It Continues: Big Valley Inn, Big Valley Alberta, and another stop in our ceaseless quest to document as many small town old-school hotel pubs as we can. It’s for the Beer Parlour Project, the working title for an undertaking by Team BIGDoer and large format film photographer Ron Pohl. Regular readers will recognize his name and we collaborate often.
While our respective equipment and techniques differ, a passion to record history is shared and is a huge driving force. The outcome of this endeavour is a record of these vanishing businesses and their place in the community today. We’ll look at the buildings, the patrons and the owners and delve into what the future might hold in store. It’s history and culture. It’s photos unlike we’ve ever done.
It Continues: Big Valley Inn for the Beer Parlour Project. With Chris Doering & Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd)
A big thanks to our own “Johanna (Connie) Biggart” for helping underwrite this site and making posts like this possible. Be like the Connie…
A gallery exhibit is assured but we expect the project may take on a life of its own. A book is a distinct possibility (even after the last one crashed and burned spectacularly and left us with a sour taste), but instincts tells us it may yet go farther. No matter, we only know it needs to be done and that’s even if it kills us.
It’s a project tailor made for our group and after discussing the possibilities for years, then waiting out Covid, everyone jumped in with zero hesitation. Now it’s full throttle ahead and so we’ve visited perhaps ten hotels across the west, with plans to take as many as time will allow. Fifty? A hundred? Who knowns, but it should keep us busy for years to come and enthusiasm levels are sky-high.
The Beer Parlour Project explained: Our collective is on a mission to visit old hotel pubs (or beer parlours as they were called back when) before they change, close or disappear. These throw backs to another era are an endangered species and we’re going in with our cameras, and sound recording equipment to chronical the the goings on. We’ll chat with locals, have a couple cold ones, shoot a few frames and capture the vibe for all time.
It’s totally unpredictable and approached in a free style manner. What plays out, plays out and we’re just a flies on the wall.
As major milestones are reached, we’re going to compile them into big posts to share on this website. In the meantime, we’ll present little teaser snippets like this and share select photos. There’s more waiting in the wings as yet unpublished, as we type this, so stay tuned.
In the attached photos the Reynolds’ Raiders drop after another successful heist for a portrait session with Rob and his old-school view camera. It always elicits the most curious of looks and is a real conversation starter. Minutes earlier the Raiders robbed the Stettler to Big Valley tour trains (again!) and looking to wet their whistles.
The local constabulary seems powerless to stop these desperados and Big Valley residents reamin on edge and fearful.
Before stepping in they get good talking to by the local (solitary member) Temperance League and it’s clear her message fell on deaf ears. Points for bravery!
A hotel has stood on this spot for over a century, but the current incarnation of the Big Valley Inn dates from the early 1950s and replaced the original after it burned down. It’s every bit the perfect small town watering hole and has been busy on any visit we’ve made. Pre-fire it was the Frontenac Hotel, post fire the Big Valley Hotel and by the early 1970s it changed to the named used today.
The hotel sits right across from Big Valley’s Train Station, a prime spot back when trains we’re the main form of long distance travel. It’s been restored and looks fantastic.
Over two visits we got some great shots of the Big Valley Inn and patrons, but think we need some better exterior photos, so I suppose we’ll be back. Like that’s an issue. Any excuse to come back – Big Valley is an amazing town and full of history, so you don’t need to twist our arms.
Thanks for dropping by and we’ll be posting more Beer Parlour Project posts soon enough.
”I cannot get over your photography and writing prowess. Your site is brilliant and showcases your talent well, but to me it’s the passion that makes OTBPwC&C a game-changer. You set the bar so damn high.” Pauline West (so not deserving of such praise, but we’ll take it).
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Date of adventure: Summer 2023. Location: Big Valley, Alberta. Article references and thanks: Kim @ Big Valley Inn, Reynolds’ Raiders, the Big Valley Temperance League (you were awesome), Book – As We Remember Big Valley and the Medicine Hat & District Genealogical Society.
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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