Then & Now: Foremost Alberta

Channel your inner HG Wells and join us in Foremost Alberta for a little time travelling adventure. Armed with an old photo of the town showing Main Street we’re here to shoot another of similar composition from the same position. It’s a silly little obsession and we find it thrilling to be standing on the very spot (or at least close) to where another photographer did long ago.

Then we’ll chat a little bit about what we see and while change is inevitable, there’s always something to tie photo A to photo B.

The old image comes from a reader (thanks Jason) and given its age and lack of record, must be in the public domain. It’s suggested to be from the early 1930s and based on what’s seen, we think that’s about right. For example: a couple buildings in view are confirmed to date from the late 1920s.

The vehicles in the old photo look correct for the era too. The image is a little blurry and most too distance to make a positive identification, but they don’t seem anomalous. On the grain box equipped truck closest in, the curve of the front fenders matches well with late 1920s Chevrolets. We hope…the rest are too distant.

The fact that the image shows a horse drawn conveyance might seen odd for the era. Autos were a big part of life even then, but still horses found use, especially hauling grain wagons. Maybe he’s bringing a load to town – the grain elevators are not far away, but unseen from this angle. Note the streets were not paved back then, but that’s nothing unusual for the time.

There’s a few buildings seen in both photos, perhaps four or five, we can confirm with absolute certainty they’re the same and a some others that fall under the heading “maybe”. The most prominent three include the building partially cut off left frame, another similar in form down the same side of the street (former theatre) and the two-story brick structure opposite (former bank).

Also surviving into today, there’s a small white structure, third from the left and the hardware store sort of hidden behind the bank. The former, we think, is the right half the building with the truck parked in front in the old photo. As for the rest, we can’t say for certain.

The train station at the end of Main is a distant memory, but really stands out in the old photo. Back then, this building would be the very heart of the community and occupied a prominent position. If travelling long distance in Canada back when, you did so by train, hard as it is to imagine in today’s modern world. The railway line into Foremost is still there but freight service (grain) is sporadic at best.

Notice how busy the town appears in the original photo verses our more recent view. Downtown ain’t what it used to be and while there’s still some open businesses, it was overall pretty quiet on our visit. We were able to stand there in the middle of the road, snapping our photos unmolested. There was no traffic, although a town dog came to check us out briefly and couple out for a stroll passed by. They gave a quizzical look but wouldn’t understand even if we explained it.

Just behind our shooting position, so unseen, there’s a few interesting buildings.

Leismeister Garage is from 1930 and looking pretty run down. Not much time left for this one if we were to place a bet. The gym at Foremost High School displays a variation of the wave roof and regular readers of this website know these are recent obsession (see: Zigzag & Wave Roofs Calgary (Part 1) and Wave & Zigzag Roofs Calgary (Part 2). These were a thing in the 1960s (mostly).

The siren, although looking like some kind of Cold War relic, is not to signal an air raid, but to call volunteers in times of emergency. It’s right behind the fire/EMS station and if it goes off the whole town will hear it.

Foremost dates back to the 1910s, although its biggest growth spurt seems to have come a decade later. It’s a pretty remote place, in the SW corner of the province, with a population of perhaps five hundred and fifty. It’s the largest community in the general area, here along the Red Coat Trail with the spirit of resilience and independence here, alive and well.

Many of the “Then” photos used in this series comes from readers. If you have one you think would inspire a post like this, send it our way. It has to be yours (say a vintage family photo) or one sans any copyright (old post cards for example). Broad street scenes like this work well.

This comparison matched up pretty well although in hindsight a wider lens would have given better results. I doubt anyone cares, although still, it’s a bug in our ear. We find it mind blowing to be so close to where the original photo was captured and that’s the buzz we’re after. It doesn’t matter that we ace it (well, an obsessive hemisphere says otherwise) but that we take a thread, tie it up tight and connect two eras.

Know more about the town: (new window): Foremost Alberta.

There’s lots more content coming your way and we invite you to visit often!

They’re saying…

“Off the Beaten Path web page is a great discovery resource I’ve referred to over the years…” Chinook Canine.

T&N Explosion!
Then & Now: Three Hills Alberta – Two Chevys, decades apart.
Wrentham Alberta 25 Years Apart – Just down the tracks from Foremost.
Rosebery BC Then & Now – On one hand, so much change, yet on the other, so little.

Something to say and no one to say it to? Go here: contact us!

Date: June, 2020.
Location: Foremost, AB.
Article references and thanks: Town of Foremost, the Foremost House Restaurant for the yummy meal

Foremost Alberta: about ninety years apart.

This building appears in both images…

…As does the former theatre…

…And this structure.

Behind our shooting position: at the fire hall…

…Foremost High School…

…And Leismeister Garage.

From 1930.