This article we’ll be looking at a small brick school house, a very photogenic one in fact, located in the tiny village of Netherhill Saskatchewan. Constructed just over a century ago, it’s been many, many decades since classes were last held here. More recently it was used as a fraternal...
Perched atop a small knoll in view of the towering Rockies, St Henry’s Catholic Church at Twin Butte Alberta is well over a century old. No longer used for regular services, but still well maintained, the fine looking building is opened up from time to time for special occasions and...
We’ve been given an old photo, one from the late 1910s or perhaps the early 1920s, or thereabouts (does it really matter), showing a street scene Brock Saskatchewan. We return to the same spot where it was captured oh so long ago, to see what we can see and we’re...
This old grain elevator stands alone in a field, battered and beaten, having been abandoned for many decades. We’ve seen a lot of these structures in our travels and this is perhaps the most sorry example yet. But it has this amazing dignity and elegance, even in spite of its...
Today we look at the former Pool grain elevator in Coleville Saskatchewan, not a really old building compared to some we’ve documented, but still one of interest. Problem, though, it was raining, very hard at times, and we had the choice to wait it out (but we were short on...
When on the road we like accommodations with personality. No five star lodging for us, that’s so terribly boring, not to mention expensive. We’re cheap-ass buggers at heart. Give us a dive motel, hotel, hostel, cabin…whatever…and as long as it’s reasonably clean we’re a happy bunch. We love them and...
Fullerton Loop is an easy hike. Its close proximity to Calgary, in the rolling foothills west of town, also means it’s well patronized and while not the most scenic outing, much of the time you’re in the trees, it has its moments. The high point of the trip, is well,...
It was a good day for Boler spotting, four little eggs found in a few block square area of east Inglewood in Calgary, all within minutes of each other. This is a good neighbouhood to find these trailers and we’ve been hanging around it it for years. When we need...
Pacific and Hayes are arguably two of the most rugged heavy duty makes of work trucks ever produced…PERIOD! Overbuilt and engineered in every way, either could be called upon when the the conditions were not just difficult, but demanding to the extreme. Catering to the logging and mining industries of...
Today’s subject takes us back to the paranoia-fueled days of the Cold War, a long abandoned military radar dome installation in Western Saskatchewan. Its purpose was scouring the skies for approaching enemy aircraft and missiles and was one of a large network of similar facilities, operated jointly by the Canadian...
We’re in Saskatchewan seeking ghost towns and grain elevators and as much adventure as we can handle. Stopping in the tiny community (redundant statement – nearly all Saskatchewan towns, it seems, are such), we find a real treat, a stunning prairie sentinel, all nice and brown, surround by yellow flowers...
The impressive orange boulders we’ll be documenting in this post date back to prehistoric times and can be found at the very scenic Red Rock Coulee Natural Area near Medicine Hat. Located on the lonely Alberta prairies, these rounded masses are spread out over an area perhaps a few kilometres...
Netherhill, a pinhead-sized dot on the map, blink and you’ll miss it kind of place, a mostly forgotten backwater on the great plains of western south-central Saskatchewan. It’s a tiny community, a few blocks square, and a wee bit quaint, as small prairie towns often are. Off the beaten path...
The same stone house about a century apart and from almost the same angle. It came close to being a proper Then & Now, but interestingly, we didn't know of the old photo when we captured ours.
The house was only lived in for a few decades, starting about 1910 and abandoned on account of arid conditions.
A family of twelve (yes, two parents plus TEN kids) lived in this modest-sized dwelling. Those early pioneers were hardcore. A house in the middle of nowhere, farming conditions that at best were marginal, brutal winters, few neighbours, little of anything and a bus load of children to raise in a house the size of a garage. Give them credit!
Know more via a link in the comments.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2015. Posted by Connie.
The Fort Motel in Fort MacLeod Alberta, seen in an old postcard circa 1960 and again on a quiet evening late in 2023. It's one of many old style motor-court motels in this historic town and as you can see it's little changed over time. Too bad about that sign, though. The Fort Motel first makes mention in phone directories in the early fifties.
To know about our subject scroll down to a link in the comments. Hey Lethbridge Historical Society, thought you'd like this!
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Posted by Connie.
Just once we'd like to get a clear shot of the grain terminal in Cassils Alberta without a pesky train photo bombing the shot. 😜
Empress #2816 and it's seen last week on the Final Spike Steam Train as it heads east. We had wonderful luck picking more out of the way locations and completely avoided any crowds. There were only a few people present here but we saw footage showing rather chaotic scenes elsewhere.
We met a few old friends on this adventure, made some new ones and had a grand time. If we chatted along the way, it was so nice to meet you, and we invite any of our readers/friends to share photos they captured of this historic train. Drop photos in the comments and can't wait to see them!
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2024. Posted by Connie.
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.
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