Random Olds Alberta

We love exploring little towns (who knew!), especially in the evening when their unique character and personality seems to really shine. There’s no one about, no cars in the way, the light’s nice and it’s just us wandering aimlessly. Whatever comes our way is fine and it’s always an enjoyable time. We’re in Olds Alberta, our urban hikers are laced up nice and we’re here to discover.

Here’s just a random sampling of things seen this night, a little of this and nothing more. There’s many other things to see in town, that we know, but we ran out of time. We’ll likely be back soon enough, however, as the wanderlust remains strong in these two. Here for your enjoyment, it’s a some casual snaps of whatever that caught our eye and as usual we’ll chat about it and maybe share a bit of history too.

1) Our crash-pad for a fun filled weekend (of hiking and history exploring). We like the Mom and Pop type places…they’re more interesting I guess. And budget friendly too…which is a requirement for us. The Siesta first shows up in phone books in the late 1960s, where it was advertised as “Old’s Newest” and was said to offer the “Best Rest in the West”. The also advertised TVs and Telephones in every room. What…have we died and gone to heaven? It’s hard to think something so everyday to us could be a selling feature but not all that long ago, you often just got a bed and little else.

1) We’re in Olds Alberta!

2 and 10) There’s not much happening at the Olds Hotel. This piece was shot during one of those rolling Covid lockdowns, so all they could do was close the doors and wait it out. A look online tells us they survived, but this evening, it looked grim. And there we were craving some buffalo wings. Denied! The business seems to date to the early 1950s and for the first few years operated as the Phelan Hotel.

3) We’re in front of a company that repairs lawnmowers, but actually interested in that place across the street. That’s a long closed auto centre from the mid-century period and you’ll get to know it well in the next segment.

4-9) We’re looking at Clipperly’s Garage and the firm occupied the structure from 1947 (when built) until 1976, on the owner retiring. Not only a service centre they were a new car dealer and at various times sold the Mercury, Lincoln and Meteor brands. After Mercury branded pickups were discontinued in the late 1960s, they also sold Ford Trucks. Meteor cars and Mercury trucks were Canada only but for the most part were badge-engineered versions of other Ford Company offerings.

Clipperly’s also sold Ford Cortinas (from the UK) for a short while in the early 1970s, as seen in one phone book entry. I bet that didn’t go well. British cars did not handle the harsh conditions here and so not widely accepted in Canada. The old man had a Cortina (bought cheaply from Farmer Jones of course) and let’s just leave it at that. Lots of cursing and throwing things…

The building is laid out with a central showroom and parts warehouse – they sold “Genuine Ford Parts” don’t you know – with a large service area wrapping around back. One section of the structure has a second floor once used as a residence (for the owner or staff maybe?) and in later years it appears to have been rented out as an apartment. Built in the Art Moderne style, not uncommon at the time, the building looks the archetypal small town garage from that era. Can you say movie set?

After Clipperly’s closed, the building was occupied briefly by other businesses, including a car repair firm (that seems a natural) and an insurance agent (that doesn’t). Then there was something called the Olds Sport Centre, which might have been an equipment dealer…maybe? In any case, none lasted long at this location.

Ever since, so from the early 1980s on, the building by all accounts has been unoccupied. We’re using old phone books for reference here, so it’s not scientific and with some years missing there’s gaps of information so if you know more, speak up. It’s clearly kept up to some degree and we suspect look not all that different from when it functioned as a service centre and dealership long ago. How remarkable given all the time that’s passed.

What a cool place!

11) Gordon’s Barber Shop must be the smallest business ever and you’re looking at the entire operation here through a window. The sign outside advertises he’s the “Fiddlin’ Barber” but due to the pandemic had been closed down. An online search present day suggests Gordon’s hasn’t reopened since. Not good.

12) Like the Olds Hotel earlier, things are quiet at Tracks Pub due to you know what. No wings for you! Here’s how it works these days in the restaurant business – open – close – open – close and on and on it goes. How any of these food-service firms survived in such crazy uncertain times (looking online it seems Tracks did) and how they kept from loosing it, strikes us as quite the miracle.

We’re across the CPR tracks here (from the main business district), which in the old days meant your were speaking about the less desirable side of town. You know, where my family might have lived. A pejorative term it means a lower class area, separated from the good folks by the railway and populated by the untrustworthy, the criminal and layabout slackers.

13) They’re not showroom new, but would you expect anything less from us? Old beaters are what we live for. We always say, where you find one old car, you’ll find another – a birds of a feather thing I guess – and that’s proved here in the photo.

15) We believe this is an early 1970s Conestoga Motorhome. Made in Lethbridge, Alberta the brand was only active for a short time (1973-1974?) and so if we have it right, it’s a rare beast. We’ve not found an exact match but have seen a few others that differ ever so slightly. Underneath it all sits a commercial truck-like chassis from GM and overall it doesn’t look in bad shape.

Thinking it’s about as aerodynamic as brick and pug-ugly too, but we say that in an endearing way.

15) Fields Department Stores were a fixture in small towns and while there’s still a few of them out there, they’re not the big chain they used to be. Olds got a Walmart a while back (you’ve hit the big time now) and this was probably the final nail in the coffin for this outlet – it’s said to have closed about a decade ago. You can’t win against a juggernaut like the big W and I mean you can even shop in your pyjamas there!

2) Not much going on at the Olds Hotel.

Liquor Mart’s a ghost town too, but it’s a quiet community once they roll up the sidewalks after supper. Located part way between Calgary and Red Deer, Olds goes back to the 1890s with a present day population of about nine thousand. Funny, we’ve never really explored it before either.

The soft pleasing tones of twilight are no more and soon full darkness will descend. It’s time to call it day and with that final photo, a little adventures ends. Goodnight Olds and we’ll see you again.

Stay tuned for more new content being posted each and every week!

Know more about the town and its history (new window): Olds Alberta.

They’re saying…

“Great tidbits of history, all in our own backyard!” David W Brandenburg.

More awesome small town walkabouts…
Downtown Bassano.
Stettler, After Hours.
Wandering Shaunavon.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: April, 2021.
Location: Olds, AB.
Article references and thanks: The Town of Olds and vintage phone books at the Calgary Public Library and the Medicine Hat and District Genealogical Society.

3) Where lawnmowers go to die.

4) Cipperly’s Garage will be seen a lot in this post.

5) It’s a former service centre and dealership from 1947.

6) They sold Lincoln and Mercury cars too.

7) The upper floor was once living quarters.

8) Clipperly’s was in business into the mid-1970s.

9) The office and showroom area.

10) Temporarily closed due to rolling lockdowns.

11) Gordon’s Barber Shop is tiny!

12) Across the tracks, it’s Tracks Pub.

13) Old cars hang out in groups it seems.

14) We think it’s a (rare) early-’70s Conestoga.

15) No more Fields.