
Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie - BIGDoer.com4 days ago
We come over many rises on a the prairies and on doing so surprised by many interesting things. This one caused a double take.
This lonely locomotives sits at the then very end of track outside Leader SK and was out of service at the time. Guess they socked it away out of sight to forget about it. We found photos showing it in service the year before our visit but here it was cold and dead.
Since this photo was taken, the Great Sandhills Railway has extended the track across the road and set up some kind of transloading operation. In years passed, the track (under CP ownership) continued west all the way into Alberta, but that's a distant memory.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Photo: 2014. Submitted by Connie.
This lonely locomotives sits at the then very end of track outside Leader SK and was out of service at the time. Guess they socked it away out of sight to forget about it. We found photos showing it in service the year before our visit but here it was cold and dead.
Since this photo was taken, the Great Sandhills Railway has extended the track across the road and set up some kind of transloading operation. In years passed, the track (under CP ownership) continued west all the way into Alberta, but that's a distant memory.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Photo: 2014. Submitted by Connie.
Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie - BIGDoer.com4 days ago
The messages have been coming fast and often. No, the book we produced a couple years back is not being published after all, in spite of appearing on many websites recently. Oddly some are showing it with the cover from another volume altogether. Please don't order and it must be a glitch.
The other two books shown in our capture are available however (and are awesome) and were produced by some friends. Interestingly, Chris contributed to each and those you can order.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Submitted by Connie.
The other two books shown in our capture are available however (and are awesome) and were produced by some friends. Interestingly, Chris contributed to each and those you can order.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie.
Submitted by Connie.
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- Chris Doering on Few Words: The Cutest Little Farm House
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Hi – I hope is message gets to you. I have several photographs – 8″ x 10″ black and white, of the Bow City Alberta coal mine, and some of the machinery used in that era. The photos are from the 40s -50’s. I will share them with you. You can contact me at xxxxxxxxx@xxx.ca.
Dianne
Hi Dianne, got your email and will message you. Very interested. You’ll hear from me soon.
Hi;
Nice web page. My grandfather was a miner in Blairmore till 1919.
I’d like to one day go there and search out the mine (if I can find it).
The photos you have on your web page are beautiful. Thank you for
sharing and all the time you put into everything.
Josie
If you need help tracking something down, we’d be happy to help. We know the Crowsnest area well, in particular when it comes to mines.
Hello:
Thank you for your response. All that I know about my grandfather (Pietro Mancini aka Peter) is what I was told about. His son told me that he could hear his father’s boots on the pavers when he neared the house and they would hide, since he was so very abusive. The house was still up in the 1960’s and was yellow block or concrete. I just assumed my grandfather was
close enough to the coal mine to walk home. His son told me in the 1990’s that they would go swimming nearby in the “Old Man River” and they’d wear gunny-sacks. He said that they could see the mountains from their home and he told me they called them the “Three Sisters”. In 1918 my uncle’s mother died in childbirth. His father (my grandfather) went to Italy and re-married and upon returning to Blairmore the police were looking for him, since he had abandoned all his children and they were sent to orphanages (Calgary or Edmonton ?). He was a mason also (I have some of his paper work). He and my grandmother fled by night over the U.S.A. boarder and got to Detroit, MI where my mother was born in 1921.
I’ve just always been curious and have planned one day to go to Blairmore.
From your photos, Alberta looks just so beautiful. Thank you again for your response. I hope to visit one day and see the coal mines.
He died in Detroit in 1944 (born in 1877 in Italy) of stomach cancer, which I think is prevalent with coal miner.
Thank you for your time.
Josie
Can’t understand why some people are abusive. The Oldman River is not in the immediate area and is too far north. However, I’ve heard a couple old timers refer to the Crowsnest River, which does pass through Blairmore, mistakenly by that name. Hmmmmm, an eye-brow raiser. There is a Seven Sisters Mountain in the area. One can find a Three Sisters much further north near a community called Canmore. Interestingly, it was a coal town too. Yes, coal mining and lung problems went hand in hand. Many died from the black stuff. I’ll send you an email to see if you want me to look into this further.
Thank you for your reply and time.
Josie
Email sent. Have a great day.
Hi I understand that you rewire rotary phones? Is this correct?
Anyway I want to buy an old phone and I was wondering if I send it to you can you fix it.
Also how much does it cost to fix it?
Thank you for your time!
Chelsea
Yes, old phones are my specialty. I’ll email you about this.
Hi, Chris and Connie,
I know Harry Sanders, a historian in Calgary, he works for Chinook Historic Society and other organizations, you can contact him or Chinook Historian Society or go to his website or Chinook Historic Society website, maybe you can get some information useful to you.
University of Calgary has an archeology or similiar bachelor major, its graduates often find jobs in some organization related to history/archeology.
I read a lot of articles in your website, it is really nice of you. I believe all hiking/outdoor persons must be good guys.
I come from China, I have been doing a lot of hikings and travels both in China, Canada and other countries.
Good luck
Ming
Thanks for posting Ming! I can use this info.