We’ve passed by Irricana United Church a gazillions time on the road to adventure but never stopped to take a closer look. Silly us. Then one day, after coming back from a gig at a local museum (the Team loves to volunteer) and with the sky soft pastel hues, comes the decision to stop.
Then as it happens every single time, a closer look stirs an interests to know more. The ideas form and it’s down the proverbial rabbit hole. Could we give it the full on BIGDoer treatment? Of course! Picture a nice little history write up. We knew all along it was fine subject even if for some reason we’d always passed it by, till now. Finally.
So off goes an email and we hope for the best. As you know, we’ve got a soft spot for little country churches so it’s finger’s crossed. We see by their website that the building is currently closed to the public (you know why) so perhaps this might be good timing for all.
Short Subjects: reports that are short and sweet in nature. This is stuff that’s interesting enough in itself, but not deserved of the full on BIGDoer.com treatment. It’s silly little snippets, vignettes and likewise things of that sort. You’ll be in and out in no time.
Viper? Now there’s a memory! Back in my truck driving days I delivered a load of lumber into the old Brewery in Inglewood where they were filming some of the series. They were making the building over to appear as some kind of military base or some such thing.
We used to do something called the "pointless challenge" 🤪 and miss those days. It was so much silly fun and often frustrating as heck. In these we'd invite people to send in random photos of obscure locations, but not give any information, and then we'd track where it was and shoot something similar.
Most of these came from old family collections, as was the case here. Anyone up to resurrecting the series?
In hindsight, why didn't we pose someone in our shot?
Pointless: “Devoid of meaning (or) senseless” Merriam-Webster.
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/ Thanks to Connie for making this post possible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: ca1970 and 2014. Posted by Connie.
Captured on a cold, cold day many years ago. We've been passing this old house for decades and it's little changed in that time. At some point we expect to drive by and it'll be gone.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
When retired old railway cars usually get cut up for scrap. Sometimes, however, they find their way into the hands of the general public or whomever. Flat cars make good bridges, and boxcars can be transformed into storage buildings and the like. Case in point here. We see them used like this often enough and in this case, it's part of a corral.
Incidentally, this boxcar dates from 1950 and this was found by tracing the old road number, which is still visible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
This central Alberta racetrack was never a commercial operation but instead just a fun place for car enthusiasts in the area to get together. Early '70s or thereabouts and it only lasted a few years. Even thought it's been abandoned for that long, there is no doubt what was here.
You know we like the the obscure stuff and this one fits the bill perfectly. Found by accident while backroad cruising and the history comes thanks to local car guy Mike.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
On top of little Myrtle Mountain in the Kimberley (BC) Nature Park.
There's some good wilderness fun to be had here and nice views as you can see, but the real reason we came is mining history. The whole area near the ski hill was extensively worked over a century ago and we were looking for evidence of this. We didn't find much in the area searched, but it's a big chunk of property and we hope to return to cover more ground again soon. Of all the subjects we cover, mining related is a favourite.
Still, it was a good hike and that can't be bad. Look to the comments for more info 👇.
Exploring nature and history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
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.
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I attended Sunday school classes in this church growing up
Fantastic!
Was married in this church.
How wonderful. The acoustics in there are amazing.
Gorgeous building!
Good news, we got to go back and shot it inside and out! Stay tuned.
What a beautiful church!
Amen!
I think there was part of an episode of Viper filmed there too (back in the day) when they had a sound stage set up on the east side of Airdrie.
Viper? Now there’s a memory! Back in my truck driving days I delivered a load of lumber into the old Brewery in Inglewood where they were filming some of the series. They were making the building over to appear as some kind of military base or some such thing.