For a brief couple years in the late 1980s and early 1990s I lived in the Lower Mainland of BC. During one of my few days off (I’d often work every day for months on end), I’d head out to explore the area. On this trip, I was off to...
In this, our latest Superman 3 then and now series of photos, we look at some of the downtown Calgary locations that were seen in the opening minutes of that movie. The setting is Metropolis, but in fact Calgary Alberta was used as a backdrop for that fictional city in...
Overshadowed by the huge and famous St Eugene Mine across Moyie Lake, the Aurora Mine is in caparison an insignificant and little known operation. Much smaller and shorter lived than it’s counterpart on the opposite side of the lake, the Aurora worked what was a continuation of the same ore...
It’s been a banner year for Boler spotting, and this example, found at a Calgary RV repair business in November is the fifty first one we’ve seen in 2013. I am not sure why this year has been more productive than any other – it’s been decades since Bolers have...
The Alberta Prairie Railway Excursion tourist trains makes regular stops in Big Valley Alberta, a lovely and picturesque town with an historic ex-CNoR train station. This century old building welcomes those visiting no matter how they get here. We came by car but wished it we arrived by train instead....
Of all the look-a-likes out there, the Trillium trailer, similar looking to a Boler but more squared in shape, is the one you’ll most likely see more than any other. This make has been in production for decades now, little changed, and by sheer numbers alone is probably the most...
The subject of this report is a fine reproduction building based on the circa 1893-1911 CPR train station that once stood in downtown Calgary. Located at the entrance to Heritage Park, this picturesque replica depot is made from local sandstone and greets those entering the facility. Interestingly, the old structure...
This adventure has us joining author Jonathan Koch from ForgottenAlberta.com. Together we’ll explore the field that was once the site of Bow City Alberta, “The City of Natural Resources”, a town which existed for only short moment in time. Also accompanying us, as our guide, is Leo Smith, a long...
How many transit systems can say there have an active fleet of GMC Fishbowl buses? Not many! Most cities have retired these venerable workhorses and outside of a couple stragglers here and there, Calgary’s remaining examples comprise the largest fleet in service anywhere. They live! All the buses we see...
Created by artist Mario Armengol, The Family of Man group of statues have long been a downtown Calgary landmark. In this then and now report we compare how they looked way back in 1969 and again today. While a lot has changed in those years, the works are now surrounded...
The quaint little village of Big Valley Alberta is great place to visit if you like historical structures. Among the buildings worth exploring are a traditional wooden grain elevator, roundhouse remains, a lovely train station, and a unique little place of worship located on a small hill overlooking town. It’s...
It’s no secret that many scenes in the movie Superman 3 were filmed in and around Calgary. The producers did little to hide that fact and in some shots, not the ones shown here but others in the movie, the city’s most famous landmark, the unmistakable Calgary Tower is seen...
It’s been a while since we did one of our trademark movie “then and now” posts. For those who have not seen any of these, we search out productions that were filmed in our area and using our detective skills alone, we track down the locations where they were shot,...
This Boler trailer, a 17′ model, represents a major milestone for us and with its sighting we have broken our record for the most spotted in a single year. This is #50, a magical number, and given there are almost two months left in the year, this record can be...
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.
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.
Billy Clark’s 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.
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.
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.
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.
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