By: Zdenko Kahlina & Westworld magazine

Grain Elevators – will they survive?
Between Edmonton and Viking there are a number of sites that have grain elevators still standing by the highway, representing real rural areas in Alberta. I took pictures of the new mega grain elevators that are replacing old-fashioned wooden elevators from the past.

Another One Bites The Dust… Out of service and located in the small town of Brookdale MB.

Typical wooden elevator in the prairies

Not that long ago grain elevators were being built in just about every town along the railroad on the Canadian prairies. The grain elevator spelled prosperity to the town and region where they were located. Quickly they became the commercial and social centers for the new “Last Best West”. Rows of brightly colored elevators became cultural landmarks, a symbol of greatness for the productive prairies.

Another wooden elevator by highway 14

These days the old-fashioned Prairie sentinels are gradually being replaced by mega elevators made of concrete and steel. These high-tech storage sites can hold up to 10 times more grain than a typical wooden elevator and are fitted with the latest grain sorting and cleaning machinery.

New mega elevators made of concrete

As a new century unfolds, these same elevators are being demolished as fast as they went up! With the loss of the physical structures comes the loss of history associated with them, the loss of a spot on the horizon that identifies a community, a region and a way of life. AGES sees the need for progress, but they also ask “’what about the legacy”? What are we leaving future generations? How will we know how for we have progressed if we don’t know where we’ve been? AGES says “Let us preserve some of our history, our heritage, and leave some of these beautiful prairie sentinels for the future.”

The Cheadle Grain Elevator
Around 1985, Cheadle lost the last of its grain elevators as well as train and tracks that ran past. More houses and residents slowly started to fill the dusty roads and voids within the community. Very little changed Cheadle until after the year 2000, when another expansion of residential homes followed on the West side of Cheadle while some later developments followed on the East side after 2005. With many residents of Calgary looking to the smaller communities as a way of escaping the problems of large city living; Cheadle’s population is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Some residents have worked very hard to get Cheadle back on the map. As of April 2009, James Gosteli’s efforts, to add a sign to the Trans Cananda Highway 1, have proven successful with the addition of 2 signs for East and Westbound traffic. Satellite mapping companies, such as Teleatlas, have now included Cheadle and its Streets in their GPS map data so that it will not be forgotten in the future.

Hold that elevator
Source: Westworld, By: Judy Larmour

Like many Albertans, Stan Eichorn will never forget the tremendous screech of tearing wood as track hoes clawed at the heart of his community, or that moment of disbelief when Stettler’s Alberta Wheat Pool elevator eventually toppled. As the honeycomb of wood bins split open and dust rolled out in great choking plumes, he knew he was witnessing not only the loss of an icon but the end of an era.

So when Stettler’s 1925 Parrish and Heimbecker grain elevator and feed mill were slated for demolition in 2003, some eight years later, Eichorn took action – though “people questioned my sanity,” he says of his decision to buy the elevator and its coal shed, one of only two remaining in Alberta. “It was my 94-year-old uncle who told me what the shed actually was,” he admits, “and how grain elevator agents also sold coal that they weighed on the scale in the elevator.” A successful agrologist who returned to the family beef operation a decade ago, the energetic 60-year-old was struck by how quickly our collective memory can forget a way of life.

A spurt of elevator construction in the late 1920s signified the peak of Alberta’s agricultural boom, and by 1934, 1,755 elevators were dotted along the province’s rail lines, linking communities whose lives revolved around the grain industry. But by the late 1990s, branch rail-line closures, the end of the Crow Rate (fixed, pro-rated freight charges for transporting grain) and shifts in the industry’s economy of scale were signalling the demise of the wooden country elevator – that proud symbol of Alberta prairie and parkland. By 2005, less than 150 of the 27-metre-high behemoths loomed on their original sites, most of them inactive. Today, large, concrete, silo-type structures have, for the most part, replaced the traditional gable-roofed wooden grain elevators. The lonely relics of past glory that remain have either been modifed for continued use in the grain trade and are privately maintained by farmers or, in the case of only a precious few, are preserved as museums and interpretive centres. Still others stand weather-beaten and abandoned in various states of disrepair.

Lonely Skyscrapers

Mirroring Eichorn’s struggle against time, the town of Alliance is another important bulwark against a vanishing way of life in Alberta’s rural communities. Here, Agricore United still operates its traditional 75,000-bushel wooden elevator, built in 1957 by the Alberta Wheat Pool. “The Alliance elevator is certainly not obsolete,” says Gord Lewis, the town’s elevator agent for 35 years. “It pays its way, handling about a million bushels a year,” and enables locals such as Mary Wold to travel only 13 km to haul their grain, unlike farmers elsewhere. “We’re really happy about it,” says Wold as she dumps grain from her truck over the pit on the elevator’s work floor, just as she has done for decades. So is Alliance mayor Muriel Fankhanel, who notes that without the Agricore elevator, “taxes would go up.” Just as important, though, is that Alliance has preserved what has been lost elsewhere: the elevator as the soul of the community. This is what Stan Eichorn and others involved with Alberta’s burgeoning heritage grain elevator movement are fighting for. And thanks to their efforts, a growing number of restored symbols of rural pride are opening their doors to the public, each with its own story, history and memories.

The small community of Scandia took an early lead in resisting this loss of the past when, in the late 1980s, the local Eastern Irrigation District (EID) Society restored a 1927 Wheat Pool grain elevator on its original railway site as part of an outdoor agricultural museum. Today, EID board member Holly Johnson recounts how, in 1934, the Bow Slope Shipping Association built its stockyards near the town’s Alberta Wheat Pool elevator and how before the stockyard scale house was built, animals had to be weighed on the elevator’s scale. “Imagine flocks of sheep being driven up a ramp into the elevator while the men struggled to keep them corralled,” she chuckles. Its stories like these that bring history to life, she says, and why oral-history interviews with former elevator agents are so important.

Another One Bites The Dust

Another success story can be found in Mossleigh, where three elevators owned by Parrish and Heimbecker (P&H) were meticulously maintained by elevator agent Reno Bexte, a fervent believer in the preservation of elevator history. When P&H wanted to close two of the three in 2000, Bexte encouraged his cousins Ian and Eric Donovan to purchase both, and “we jumped at the opportunity,” says Ian. “Out on the prairie, most of the old elevators are missing. But now, as you come over that hill, you see a little gem.” The Mossleigh structure is indeed a treasure, a minimally modified elevator row from the early 1930s. Painted the mustard shade characteristic of P&H, it has a rare, octagonal annex built for wartime storage in 1941. But the Donovans’ commitment in Mossleigh also set an example for others in the community. When P&H finally closed its doors here in 2006, management of the company’s third elevator was taken over by Monty Beagle, owner of nearby B&B Agriculture Service. And today, “we have a pact among the three of us,” says Ian Donovan: “None of them will ever go down.”

Stan Eichorn is not the only Alberta farmer to buy an elevator, either. A short distance northwest of Drumheller, on an abandoned branch rail line through Kirkpatrick, the Andrew family uses its 1928 Alberta Wheat Pool elevator – a dramatic silhouette against the stark landscape of the badlands – for grain storage. Farther north, in the lush parkland at Bentley, cars line up on the grass behind the now privately owned 1977 Alberta Wheat Pool elevator during the local fair and rodeo each August. The elevator acts as the movie screen for the community’s old-fashioned drive-in.

Vermont elevator in the winter

Unfortunately, given that grain companies prefer to demolish rather than sell their elevators, not all communities or individuals are successful in their attempts to preserve them. Those who are must generally overcome significant obstacles. So back in 2003, when Stan Eichorn first approached Parrish and Heimbecker about purchasing the Stettler feed mill and elevator (the last P&H-owned feed mill still standing in the province), he was delighted to find the company receptive. Specialists in the animal feed business, P&H opened the building in 1920, and its 80-kilogram bags of chop had been a mainstay of mixed farming in the area. But the mill had been closed for some time and, its equipment gone, was slated for demolition along with the elevator. The elevator’s machinery was in running condition, though, and Eichorn soon had a deal. The elevator was his for a dollar, and P&H threw in the $12,500 it would have spent on demolition to support Eichorn’s dream of turning it into an interpretive centre. Two years later, Eichorn founded the P&H Elevator Preservation Society, now 80 members strong, to take over ownership and development of the heritage site.

However, heritage designation of historic structures usually requires ownership of the land as well as the building, with the land on which grain elevators sit generally owned by a railway. And, as Eichorn has discovered, acquiring land from the CPR or CN can be a long and tortuous process. Still, he remains undeterred. “Somehow it’s going to work,” he says of his upcoming plan to buy the land from CN. For inspiration he turns to fellow elevator preservationist Bob Caine, who, starting in 2000, led the Alberta Legacy Development Society’s campaign to save the former Alberta Wheat Pool elevator at Leduc.

“It was pretty tense,” says Caine of the Leduc society’s struggle. “There were times when we thought we were done for, that there was no way around the financial obstacles.” First, the preservation group raised a $20,000 bond in the fall of 2000 for Agricore United to cover the company’s lease with the CPR. Caine then approached the CPR, a convoluted process that took him from Montreal to Winnipeg to Calgary. Finally, more than 12 months and $110,000 later (and after an arduous appraisal process and logistical complications that included easements to give the CPR access to the rail line and struggles to obtain mortgage loans and member loans with indefinite payback schedules), the society was able to buy the land and seek heritage designation. “It was nothing short of a miracle,” says Caine, who still takes delight in the fact that former premier Ralph Klein attended the elevator’s heritage designation ceremony on May 15, 2003.

Obviously, restoring an elevator and opening it to the public as a heritage site or museum is a major undertaking, one that requires vision, planning, stamina, perseverance – and money, lots of it. Yet communities are increasingly rallying behind their heritage elevators, and the provincial government – by way of the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation – is doing its part through significant funding for grain elevator conservation. But even so, says Eichorn, it remains a costly business, one best undertaken in phases with endless bouts of fundraising. As Ernie Halun, president of the group now in the process of preserving the Krause Milling Co. grain elevator at Radway, says, “We just take it one step at a time. We’ve cleaned the elevator and restored the exterior paintwork, hired a heritage consultant to research its history and prepare an interpretation plan. Next we need to raise funds to install sprinklers for fire suppression and to put the plan in place. Only then can we open our doors.”

Lorraine Foesier of the Rowley Community Association is equally familiar with the ups and downs inherent in the process of preserving grain elevators. “We were really rolling in 1988,” she notes, when the three grain elevators in Rowley – a tiny hamlet that is a museum in itself – were used as a backdrop for the Canadian film Bye Bye Blues. Back then, Stettler’s Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions train brought thousands of visitors to the town. But recently, the train’s route was shortened (its last stop is now Big Valley, 28 km away), problems with vandalism have been discouraging and Rowley’s elevators, designated as heritage buildings by the province in 2003, require immediate re-roofing. The timing is unfortunate. As Foesier points out, Alberta’s boom economy means the costs of meeting Canada’s national standards and guidelines for conservation “are rocketing and it is harder to find contractors to do the work.” Nonetheless, even after 20 years of fundraising and hard work, Foesier’s passion for grain elevators is infectious and her dedication unshakable. “Somebody has to look after them,” she declares.

Surprisingly, perhaps, there are people ready to do just that across Alberta. The geometric patterning of the solid-wood cribbing in Mayerthorpe’s 1966 Federal Grain Company elevator was what caught Doug McDermid’s attention the first time he saw its interior. Today, McDermid is president of the town’s Country Elevator Society, formed in 1997, and is working to restore the elevator and develop its annex as an interpretive space – with solar LED lights in the cupola to welcome evening travellers. Ninety-year-old Hilbert Lechelt, the town’s grain buyer from 1949 to 1974, is one of many residents who are more than happy about the project.

In its heyday, “it was a nice elevator,” Lechelt recalls, with bins that had hoppered bottoms – meaning the grain didn’t need to be shovelled as it did in the older elevator where he began his career. As for stories, “I’ve got plenty of them,” he adds, like the day a storage annex was moved alongside the elevator in 1972. “Do you know what they used to move it along the rails?” he asks. “Soap. And the kind that worked best was Ivory.”

Back in Stettler, Eichorn puts a pot of coffee on in the office where the agent once bought grain and farmers purchased supplies, discussed crops and the weather or played a round of crib. He knows his group has a decade-long project ahead, but “we’re in it for the long haul,” he insists. Phase one has seen the building stabilized and the roof’s cedar shingles and coal shed’s siding replaced. (“We spent two years finding drop-siding to match the original,” notes Eichorn.) Next up: two thirds of the roof and the flooring in the three-storey feed mill need replacing.

Although it’s still in the early planning stages, the mill floor will eventually serve as a display centre for showcasing the rich history and importance of agriculture in the area. Eichorn already knows that the elevator’s site in Stettler has one major advantage: the 25,000 people who ride the vintage Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions train each year who will hopefully visit the elevator as part of their heritage experience. As he sees it, “the grain elevator is a beacon: it attracts people to learning about the past.”

Historian and heritage consultant Judy Larmour lives on a grain farm near Rimbey.

Silo Visionaries
The province-wide Alberta Grain Elevator Society (AGES) welcomes all new members; – the only qualification is an interest in grain elevators. The organization shares information, tackles technical conservation issues and promotes grain elevators as an educational venture and tourist attraction. “It’s grassroots network groups like AGES that are so important in advocating strategies and lobbying for financial support for the preservation of grain elevators as a national symbol,” notes Natalie Bull of the Heritage Canada Foundation, opening speaker at the AGES annual conference earlier this year. To sign up: http://www.grainelevators/alberta.ca

Elevator Action
For more information about historic and currently operating grain elevators, the following communities are home to entertaining and enlightening museums and interpretive centres.

• St. Albert
p: 780-419-7354
w: http://www.artsheritage.ca/heritagesites

• Castor
p: 403-882-3271
w: http://www.albertasource.ca/carmn/museums/musatod.html

• Big Valley
p: 403-876-2242
w: http://www.canadiannorthern.ca

• Meeting Creek
p: 780-672-3099
w: http://www.canadiannorthern.ca

• Scandia
p: 403-362-5010

• Paradise Valley
p: 780-745-2150
w: http://www.kalynacountry.com/cream/listings.htm

• Andrew
p: 780-365-3687
w: http://www.adhams.tripod.com/adhams.htm

• Nanton
p: 403-646-5736
w: http://www.nantonelevators.com

• Calgary Heritage Park
p: 403-268-8500
w: http://www.heritagepark.ca

• Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village (Highway 16 east of Edmonton)
p: 780-662-3640
w: http://www.tapor.ualberta.ca/heritagevillage/

• Alberta Central Railway Museum (near Wetaskiwin)
p: 780-352-2257
w: http://www.albertasource.ca/carmn/museums/musatod.html

• Heritage Acres Museum (north of Pincher Creek on Hwy 785)
p: 403-627-2082
w: http://www.highway3.ca/attractions/heritageacres.htm

For information about Alberta’s Grain Elevator Society (AGES), the province’s premier grain elevator preservation organization, visit www.grainelevatorsalberta.ca

Grain Elevators and Train

Grain Elevators at Mossleigh – Alberta – Canada

Grain Elevators at Mossleigh.
Please reduce gas when entering Mossleigh, the village is so small you might miss it. Coming from the US border and heading to Calgary i made a detour in the search for these old wooden grain elevators. I knew that Mossleigh had some, but no idea how they stood in the landscape. When entering Mossleigh they stood perfect against a deep blue sky. Actually there are standing three in a row, but this Twins combination fits better in the overal composition.

Rowley Grain Elevators
The grain elevators in Rowley closed for good in 1989, a result of modern-day shift from the pioneer wooden grain elevators along the central Alberta rail line to selected “super-elevators” in larger centres. But residents saw the tourism dollar potential, and successfully lobbied to buy two elevators from the Alberta Wheat Pool for $1 each.

Less than a year before the new millennium, the last train passed through Rowley. And now the Alberta prairie town’s future may once more belong to the ghosts. In the mid-1970s, Rowley, which once boasted a population of about 500 in the 1920s, was a beat-up dying community, with rows of empty houses and businesses, and inhabited by only a few dozen prairie hardened souls. But one night, a few party-happy locals, whose liquor supply was fast dwindling, decided on a quick solution — a “B & E Party” at a boarded-up old saloon. The brazen men then got talking about sprucing up the pioneer community to make it a heritage stop for tourists. For the next quarter century, locals restored old homes and businesses and soon visitors were attracted from all parts of Alberta, Canada and the U.S. The highlight of the community’s new fame came in 1988 when a cinema production team used Rowley as the set for the hit Canadian movie, “Bye, Bye Blues”.

Here’s another photo from the ghost town of Rowley, Alberta, which we visited in July last year. We already showed you few photos from this place, which you can find in our set The beauty of Alberta Past. This time, the PP is heavy. I had to bring this photo to show something very personal to me. This is not a recording of reality as it was that day. This photo tries to portray my reality/perception/feelings while there in Rowley, engulfed by the ghosts of Alberta/Rowley past.

Attractiveness of the past

Lonely Skyscrapers
Long abandoned grain elevators at Josephine in rural Benson County, ND. View this large for a better understanding of how these old elevators were constructed, and to better see the decay taking place at the closest one.

Not Identical Twins. I’m still working on that crazy Sunday set. Lepine Grain Elevators. Just about all that’s left of the town of Lepine, Saskatchewan: two grain elevators.

Through the bushes

This is what I do for fun… Another look at those neat old grain elevators at St. Joe in western Ramsey County, and another “gratuitous pickup shot”. But this also shows what I do for fun. I explore gravel roads and photograph those things that catch my interest.

Source:

http://www.ama.ab.ca/westworld/?/articles/hold_that_elevator/

By: Zdenko Kahlina

Hello everyone!
It has been three years already! Samantha Louise Bagnall and Neven Kahlina got married on May 2nd, 2009. It was one beautiful day in between several cold days at the beginning of May that year. They have become a proud parents of little baby Luka since than. It was a beautiful ceremony at St. Joachim Catholic Church, followed by a reception and a dance at St. John’s Cultural Centre in Edmonton.
 

We couldn’t ask for a better day. It was sunny and warm (+22 degrees), and all the bridesmaids got sunburns. We all enjoyed the warm day standing in front of the church and taking pictures in every imaginable position.

The church where they got married was just beautiful; it has huge ceilings, grand arches, and lots of room for 150 wedding guests to move around in. St. Joachim’s is Edmonton’s oldest Roman Catholic parish, dating back to 1854 when Father Albert Lacombe converted a small building within Fort Edmonton into a chapel. It was later given the name of St. Joachim by Bishop Alexander Antoine Taché. 

The ceremony in the church was wonderful. Though it is a church in the French neighborhood, the priest Fr. Paul Moret held ceremony in English. Here is how my brother described it: ” It was the most beautiful wedding I have ever been to (including my own). The church was beautiful, ceremony was great (and short) and people around were wonderful. Sam’s family is great, they are all wonderful people”.

After the ceremony at the church, it was time to take zillion family pictures in front of the church. Than, it was bridal party turn to go off at different location to take more pictures. They all went to the Louise McKinney Park, by the Shaw conference centre.

We arrived at the St. John’s Cultural Centre for the reception around 5:15 pm, to relax for a couple of minutes before the party starts!!! A receiving line, consisting of Sam, Neven, Cindy, Keith, Vera and Zdenko, was there to welcome all the guests.  The lineups were not that long, but it was pretty busy for a while. When the cocktail hour started, I was so close to the bar that I could “smell” the beer, yet so far… as I was not able to leave my duty, before I welcomed all the guests to the reception.

Once all the guests were seated, ceremony started. DJ Dave (Bob Layton’s son; Bob Layton is very popular commentator for Edmonton’s Global TV station) introduced the whole wedding party.

The bridal party pairs were:

•1.      Sanja and Ben
•2.      Vicky and Josh
•3.      Kelly and Blaz
•4.      Becca and Mark

Ben and Josh introduced each member of the bridal party with a short description of who they are and how they are related/connected to the bride and groo

It was time for DJ Dave to call out the table numbers for the buffet line-up. After the dinner (by the way, food was great!) ceremony went well. It was time for the speeches.

First was Becca’s turn. She did a great job describing how the sisters grownup together.

Sanja, Neven’s sister, was next. She is a nurse at ICU in Royal Alexandra hospital. She lives only two blocks away from Sam and Neven and with her boyfriend Jeremy and her dog Rheya is a frequent visitor at Sam and Neven’s house. Having come to Canada from Croatia at a young age Sanja and Neven have been very close siblings and are very good friends as well.

Than Mark (Neven’s best man) had his speech and a toast to the groom. Neven and Mark know each other pretty much since Neven came to Canada and the Kahlina family started going to the Edmonton Croatian community gatherings and the Croatian church. They went to high school together; both lived in Calgary with a couple of other friends. They were each other’s wingmen while single. Now they are both getting married in the same year – Mark and Andrea Kemper are getting married later this year.

After Mark it was Vera’s and Zdenko’s turn to welcome Sam to the family. And they did (you can read his speech bellow).

Sam’s father Keith welcomed Neven to the Bagnall family…

At the end, Neven wanted to say few words too…

Ben and Josh wrapped up the speeches and introduced the slideshow that Sanja set up on the main display. The slideshow was something special. In 15 minutes we were introduced to Sam’s and Neven’s childhood with lots of memorable pictures.

When the slide show was finished DJ invited everyone to the dance floor for Bride and grooms first dance. This was followed by the dance for the wedding party, followed by bride’s dance with her dad and by that point everyone was welcomed to dance floor.

This is all for the blog. Hope you enjoyed reading it. I’m sure this wedding will give them something to talk about for the rest of their lives! 

Zdenko

Speeches

 Best man:
 Good evening ladies and gentlemen.  My name is Mark Marinic. There are obviously two very important people here today, without whom very little of this would have been possible. Neven and Sam, when you guys look at each other I can see how much you love each other and today is definitely a testament to that.  When Neven asked me to be his man, I was very overwhelmed and honored, I mean who else would you ask?

Kidding aside, this day has been so incredible and special and I am so happy that you found the love of your life, I know you will have many happy years together.

 I have known Neven for over 19 years; ever since he came to Canada at the age of 13 I remember seeing him and his family at the community gatherings and at the Croatian church. As time went on, I started seeing him around more and more and thought “Yah this is a cool guy!” and we became friends and have been ever since.

Neven, one of the best memories I have of you is when you told me you were going to ask Sam to merry you. You were so excited and happy when you described this special moment to me.  I saw your face light up. I thought to myself “she was the one”.  

Look at us now, back in the old city again and both getting married in the same year! How did this happen???

I’d just like to say Neven, you are a very lucky man, Sam is beautiful, smart, funny, warm and loving and she deserves a good man like you! So thank God you married her before she found some else.

Sam, I did the very best that I could to make Neven who he is today, if he every gets out of line, just let me know!!

I would like to say to the bridesmaids how beautiful and stunning all of you look today! And thank you for everything you have done to help prepare for this special day!

And to the groomsmen, you guys clean up pretty good too! Who knew a shower and a tux could make us look so handsome!

Neven, a few words of advise I’ve heard along the way, number 1) Marriage isn’t a word, it’s a sentence, (pause for laughing) and number 2) Marriage is a three-ring circus – engagement ring, wedding ring, suffering.

Well, my speech is almost done but before I finish, would everyone please stand and join me in a TOAST to Neven, a lifetime of happiness and love. To Neven!!!

From the bottom of my heart and with all kidding aside, may your love survive the test of time, lasting forever! Each of us in this room wishes you a long life of love, laughter, and growth. Along with the good times, there will be tough times but together you will get through whatever hand life deals.

Along with the wedding party, I would like to propose a toast to the happy couple and wish a lifetime of love and happiness together. To Neven and Sam!!!

Father of the groom:
Dear family and friends! Good evening!
It is my pleasure to welcome friends and relatives of both families to share this very special day. As father of the Groom it is my privilege and real pleasure to welcome Sam’s parents, Cindy and Keith and all her sisters and brothers.

Special thanks to our guests who came from afar (UK, Scotland, USA (Oklahoma), Toronto, Vancouver), your effort makes our celebration that much more special.

Not that long ago, Sam asked me if I was going to give a speech at the weeding, to welcome her to our family. I was honored then as I am now, happy to finally, have this opportunity to say:” Sam, on behalf of our family I welcome you to our lives and our hearts.”  (I want you to be my friend on the Facebook!)

We love you and thank you for joining our family! I’m sure everyone will agree with me when I say you are beautiful and today your beauty is even more radiant than ever!!!

I remember the day Neven introduced you to us for the first time, it was right after you left that Vera and I looked at each other with a smile and unspoken thoughts: “Oh, we sure hope Neven falls for her because she is a “keeper”. It turns out our wish was granted.

Our Son Neven is standing here today; honest, determined, loving and loved, a respectful and respected young man who makes me proud to be his father. (I do forgive you for taking my car(s) without permission!)

Neven I am here to say today that both, your mother Vera and I love you unconditionally for everyday of your life and those feelings will stay with us forever. You made us even happier with finding Sam and bringing her to yours and our lives.

Since the day we were introduced we just love to say repeatedly: “Sam is the best “thing” that could happen to Neven”. She understands you, better than we ever could!

Sam stays calm and is very persistent; she knows what she wants and how to get it (done). Whatever it is, to our surprise, Neven is listening! Well, most of the time. Right Sam!?

It appears they assigned their chores quite equally: Neven takes care of the remote control, computer games, Beamer, barbeque and beer. Sam takes care of the rest!? Nobody’s complaining…… Not yet!

We love YOU both very much!

Toast: Please all rise and join us in a toast to the bride and groom:

“May your lives and this marriage be a symbol to us all, of the love in your hearts and the joy that will last forever.”

We wish you and your guests to have a great time tonight! Enjoy!

Groom’s speech:
Ladies and Gentlemen, family and friends, thank you all for being here to share this special day with us. We have been planning this day for a long time and it has turned out to be everything we have imagined and hoped for.

Sam and I met two and a half years ago at a friends going away party and from the first few dates it was clear that we were a perfect match. She has just enough patience to put up with my sometimes immature ways and I……well…..I’m just lucky to have her. Her family has accepted me as one of their own and my family has done the same with her. As a matter of fact sometimes I think they like her more than me.

Guests

We would like to thank all of our guests, friends and family for showing their support today and for sharing this special day in our lives with us. We would like to offer special thanks to some guests who have traveled from far away to be with us today and even apologize that we have not been able to spend more time with them but as you all know this day required a lot of work and organizing.

We would like to thank:

Lorraine, Geoff, Emma and Daniel Hodson as well as Jennifer Clegg whom are here visiting us from England.

Jan and Bob Bagnall from Scotland.

Simon and Amy Bagnall from Arkansas.

Ljiljana Mironovic from Toronto.

Branko and Zlata Vukic from Vancouver.

Amanda Kelloway from Vancouver.

Rob Gora from Vancouver.

Karmyn, Chad and Abi Graham from Okotoks.

Guests not present:

Unfortunately, it’s not been possible to have everyone we love here with us today, but we know they’re here with us in spirit & they’re not only in our thoughts today, but more importantly they’re with us in our hearts.

Parents 

We would like to thank both sets of parents as we wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for them. We want to thank them all for the love and support over the years and for everything they have done to help make this day special for us.

To my Mum & Dad….

Thank you for all the advice you have given me, for putting up with me and pointing me in the right direction. Although I wasn’t always an obedient kid and had a tendency to do the exact opposite of what I was taught I think it’s safe to say now that I turned out OK. I’m sure you will have a lot of advice and suggestions to pass on to Sam as she will surely need to be armed with patience and Love going forward with her life with me.

Mum, Dad I love you very much, hold your heads high you’ve done a great job!

To Sam’s parents

Thank you for all your love and support and for giving Sam a great start in life. I believe that I’m also meant to thank you for putting up with her in her childhood and teenage years, however when I asked her for some embarrassing snippets of information for this part of my speech, I got the reply: ‘I’m perfect, I didn’t do anything wrong when I was a child’!!….

Of course I haven’t just gained a wife today, but also a family. Thank you to all of them for making me feel so welcome. Most of all, thank you for bringing Sam up to be the woman that I have married.

Mark and groomsmen

I’ve known Mark or Marko for about 18-19 years or so… and both Sam and I are very pleased to hear that Mark & Andrea have decided to get married later this year. I can only hope to be able to return the favor of helping with your wedding as well as you have helped us with ours. I think it needs to be mentioned that the bachelor Party was one for the history books and Mark with the help of all the groomsmen did a wonderful job planning a day filled with fun and exciting events.

I would also like to thank Blaz, Josh and Ben for everything they have done for us and for their support and love. Since Ben is getting married to Jenn later this year and Josh and Jenna will be tying the knot soon also I guess the pressure now falls on Blaz’s shoulders to take the next step….

Many thanks for all your support today…

Becca and Bridesmaids

We would like to thank Becca and the Bridesmaids who I am sure you will all agree look amazing today for their love and support. They have done a brilliant job planning and helping out with the wedding and making sure Sam didn’t run off somewhere at the last minute.

Sam

I now come to the most important person in my life – my wife!

Honey, it’s been a long time coming and I can’t stop smiling! Simply put…. ‘You look absolutely stunning, you take my breath away!’ I’m just so proud to be your Husband… Thank You for choosing me to spend the rest of your life with!

They say, ‘To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little. To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.’ It works for me.

We have so many plans to make throughout our lives together but, whatever happens, I know that we will be together forever and that is all that matters in this world. I love you simply because you are you. That’s why I know for the rest of my life I will always be in love with only you!

The bride: Samantha Bagnall Kahlina

From C2E forum
Edmonton is a newborn in terms of most European or Asian Cities. As you may notice from the following photos, the building material of choice in those days was plain red brick.

Historic Building Tour - Part 1.

Edmonton is but a newborn in terms of most European or Asian Cities. Even compared to eastern North American cities it is relatively young. Fort Edmonton, or Edmonton house was built near the present day Legislature Building in 1830, and in 1871 the first log house was built outside the fort’s walls. 1875 and 1876 saw the first hospital and hotel. In 1891 the first railway reached Strathcona, then a separate town, now a trendy Edmonton neighborhood. On January 9, 1892 Edmonton was given birth and incorporated as a town, a scant 12 years later it became a city.

 The majority of surviving heritage structures were born at about the same time as Edmonton itself. This means that most have just reached, or are about to reach their centenary soon. As you may notice from the following photos, the building material of choice in those days was plain red brick; however, there are a few structures which incorporate larger masonry blocks in whole or in part.

 One thing you should note is fort Edmonton actually started in 1795 as a Fur Trading post.

 The Boyle Street (Jasper East) area has some great potential with the Quarters, especially being so close to the core. Many people don’t actually know this, but the Boyle area was the original downtown core of Edmonton. It was where the town grew up, and when the Hudson’s Bay Reserve Lands (on current downtown, Oliver, and parts of Rossdale) was subdivided and sold in portions to the City of Edmonton in the late 1900s (1900-1910 – so the decade, meaning 1907-1910ish) and the area where current Churchill Square and TELUS Plaza are were booming like crazy and this is also where the city adopted a formal grid network with streets N-S and avenues E-W contradicting Boyle until later. The current downtown soon became the centre and was called the downtown, ditching Boyle.

 I intend to continue adding pictures to this blog as I make my way to photograph other parts of the city, but for today, we will start with Jasper Ave East, and the downtown core.

All names, dates, and history were researched from three sources:
1. ‘Historic Walks of Edmonton’, by Kathryn Ivany
2. ‘Naming Edmonton’, credited writer City of Edmonton
3. Placards fixed to the buildings themselves by the Edmonton Historic Society, I have included pictures of these where they exist.

Hecla Block
Address: 10141 95th St.
Year: 1914

Built by an Icelandic immigrant, the Hecla Block was named after an Icelandic volcano. In 1994 the building was severely damaged by fire. The building and facade were completely redone, and now the building holds 14 suites.

Personal note: My brother lived in this building for about a year prior to the fire. I recall attending a ‘block party’ whereby almost all the residents opened their doors for all to come and go. Good times!

North-West Mounted Police Barracks
Address: 9530 101A Ave.
Year: 1913

The Mounties moved to Edmonton from Ft. Saskatchewan in 1909. You can see from the photos that various additions were incorporated as the size of the force grew. There used to be small houses on the grounds for married officers, these have long since been demolished.

Gibson Block
Address: 9608 Jasper Ave.
Year: 1914

William Gibson bought this lot in 1913 for the sum of one dollar, as it was believed the odd, pie-shaped lot was all but unusable. The building was originally to be 3 floors, another was added after construction had already begun. The building originally held offices on the upper floors, but were later converted to apartments. There was a Turkish bath in the basement in operation from 1914 till the mid-eighties. The Gibson Block received a three-million dollar restoration in 1994.

flatiron view

Ernest Brown Block and Pendennis Hotel
Address: 9660/9630 Jasper Ave.
Year: 1912/1904

This building was constructed for Ernest Brown’s photographic studio, office, workshop, and retail store. In 1924, after the post WWI bust, creditors seized the building and renamed it the “Brighton Block”. Brown fled to Vegreville for a short time, and became involved with publishing a pro-labor ‘radical’ newsletter. He later returned to Edmonton, and in 1947 he sold his collection of over 150000 negatives to the Alberta Government. The negatives are filed at the provincial archives to this day.

The Pendennis Hotel was completed in 1904, and was known as one of the finer hotels in Edmonton, and its restaurant had a reputation for fine cuisine. Prohibition ended the hotel’s profitability, and eventually it was foreclosed. In 1945 it was converted to a boarding house, the “Kenmo Lodge”. This was later shortened to The Lodge Hotel. The building is currently undergoing restoration.

Ernest Brown Block

Pendennis Hotel on right, undergoing facade restoration

Gem Theatre
Address: 9682 Jasper Ave.
Year: 1914

The Gem Theatre was one of three motion picture theatres in this area, once known as ‘Theatre Row’. It operated for 70 years until it closed. Since then it has existed in two incarnations, a live music venue, and another round as a movie house. The building is currently empty, and in need of rehabilitation. Hopefully this will occur along with the city’s plans for an area redevelopment, “The Quarters”.

Jasper House Hotel
Address: 9692 Jasper Ave.
Year: 1882

Originally a hangout for hunters and trappers, the Jasper House Hotel was the Edmonton terminus of the Calgary-Edmonton stagecoach. The five day journey (in good weather) cost $25 one-way. The name was changed to the Empress Hotel in 1920, and changed again to the Hub Hotel in 1940. Today it is home to a convenience store and a seedy drinking hole.

Goodridge Block
Address: 9696 Jasper Ave.
Year: 1912

Named after Leonard Goodridge, who also developed the Gem Theatre and other properties. The building’s best known tenant was W.W. Arcade (formerly W.W. Sales) which for a very long time was Edmonton’s largest hardware store. As a homage to the past, the today’s tenant is the ‘Hardware Grill’, and upscale restaurant.

Imperial Bank of Canada
Address: 9990 Jasper Ave.
Year: 1952

OK, so this one isn’t that old, but it is still a cool building. The Imperial Bank had occupied this spot since 1891, and in 1961 was merged with the Canadian Bank of Commerce, to become the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The branch remained open until 2000 when it was combined into the original Bank of Commerce site two blocks west (featured later). Today the building is branded as the World Trade Centre Edmonton, and contains offices for the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation, The Edmonton Airport Authority, Edmonton Tourism, and an upscale steakhouse.

South elevation

West elevation

Facade detail

Downtown Core Pt II tomorrow. Sneak-peak of photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/badcomp…7617357434242/

To be continued…

By: Zdenko Kahlina

Happy Birthday, Art Gallery of Alberta (Edmonton)
 It’s been two years already. Rookie years indeed.  Edmonton downtown art gallery celebrates it’s second anniversary as core attraction. You brought in big-name headliners, who brought in the crowds. But, only a 12 months ago, nearly thirty people from Edmonton’s very active social media community attended the blogger sneak peek at the new Art Gallery of Alberta in downtown Edmonton. Armed with smart phones, video cameras, audio recorders, and lots of digital cameras, they toured the new building with Sarah Hoyles, the AGA’s Media Relations and Communications Coordinator, and Gilles Hebert, the AGA’s Executive Director.

Art Gallery of Alberta

The very striking building is situated at #2 Sir Winston Churchill Square, on the northeast corner between City Hall and Chancery Hall/Century Place. I think it is just as beautiful on the inside as it is distinct on the outside. Everyone is in for a real treat when it officially  

Designed by Los Angeles architect Randall Stout, features of the 85,000 square foot AGA include:

• 30,000 sq ft of premiere exhibition space
• An outdoor sculpture terrace on the third floor
• Dedicated gallery space for the AGA permanent collection of nearly 6,000 works of art
• An expanded Education Centre, the Singhmar Centre for Art Education
• A restaurant, café, espresso bar, gallery shop, 150 seat theatre and an Art Rental and Sales Gallery
• Unique facility rental spaces such as an atrium for banquets, an outdoor sculpture terrace and a ‘floating’ private lounge

If you appreciate art in a variety of mediums, you’ll enjoy visit to the new Edmonton Art Gallery. The Edmonton Art Gallery offers a superb collection of over 5,000 historical and contemporary works of art showcasing regional, national and international artists. Paintings, sculptures, prints, installation works and photographs are on display. 

Art Gallery of Alberta

The new AGA will be an 85,000 square foot innovative gallery that will present national and international exhibitions. It will be a premier presentation venue for international and Canadian art, education and scholarship. The gallery in itself will be a work of art that will complement and complete the cultural precinct surrounding Churchill Square and solidify Alberta’s Capital as a world-class city.

The new AGA will be a centre of excellence for the visual arts in Western Canada in the 21st century, expressing the creative spirit of Alberta. The Gallery will feature:

• Significant increases in the exhibition spaces (from 16,000 sq ft to 30,000 sq ft).
• Dedicated gallery space for the AGA permanent collection of over 6,000 works of art.
• Expanded Education Centre
• Restaurant, gallery shop, and 150 seat theatre
• Unique facility rental spaces such as an atrium for banquets with catering kitchen, outdoor sculpture court and ‘floating’ private lounge

Art Gallery of Alberta

The amazing new AGA will showcase three floors of exceptional exhibitions.

Opening shows will include major works by the famous Edgar Degas and Francisco Goya, celebrated Canadian photographers Yousuf Karsh and Edward Burtynksy and the internationally renowned Canadian artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller.

You’ll find an outdoor sculpture terrace featuring work by Albertan Ken Macklin, as well as a new children’s gallery, named BMO World of Creativity, focusing on the theme of architecture for 2010.

Looking east

I was most excited to hear that the AGA doubled its public/events space, something I think that is sorely lacking in the core. Besides the great hall, I loved the third floor terrace – it’s about time Edmonton has another rooftop patio downtown (the cafe adjacent to the patio will be installed in February).

Terrace reflections 

The view from the terrace

Many are also looking forward to the new downtown dining option of ZINC. Walking into the space, I was immediately reminded of Cactus Club Bentall 5, but I couldn’t fathom how 76 people could be seated inside. Staff was busy being trained so we couldn’t stick around, but I loved the blue glass against the bar and all of the natural light. Menu details have been sparse (you can see the teaser here), but the chef has said he will be sourcing ingredients locally.

The gallery is beautiful. The building is inspired by the borealis and is made of four core elements; Zinc, Douglas fir, Steel, and Glass. With 60-70 percent more gallery space and double the amount of public space, it is definitely leaps and bounds from the old gallery. From the massive 3rd floor gallery which will open with the North American premier of Janet Cardiff and George Bures Millers installation: The Murder of Crows, to the striking first floor which holds an area for children and Francisco Goya’s infamous print suites: Los Caprichos (1799) and The Disasters of War (1810-1820).

The building moves in one continuous path from the inside to the outside, creating a very natural flow. This was describe in a really straight forward way; look at the average building downtown, and you have no idea what the interior looks like. With the outside of the AGA an extension of the inside, its beauty is open for everyone to see. Even the amount of snow held on the exterior of the structure has been taken into consideration. The basement houses gallery rentals and sales, a theatre, and four colour-coded rooms with access to the exterior for school groups and so on. There will also be three food establishments on site, an upscale restaurant (Zinc), bistro (Terrace Cafe) and a coffee bar in the basement.

A wonderful space, and a truly wonderful tour, it left me at a loss for words. I learned so much today, and with it’s opening just around the corner, I hope it leaves you with the same feeling. From the state of the art climate system to the directors desire to have an open (cost-free) building, this afternoon was full of information. I can’t thank Sarah and Gilles enough for taking the time to show a few locals the goodies that are currently hidden within. I should also thank Mr. Edmonton himself, Mack Male, as I hear this process may have been started by a suggestion. Do go when you get a chance.

Art Gallery of Alberta
2 Sir Winston Churchill Square
780.422.6223

Source: The Edmonton Radial Railway Society’s
 
Early in 1903 the engineers of the Calgary and Edmonton Railway (C & ER), which had reached Strathcona in 1891, began surveys for a possible crossing of the North Saskatchewan River to reach Edmonton. In early May of 1903 the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) purchased the C & ER so any new railroad bridge would be built by CPR.

First train crossing CPR High Level Bridge at Edmonton. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, Archives Collection No. B.3618. 

Construction of the Edmonton High Level Bridge commenced in 1910, with the final girder in place in 1913. The train shown crossing the bridge is drawn after a photo by Ernest Brown titled “First train to cross the CPR High Level Bridge at Edmonton,” probably taken in June of 1913. The deck at the top of the structure carried three tracks; the centre for trains, the two outside for electric streetcars. The road deck was located twenty feet below, with two sidewalks eight feet wide supported on cantilever brackets.

Negotiations among CPR, Edmonton, Strathcona and Alberta were lengthy and it was not until November 30, 1909 that an agreement was signed. Initial plans called merely for a railway bridge but Strathcona pushed for a combined rail and road bridge. The final agreement included a road and sidewalk deck below the railroad and streetcar deck.

Picture: Provincial Archives of Alberta, B3311

The erecting traveler that moves on the rails at the extreme edge of the top deck of The High Level Bridge has completed the bridge framework to the last concrete pier on the north bank of the North Saskatchewan River. The five wooden false work supports between piers three and four support the steel until all rivets are in place to hold the steel framework together.

Construction for the 62 foundations of the land piers and four river piers began on August 14, 1910. Construction of the piers was completed in 1911 and erection of the steel commenced almost immediately from the south side. Early in 1913 the steel reached the north side. On June 2, 1913 the first CPR passenger train steamed into Edmonton over the newly completed structure. The first streetcar crossed the bridge on August 11, 1913.

A CPR steam train traverses the High Level Bridge on its way to Calgary. ©Allan Muir Collection,

Some interesting numbers

Final cost: exceeded $2 million

Length: 755 m (2,478 ft)

Width: 13 m (43 ft)

Steel: approximately 1 million ft

Rivets: almost 1.4 million

Concrete: 25 thousand barrels

Paint: 22,750 liters (5,000 gallons)

Top deck: approximately 49 m (160 ft) above water level.

©Provincial Archives of Alberta, GS193/2  

Edmonton 40 starts across The High Level Bridge northbound on the “wrong side”. As a safety measure the streetcars crossed over to the “opposite” side at each end of the bridge so that if a car failed or some other emergency arose, passengers could exit from the doors on the right side of the car on to the bridge deck rather than into empty space! The narrow pair of rails in the center of each of the three tracks are safety rails to prevent cars from leaving the bridge deck in a derailment.

High level bridge these days

High level bridge these days

High level bridge these days

Streetcar traffic across the bridge was terminated on September 1, 1951 with the abandonment of the streetcar system. After a few years, the streetcar tracks across the bridge were removed, while the railway track saw further use until the 1980s. Luckily, it was never lifted and serves today as right-of-way for the High Level Bridge Streetcar service provided by the Edmonton Radial Railway Society. Furthermore, the disused poles for the overhead wires were left in situ too; at present they are holding the span wires for the re-erected overhead.

Streetcar still goes across the High level Bridge

Museum streetcar service across the bridge from Strathcona to Grandin started in 1997 with an extension opened to Jasper Avenue in 2005. The service operates from May until October and carries close to 50,000 passengers per year.

Streetcar getting onto the bridge from south side

Source: http://www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca/streetcarhistory/highlevelbridgehistory/

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Send your comments to: zdenko@zkahlina.ca

The Gibson block was built in 1913, by A.W. Cowley Architect. It is currently home to the Women’s Emergency Accommodation Centre (WEAC)…

In thousands of hours of research and interviews for her 1995 book Flatiron Legacy One of Heritage and Help, Edmonton historian Kathryn Ivany was repeatedly struck by the love people have for the Gibson Block. There is a connection to this structure that few other buildings can top, she says.

Resurrected as the Women’s Emergency Accommodation Centre (WEAC), the story of the Gibson Block, Edmonton’s flat iron building, is one of salvation and hope. Now, as a place for homeless and transient women, the triangular building at 9608 Jasper Avenue again offers refuge to those in need – as it has for much of its 90-year existence.

Derelict, decaying and seemingly destined to be a forgotten footnote in time, the Gibson Block came within a whisker of vanishing from our urban landscape. Until city heritage planner Daryl Cariou raised the alarm in the autumn of 1993, the Gibson Block appeared headed for the wrecking ball.

But after Mayor Jan Reimer agreed to call a public meeting to seek solutions, something magic happened: Edmontonians rallied around a cause with the spirit that built this great city. The Edmonton City Centre Church Corporation (ECCCC) came forward with a plan to convert the building into a shelter for women in need. And a landmark was saved.

Designed by architect A.W. Cowley on commission from realtor William Gibson and constructed by contractor J. Sheridan at a cost of $40,000, the Gibson Block was unique even when it was completed in 1913. Inspired by the flatiron style first utilized in New York in 1902 and necessitated by the triangular lot at the corner of Jasper Avenue and what was then Rice Street (now 96th Street), the building boasted design elements popularized by the Chicago School of Architecture.  

Main floor tenants in 1914 included the Gibson Cafe, Donald G. Ross’s Hardware and Loptson and Son Jewelers. That year, offices on the top three floors were converted to residential units. The basement housed the Turkish Bath, which remained in operation under various names including Edmonton Steam Baths and Georgia Turkish Baths until 1978.

Ivanys book, the brainchild of the Beckie Garber-Conrad of Active Voice Communications, was nurtured by people like Edmonton Public Schools Archivist Mike Kostek and City of Edmonton Archivist Bruce Ibsen and reference librarian June Honey. It was completed as a tandem project with the rejuvenation of the building and designed by restoration architect Barry Johns.

Among those at the launch was Carol Schubert, granddaughter of Paul Schubert, who bought the building from Realtor William Gibson in 1914, the year after Gibson built it. Carol, who lives in New Orleans, just happened to be in Edmonton during the book event.

Its amazing to see what they have done with this place, she marveled. My grandfather would be astonished and delighted, I’m sure. During the research, Kathryn talked with dozens of people who recall the area as vibrant and exciting. The Jasper East Block was, after all, Edmonton’s original downtown.

For many years, the toe end on the main floor of the triangular building housed various grocery stores, operated by families like the Klimoves, Rodins and Wynes. The stores were known for some of the best fruit and produce in the city.

People used to come to buy their groceries and socialize, Kathryn says. It was a real gathering place.  But by the 1980s, the building had fallen into disuse and decay. The roof leaked, water cracked mortar on the north wall, pigeons reigned. The once glorious Gibson Block became an eyesore at the eastern entrance to downtown.

That the building was rescued at all is a testament to the power of people. The formation of the Gibson Block Action Committee (GBAC), drawing members from many segments of the community, helped ECCCC make the dream a reality. The two groups launched an ambitious campaign to raise money for restoration of historically significant elements – like glass girdled storefronts, four alcove entrances, rare prism glass and superb brick craftsmanship. The groups established an endowment fund to help pay for future maintenance.

Original plans acquired at the city archives and studied by architect Barry Johns in designing the rejuvenation show the structure was out by just one-eighth of an inch. “They knew what they were doing,” he smiles.  “The restoration of the Gibson Block was all about building together,” says Martin Garber-Conrad, ECCCC executive director. Everything just came together at the right time, thanks to a lot of hard work by a great number of people.   

Just like the very rescue of the building itself. We should apply the lessons learned with the Gibson Block to other historic structures facing uncertain futures or in need of some loving urban renewal.

Source: Edmonton Journal

Spectacular Sikh Temple on Manning Drive
This beautiful Mughal style Sikh temple is located in a relatively isolated corner of North East Edmonton, in an area called Horse Hills. I live in the neighborhood and ride my bike on the roads near the temple. You can also see this beautiful temple from the Manning drive en route to Fort Saskatchewan. It shows the architectural and cultural diversity of Edmonton.

This massive Sikh temple sits in the middle of nowhere beside Manning Drive.

Little Sikh Temple on the Prairie
But even though the spot is alone in the middle of a field off Manning Drive, it’s the centre of a fast-growing Punjabi community in the north end. A crowd of more than 1,000 is expected to drive out for the full-moon celebrations Tuesday night, and more than 2,000 for the fireworks on Oct. 26 marking Diwali, the festival of lights.

The hub of this community is tucked in the back, in a kitchen where 80-year-old hands roll the corn roti, strip mint leaves and wash spinach. Especially on weekends and full-moon days, the big main floor kitchen, with its six gas burners and pots the size of wine barrels, will be a hive of busy activity.

The Sikh community celebrates every full moon to remember their founder, Guru Nanak Devji, who was born on a full-moon day in 1469. He founded the Sikh religion to counter the strict focus on caste in the Hindu religion at the time, and started the practice of eating together.

“Anyone from any cast or religion, no matter how poor or rich, everybody sat together and had langar, which is food,” said Jas Sekhon, a retired small-business owner who volunteers in the kitchen at least once a week.

“He was trying to bring equality,” she said. “They can never stop anyone from coming in to have langar here.”

The Nanaksar Gurdwara is the largest of four temples in Edmonton serving a community of about 12,000 Sikhs. It’s the only one that has food seven days a week, Sekhon said. The temple opens at 3 a.m., when the first priest comes in to start reading from the holy book in the upstairs prayer room. The first kitchen volunteers come in at 5:30 to prepare breakfast. Others arrive later to make lunch and keep food available through the day. They serve community members, construction volunteers, school groups and anyone who stops in to learn about the Sikh faith, said Zora Grewal, vice-president of the Edmonton branch.

The dining hall is a 10,000-square-foot room with a floor made of marble and granite, all salvaged from demolished Edmonton-area buildings, donated or bought from sale bins no one else wanted. The second floor holds a carpeted prayer room, where volunteers take turns reading the scriptures. On a full-moon day, both these rooms will be full as worshippers pray, then come downstairs to eat, talk and work, then return upstairs to pray again.

“You should come here, if you come only for an hour. The atmosphere is so energizing you find strength here,” Sekhon said. “I love it here. I find so much peace.”

Sikh temple a labour of love in northeast Edmonton
Edmonton‘s Nanaksar Gurdwara temple has been built with volunteer labour from as far away as England and India. It says everything about this hands-on labour of love still growing as it enters its third decade in the northeast corner of Edmonton. The Sikh temple has been built with the coins and small bills dropped in the prayer room collection box, and with volunteer labour from as far away as England and India. University students spend their summers laying tile. They don’t hire contractors.

“It’s love, that’s what it is,” said Sehejpal Athwal, a 24-year-old customer sales rep for HSBC from England. He’s spending most of his 11-day vacation visiting his brother and volunteering on-site last week.

They come because they work beside their Baba Ji, or religious leader, he said. “They give us love, we love them and they teach us to love one another. You all learn to love and become one. It makes a better world.”

The dome of the temple now towers 10 storeys above the surrounding fields, but though they started in 1989, the Sikhs are not done building. Construction started on a new north wing designed to house a language school. Community leaders also have plans for a student residence, and perhaps a funeral home and a seniors residence, on the 36-hectare site.

Click here for more photos from the Nanaksar Gurdwara. Check out food writer Liane Faulder’s blog Eat my Words for a recipe from the gurdwara kitchen. 

This Photo by Elise Stolte / Edmonton Journal

By: Zdenko Kahlina

Church History
TSt. Joachim’s Roman Catholic Church is a red-brick church situated on a portion of two lots in Edmonton’s Oliver neighborhood.

Completed in 1899, the building manifests the strong influence of late nineteenth century French-Canadian church architecture. Prominent features of the red-brick church include a symmetrical front facade, gable roof, projecting central tower flanked by shorter corner towers, round-arched windows, and stone keystones, stringcourses, and sills.

St. Joachim’s Roman Catholic Church

Heritage Value

The heritage value of St. Joachim’s Roman Catholic Church lies in its association with the establishment and development of the Catholic community in Edmonton and in its excellent representation of late nineteenth century French-Canadian ecclesiastical architecture.

St. Joachim’s is Edmonton’s oldest Roman Catholic parish, dating back to 1854 when Father Albert Lacombe converted a small building within Fort Edmonton into a chapel. It was later given the name of St. Joachim by Bishop Alexander Antoine Taché.

St. Joachim’s Roman Catholic Church

The parish remained within the Fort until 1877 when it was rebuilt at 121 Street and Jasper Avenue on land donated by Malcolm Groat. During this period there was no single resident parish priest with various clergymen taking up the task at different times. In 1883, Father Henri Grandin became the first resident priest. In 1883 he purchased some land from the Hudson’s Bay Company and in 1886 had completed work on a third St. Joachim’s Church. Grandin left the parish in1889 and it was presided over by several priests over the next decade, including Father Lacombe.

St. Joachim’s Roman Catholic Church

My son was married in St. Joachim’s Roman Catholic Church

Our wedding party in the church

Father Hippolyte Leduc took over the church in 1896. Under his direction in the summer of 1898 construction of the existing church at 9920-110 Street began. The completed building, which opened on December 8, 1999, was unmistakably Roman Catholic in design but unique for Alberta-the building materials, such as interior wood paneling and the use of side pinnacles, were more common of Quebec architecture. St. Joachim’s was designated a provincial historic resource in 1978.Saint Joachim and Saint Anne have been venerated as the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary since the first century A.D. Hence, it is fitting that the first parish in Costa Mesa would be named after the husband of the saint whose name was given to the neighboring city, Santa Ana. The founding Pastor, Msgr. Thomas Nevin, had his first priestly assignment in Santa Ana. The new parish was founded on March 16, 1947. At its beginning, the parish territory included all the city of Costa Mesa and parts of Newport Beach.

Costa Mesa traces its history to a Spanish land grant in 1810 to Jose Antonio Yorba. By 1880, settlers had bought sections of the land grant from the Yorba heirs and had established the town of Fairview. A storm in 1889 destroyed the small town. A new small town, called Harper, named for a nearby rancher, was established and it gradually grew. In 1920, Harper officially changed its name to Costa Mesa, meaning “Coastal Table Land” in Spanish, and continued as an agricultural community. The city survived the Great Depression, in spite of the collapse of many businesses, and during the Second World War, it was the training site for thousands of people at the Santa Ana Army Air base. When Saint Joachim Parish was founded some of the old buildings of this Army base served as temporary quarters for parish activities.

St. Joachim dream

The land for the parish was purchased in the summer of 1947. The old base chapel was moved to the property and remodeled in time to celebrate Christmas Masses that year. On June 13, 1948, Bishop Timothy Manning dedicated the new church building. On September 12, 1949, the new school was opened, under the leadership of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, using barracks also transferred from the base. In 1954, a new addition to the church building was completed, doubling its capacity. In 1965, the current church structure was built and dedicated.

As Southern California expanded over the decades, so has the parish, reaching its current membership of over 3,000 families and reflecting the ethnic mix of the changing times. In 1960, one half of its territory was transferred to its daughter parish, St. John the Baptist.

The parish embarked on a major expansion of its facilities in 2004, building new classrooms, administration offices, a rectory and a parish hall. Many priests and religious have served the people of the parish under the leadership of its pastors, Monsignor Thomas Nevin, Father Kenneth Krause, and Father Joseph Robillard. The parish is led by the current pastor, Father Enrique Sera, two vicars, Fathers Gilberto Escobedo and Stephen Doktorczyk, a professional pastoral staff and the school principal, Sister Kathleen Marie Pughe, C.S.J. The community is also blessed with able volunteers who serve on lay boards and councils. The mission of the parish is to open its doors to all who with to follow Christ in the Roman Catholic tradition and to reach out in love to all of its neighbors, Catholic and non-Catholic alike.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of St. Joachim’s Roman Catholic Church include such features as:

-         location in Edmonton’s Oliver neighbourhood.

Exterior:

- mass, form, scale, and style;
- red brick construction with stone stringcourses, keystones, and trim;
- tall central tower with a double lantern belfry featuring four large corner pinnacles and surmounted by a galvanized steel steeple;
- two smaller side towers crowned by smaller spires;
- non-structural buttressing between the round-arched aisle windows;
- corbelling under the cornice;
- fenestration pattern and style, including oeil-de-boeuf window on front facade, round-arched windows, and painted glass windows.

Interior:
- window tracery;
- segmented nave barrel vault sheathed with wood panelling and tracery;
- semi-circular nave arcading;
- perimeter wainscot and window trim;
- elaborate wood stair to choir;
- one-storey brick vestry on building’s north-west corner with lancet windows and east entry door;
- original interior details, including central altar, painting above altar, lateral altars, lectern with a wineglass shape, organ, Stations of the Cross, pews, statuary, original doors, and vestry cabinet.

Source: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: Des. 481)

By: Zdenko Kahlina

Four amazing pyramids, endless opportunities for discovery.
Muttart Conservatory pyramids are indeed a “jewel in the arctic”. With eight months of the year shrouded in wintry weather, Edmonton is the most populous northern city in Canada. Naturally, if you live here you would develop a craving for other earthly climes especially in the middle of winter.

I moved here from Europe twenty years ago with my family. My first winter saw me in bouts of extended depression. Then one day I discovered Muttart – four heavenly pyramids set in the middle of the arctic desert. Each one is special in its own way. You can experience an arid, a temperate, a tropical or a show pyramid or all four at once depending on your fancy. Entering any one of the pyramids is akin to entering an enchanted land. You soon forget all your troubles and mundane activities and immerse yourself in the sublime environment that pyramid has to offer oblivious to the -30C weather outside.

The Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada consists of four glass pyramid greenhouses. Each pyramid has a different theme.

The conservatory, launched with a $1 million gift from the Gladys and Merrill Muttart Foundation, was officially opened September 3rd, 1976. Set in Edmonton’s lush river valley, the four pyramids of the Muttart Conservatory shimmer in the sun, home to thousands of species of plants, both domestic and exotic. It was billed as the most northerly botanical conservatory in North America, but it was the “pyramid power” that seemed to garner the most attention.

More than 30 years since the Muttart Conservatory opened, the pyramids have become such symbols of the city that it’s hard to imagine Edmonton without them. When you look at any promotion picture for Edmonton, almost always one of the images is the view of the city skyline, taken from the hill on Connors Road, with the Muttart Conservatory in the foreground.

Tropical Pyramid

The dense growth of plants inhabiting the Tropical Pyramid is lush, green, and fragrant, while the air is humid and warm. The colorful plants and canopied fig trees are typical of a tropical rain forest.

The tropical and temperate pyramids are 24 m (79′) high at apex; their base side length is 26 m (85′) and their overall area is 660 square meters (7,100 square feet). The arid and show pyramids are 18 m (59′) high at apex; the base length of their sides is 19.5 m (65′) and their overall area is 381 square meters (4,200 square feet).

Temperate Pyramid

Environmental conditions in the Temperate Pyramid are carefully controlled to allow the plants within to undergo a natural cycle of dormancy and active growth each year. The result is visually dramatic seasonal changes, much like what happens in Edmonton.  This is a very sought after pyramid in the winter when inside the plants think it’s spring and everything is alive with new growth while outside it is wintery, cold and grey.

Arid Pyramid

The plants that inhabit the Arid Pyramid originate in North America, the Mediterranean, Africa and Madagascar. These plants have the ability to survive dry air, irregular moisture and wide day/night temperature fluctuations. Many of these plants are of economic importance.

Feature Pyramid

The fourth pyramid has eight different themes each year. The Feature Pyramid is changed completely several times a year and each display features flowering plants that create seasonal celebrations of living color. The current one is celebrating Christmas.  There are more than 700 different species in the Conservatory.

Art Wall

The Muttart Art Wall is on the north side of the Conservatory’s central atrium and offers emerging artists an opportunity to exhibit their works.

A visit typically costs about $10. I recommend an Annual Pass for those of you living in Edmonton. With the Pass you can visit Muttart anytime all year round. My favorite pyramid is the “Tropical”; I simply love sitting in the pyramid reading a classic book, listening to the waterfall and the finches sing, surrounded by plants and trees of every kind.

The Muttart Conservatory, 9626 96 A Street, is open weekdays from 9 am to 5:30 pm and on weekends from 11 am to 5:30 pm. See www.edmonton.ca/Muttart or phone (780) 496 1403 for more information.

That was my vision of paradise. I don’t know what your’s is but I can tell you this much: create a mental image of your paradise and enter Muttart to find it realized. For those of you visiting Edmonton, my request is that please include Muttart in your itinerary. You will take away a memory, however ephemeral, that you’ll cherish all your life.

I really enjoyed my visit to the conservatory, because I learned so much about plants and trees from all over the world.

By: unknown

Read and remember!
No matter what our kids and the new generation think about us, WE ARE AWESOME !!! Our lives are living proof!

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930′s, 40′s, 50′s, 60′s and 70′s!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn’t get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes. Riding in the back of a pick-up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren’t overweight.

WHY? Because we were always outside playing… that’s why!

 We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s or X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD’s, no surround-sound or CD’s, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS!! And we went outside and found them!

 We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.. We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team… Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

 The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of them? CONGRATULATIONS!

Does anyone these days know what this means?

 The quote of the month by Jay Leno:
“With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take”.

My father went to Germany to get us first radio

GOOD LUCK” out of our Lives?
People born before 1946 were called – The Greatest Generation.

People born between 1946 and 1964 are called – The Baby Boomers.

People born between 1965 and 1979 are called – Generation X.

And people born between 1980 and 2011 are called – Generation Y.

Why do we call the last group – Generation Y ?

Y should I get a job?

Y should I leave home, and find my own place?

Y should I get a car when I can borrow yours?

Y should I clean my room?

Y should I wash and iron my own clothes?

Y should I buy any food?

But a cartoonist explained it very eloquently below…

Getting old and my life
As I’ve aged, I’ve become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I’ve become my own friend. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world, too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it, if I choose to read, or play, on the computer, until 4 AM, or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70′s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will.

I will walk the beach, in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves, with abandon, if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And, I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years, my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break, when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? But, broken hearts are what give us strength, and understanding, and compassion. A heart never broken, is pristine, and sterile, and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore. I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).

MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!

Source: Edmonton History

A Salute to Edmonton’s History
What makes Edmonton special to me is city’s history. This history lets me discover and know where we’ve been and has indeed paved the way to what we’ve become!

Because many committed Edmontonians and various government departments have strived to keep the city’s history alive for residents and visitors, I can visit Fort Edmonton Park or the Prince of Wales Heritage Centre. Old Strathcona showcases many heritage buildings as does the downtown core. A tour the charming neighborhoods of Highlands or Glenora captures a sense of early Edmonton. Our High Level Bridge was opened in 1913 and continues to stand proudly as the North Saskatchewan River flows by.

Photographs and documents at the City of Edmonton Archives allow me to research Edmonton’s history. Have you ever taken a stroll along MacDonald Drive downtown to read the history panels? All you have to do is look over our beautiful river valley from that vista and know that Edmonton is one beautiful city!

The fur trade
5.000 years before European explorers and fur traders arrived in the Edmonton area, the land was populated by the Cree and Blackfoot nations. In 1795, the Hudson’s Bay Company established its first trading post near the present site of Fort Saskatchewan in order to trade fur with First Nations. The fort was moved several times, to be settled permanently in 1830 on land that is today known as Alberta Legislature Grounds.

The fur trade boomed for many decades. In 1870, the Canadian government bought the land from the Hudson’s Bay Company to open it for settlement. In 1892, Edmonton was incorporated as a town. At this time about 700 people called Edmonton their home. In 1898, the Gold Rush Edmonton became the outfitting center for many prospectors heading for the Yukon.

Edmonton – 101 St. looking north

North Saskatchewan River – Route of The Fur Trade
The Saskatchewan River watershed is approximately 1,223 km long and is the major eastward flowing river of the western Canadian prairies and was the major transportation route for the beaver fur trade, which through Europeans fashion calling for felt hats made from compressed beaver fur, brought European culture to western Canada. The main waterway is the North Saskatchewan River, which flows from its headwaters in the Canadian Rockies to Lake Winnipeg, covering all of Alberta and Saskatchewan and western parts of Manitoba. These waters eventually flow into Hudson’s Bay, the huge body of water that is western Canada’s ocean connection to the Atlantic Ocean.

Fur trade happens these days only in Fort Edmonton

Fur trade in Fort Edmonton

Whether traveling the river by canoe or boat, or using the highway system, travelers and historical trekkers can easily follow the North Saskatchewan River. Along the river and its tributaries can be discoverd the history of the western Canadian aboriginal culture and the two competing fur trade companies that opened up the west during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The Hudson’s Bay Company operated from York Factory, near Churchill, MB and using large, sturdy york boats, moved the furs collected at western posts to the Bay. Canada’s best known department store chain, The Bay and HBC, is still the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Hudson’s Bay Traditional Point Blanket
The break off competitor was the Northwest Company, who operated with traditional birch bark canoes, from Montreal. Their route, to the west took them via the Great Lakes, portage routes (where canoes and gear are carried) and rivers to Lake Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan Rivers. They also, traded and explored, over the mountains, in what is now British Columbia. Their best known explorer/trader was David Thompson.

The Hudson’s Bay Company York boat

The following are the Hudson’s Bay and Northwest Company posts and forts and Aboriginal heritage sites that can be visited along western Canada’s fur trade river. Many of the posts had multiple locations and most don’t exist anymore, or have become towns, or cities, along the way. Some of the forts served a multi-purpose, first as a fur trade and then as a base for the Northwest Mounted Police (eg. Ft. Edmonton).

Fort Carlton Provincial Historic Park is rich in western Canadian history. The Fort was built in 1810 as a fur-trading post on a spot well-used for crossing the North Saskatchewan River.

Wanuskewin Heritage Park Heritage Park under the leadership and guidance of First Nations people that contributes to increasing public awareness, understanding and appreciation of the cultural legacy of the Northern Plains First Nations people. 5 kms north of Saskatoon on Highway #11, follow the Bison signs.

At North Battleford, Saskatchewan, you can also visit a Northwest Mounted Police fort, that was very important during the 1885 Northwest Rebellion

As the supply of beaver pelts were devoured by the hunger for beaver felt hats, by the summer of 1792 the westward expansion of the fur trade reached what is now Alberta and there we find the site of the two trading depots of Fort George (NWC) and Buckingham House (HBC). Though little remains of the structures, the Province of Alberta a very informative museum and interpretive trail between the two posts. For more information about this site go to the website.

There were a series of locations for Ft. Edmonton, but eventually it was located at ford near where the Alberta Legislature is, east of Edmonton’s High Level Bridge. Many famous people of 18th century western Canada, would have passed through Ft. Edmonton, including the cartographer David Thompson and the painter Paul Kane.

Edmonton – 101 St. looking south past Jasper Avenue

Gateway to the North
By 1904, Edmonton had a population of 8,350. Soon after, when Alberta joined the Confederation, Edmonton was selected as provincial capital. In 1908, the University of Alberta opened its doors. Edmonton entered a frantic boom period when Strathcona amalgamated with Edmonton in 1912, combining their population to over 40,000. In the 1930s Edmonton became the “Gateway to the North” flying medical supplies, food and mail to remote northern communities.

Edmonton’s face changed forever when oil was discovered in Leduc in 1947. Overnight Edmonton became the Oil Capital of Canada and Edmonton’s population doubled within a decade. Still today, the oil and gas industry remains the city’s economic cornerstone.

The 1960s brought the Edmonton International Airport, the Citadel Theatre, the 27-story CN Tower and the Provincial Museum of Alberta. The 1970s brought a further boost to development of Edmonton and the Northlands Coliseum (today Skyreach Centre) opened its doors to mark the NHL’s best ice surface. In 1978, Edmonton became the first city with a population smaller than 1 million to have a Light Rail Transit (LRT) system.

With the opening of West Edmonton Mall in 1981, Edmonton entered the Guinness Book of Records with the world’s largest shopping and entertainment complex. In 1995, Edmonton celebrated its 200th year.

Edmonton – Jasper Avenue looking east past 103 Street

Edmonton – Churchill Square

Edmonton – Jasper Avenue looking east of 102 Street

History of the Edmonton River Valley
Early inhabitants may have gathered in the Edmonton area as early as the end of the last ice age, possibly as early as 10,000BC when as the ice receded woodlands, water and wildlife became available in the region.

Saskatchewan River going through Edmonton

Saskatchewan River in Edmonton

Saskatchewan River is frozen during the winter

In 1754, Anthony Henday, an explorer working for the Hudson’s Bay Company, may have been the first European to enter the Edmonton area. His trip was part of HBC’s interest in establishing direct contact with the Native population of the interior rather than depending on Native middlemen to bring furs to posts located on Hudson Bay. In 1794, the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North-West Fur Company founded Old Fort Edmonton and Old Fort Augustus at the mouth of the Sturgeon River (present day St. Albert). By 1807, both Fort Augustus and Old Fort Edmonton had been destroyed by Blood Indians.

In 1808, New Fort Edmonton and New Fort Augustus were rebuilt on the present site of the City of Edmonton. With the amalgamation of the two companies in 1821, the Hudson’s Bay Company post was retained, as was the name Fort Edmonton. It become the distribution centre for the whole north-west and a major supply stage on the Hudson’s Bay Company trans-Canada route. In the late nineteenth century, settlers were attracted to the area by the fertile farmland in the region, and this helped to further establish Edmonton as a major regional commercial and agricultural centre. Throuhout this entire period the North Saskatchewan River served as the only major “Highway” in the region.

The area became part of the new Dominion of Canada in 1870 and modern Edmonton can be said to have begun in 1871 when it was incorporated as a village. At about this time legislation finally made it possible for private individuals to claim ownership of land. Prior to this all the land rights resided in the Hudson’s Bay Company. In the late nineteenth century, settlers were attracted to the area by the fertile farmland in the region, and this helped to further establish Edmonton as a major regional commercial and agricultural centre. Edmonton was also a stopping point for people hoping to cash in on the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. Incorporated as a city in 1905 Edmonton became the capital of Alberta a year later on September 1, 1905. 

First public school in Edmonton

Proud to be Edmontonian
Unique past stories of Edmonton can be found at the Edmonton Public Schools Archives and Museum downtown. Our city also has some wonderful historic churches and cultural museums. At such venues, I can learn about Edmonton’s fur trading, aviation, transportation, arts and “people” history. In late July and early August, the 2009 Edmonton & Northern Alberta Historic Festival will take place with events, tours and activities showcasing history … this annual festival is amazing.

Alberta Legislature building in Edmonton

Modern Edmonton – panoramic view

Edmonton downtown

Edmonton heritage building – The Gibson block

Having lived here for more than 20 years now, I’m proud to be a part of Edmonton’s history. I’m grateful that I chose Edmonton!

A salute to your history, Edmonton!

Some interesting web sites about Edmonton:

http://www.edmontonhistory.ca/

http://www.edmontonkiosk.ca/history.php

Large photo of Riverdale neighbourhood

http://www.edmontonstories.ca/

By: Zdenko Kahlina

Edmonton New Year’s Eve Welcomes 2012 with a Festival City Bang
Edmonton New Year’s Eve Downtown will attract an audience of 30,000 and feature family-friendly attractions, activities, music and a spectacular fireworks display in Canada’s Festival City.

Celebrations on Churchill Square last year

Edmonton celebrates New Year’s Eve every year with a flurry of activities held on and around Sir Winston Churchill Square. Expect to see lots of clowns, a kids’ craft-making area, live music, street dancing and a roaring fire to keep revellers warm.

For 11 years, Events Edmonton has been producing the city’s flagship event to ring in the old and ring in the new. New Year’s Eve Downtown brings a multitude of family-friendly attractions and activities to (and around) Edmonton’s Churchill Square. The Edmonton New Year’s Eve event has live music, a wandering magician and all sorts of hands-on crafts. “We have two indoor areas for kids to make crafts like masks and headpieces they can wear that night and take home,” explains Albi, adding with a chuckle, “There’s a lot of glittery stuff!”

Edmonton – City hall

Fireworks on Churchill Square

Fireworks on Churchill Square

Ask anyone who’s relatively new to Canada’s Festival City, and they will tell you that the Edmonton New Year’s Eve celebration comes in with a bang. Literally. New Canadians are always amazed that you can do fireworks in 20-below Celsius. Fireworks in the cold are quite spectacular.

Skating in front of the City Hall

But the biggest draw, by far, is the fireworks display. “We have about 30,000 people who come for the fireworks,” says Albi. “Families make a point of staying awake for it.” Churchill Square starts filling up around 10 o’clock. “Before you know it, it’s midnight,” says Albi. What happens the moment after the countdown is a sight to behold. “The traffic stops, people start hugging each other… it’s quite unique to Edmonton. Year after year, what we learn is that this Festival City event is all about people wanting to ring in the New Year as a community”.

Entertainment program in the City hall

Entertainment program in the City hall

To make this downtown Edmonton event more affordable, all the entertainment, including three live bands on the Churchill Square main stage and a showcase of young up-and-comers on the CBC stage indoors, is free and there will be one-dollar parking indoors at City Centre, Canada Place and the Stanley A. Milner Library.

Pavilions will transform Churchill Square into a winter Metropolis
There is something new this year at the Churchill Square. On Thursday they unveiled designs for the six illuminated pavilions made of scaffolding covered in shrink-wrapped plastic that will dominate Churchill Square for eight weeks this winter.

Finishing touches are being made on the odd-shaped pavilions in Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton.

Metropolis is Edmonton’s first winter festival where Churchill Square is transformed into a winter wonderland of lights, sounds and visuals. A variety of activities including winter food, music, live entertainment and interactive exhibits are offered. The exhibit and interactive program spaces operate on Friday evening and weekends for the first year until the February 19th, but will be lit with multicoloured lights every evening. Cold-weather construction technology sees free-standing structural forms made of shrink-wrapped scaffolding, complete with heat and LED lighting. This will provide an opportunity for Albertans outside Edmonton to enjoy the festival.

The iceberg-inspired brew house, towering observation deck, a 15-metre high robot and diamondsided city market were designed pro bono by five local and national architects and festival founder Giuseppe Albi.

odd-shaped pavilions in Churchill Square

A community centre and display tent round out the offering. They will be the centre of the Metropolis winter festival bringing lights, warm and alcoholic drinks, art and children’s activities to the centre of the city from New Year’s Eve to Feb. 20, 2012.

“I think (Albi) really hit a home run here,” said Mayor Stephen Mandel, introducing the festival at City Hall Thursday.

In future years, festival organizers hope to hold an international design competition to create greater numbers of pavilions, giving the festival a global presence. It’s a chance to show the world “we are a great group of creative people,” said Mandel. “It’s well worth it for the citizens to invest in this type of project.”

Taste of Winter, the city-market shaped pavilion by Calgary architect Bill Chomik, will hold a rotating selection of local restaurants, up to 11 at a time.

The children’s pavilion, designed by Albi, holds a 12-metre high inflatable slide and aerial walkway, with room for crafts and other children’s activities at the ground level.

The observation tower with sixmetre and 12-metre decks was designed by local architect Craig Henderson, who also designed Churchill Square. Festival organizers hope to project hockey games from the world junior hockey championships on the two large screens New Year’s Eve. Chinese New Year celebrations, art and fashion displays will be held in the architect Gene Dub’s halfpyramid style community centre, and a series of displays of information technology and public transit are planned for the crystal-shaped pavilion by Toronto architect Taymoore Balbaa.

Finally, the iceberg-inspired pavilion by local architect Richard Isaac will be run by the Canadian Brew house. It will have warm drinks during the day, with beer, wine and mixed drinks in the evenings. It was a challenge designing within the rigid demands of the scaffolding, said Isaac. But you work with the “kit of parts” that you’re given. “I just played around with how one could create a free form.”

Each of the pavilions will be warmed to about 10 C inside with propane heaters.

The festival budget is $1.2 million. Of that, $150,000 was provided by the City of Edmonton, and more has been donated by local construction and other companies, Albi said. Events Edmonton is covering the rest. They hope Edmonton residents will volunteer and expect 10,000 to 15,000 visitors each weekend, said Albi.

“Take ownership of Metropolis, our city’s new winter festival,” he urged those gathered for the launch. “To guarantee the sustainability of this festival, we need the support of the community.”

For those who’d rather celebrate Edmonton New Year’s Eve by hitting the dance floor or merely mingling, the city’s many bars, clubs, and lounges have it all, particularly picturesque, historic (and rockin’) Whyte Avenue in the Old Strathcona area.

Help the City of Edmonton and Events Edmonton ring in 2012 at the 12th annual New Year’s Eve Downtown festival. This free, fun-filled family event will take place at City Hall and Sir Winston Churchill Square and starts with the official launch of the Metropolis Edmonton International Winter Festival.

Nativity by the City hall

Schedule of Events
The festivities start after the official launch of METROPOLIS at 6:15pm and take you right into 2012!

Visit http://www.eventsedmonton.ca/ for details on Metropolis Edmonton International Winter Festival.

6:15pm
• Launch of METROPOLIS in Churchill Square
• DJ on Main Stage
• Activities start in the Children’s Pavilion

7pm
• Indoor Programming starts in City Hall
• Programming starts in the Community Centre Pavilion
• Skating Party on City Plaza*
• Taste of Winter – 12 vendors serving soups, chilies and other winter fare
• Polar Brewhouse operated by Canadian Brewhouse serving non-alcoholic beverages

9pm
• Outdoor stage live entertainment in Churchill Square
• Street Dance on 100 Street between 102 Ave and 102A Ave

Midnight (12am)
• Fireworks display launched from 103 Avenue.
* Skating at Sir Winston Churchill Square is weather permitting.

For more information on skating at Churchill Square or the fireworks display contact the Civic Events office at 780-944-7740.

Fireworks at Churchill Square

Fireworks at Churchill Square

New Years Eve Parties in Edmonton
Don’t get stuck freezing your butt off unable to get into the best New Years party in Edmonton this year! Plan your Edmonton New Years party with BeforeLastCall and make sure you don’t miss out on the hottest events in the city. We’re your hookup for the best New Years parties in Edmonton, from live concerts to nightclub events and exclusive Edmonton New Years packages. Search BLC now for all the information you need to start planning your Edmonton New Year’s party today!

From hip-hop events to live rock and country, the hottest New Years parties in Edmonton always sell out fast. As people gear up for the biggest party night of the year, there is nothing like celebrating NYE in Edmonton, from the hottest downtown nightclubs to surrounding Edmonton NYE parties.

With so many New Years Eve parties in Edmonton, finding the best ones is completely up to you. Whether you’re looking to celebrate with a large group or just a couple close friends, reserve your own luxury booth or spend a romantic evening with someone special, get your Edmonton New Years Eve party tickets early to ensure you spend the evening the way you wish.

http://edmonton.beforelastcall.com/happenin/3/74-edmonton_new_years_parties.html

New Years Eve 2010 – Churchill Square, Edmonton Photographer: Anthony P. Jones
http://photos.edmonton.ca/Events/New-Years-Eve-2010/15363196_v8f4B6/1/1149546509_AajUT#P-6-24

By: Zdenko Kahlina

Christmas day, December 25, 2011
Christmas And Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

St. Joseph‘s Basilica.

St. Joseph‘s Basilica last night 

Little Jesus in the manger.

Christmas is a very special time of the year for all Christians and a tradition for many families is to celebrate an ‘Evening’ or ‘Midnight’ Mass at the Basilica. My family has a tradition to attend midnight mass at the St. Joseph’s basilica.

The Edmonton Catholics who built St. Joseph’s Basilica know all about tradition and patience. The grand building at 10044 113th Street was erected some 45 years ago, but the dream actually began nearly 50 years before that when St. Joseph’s parish was founded.

I feel that basilica is the most Catholic Church there is in Edmonton. That’s the only church here that compares to the Cathedral in Zagreb (Croatia) where we were married some 35 years ago.

Christmas Eve 

Basilica was packed with Christians

Basilica was packed with Christians

On this Saturday, December 24, there were three scheduled ceremonies thru the evening:

7:00 p.m. Archbishop-Emeritus Joseph MacNeil

9:30 p.m. Rev. Adam J. Lech

12:00 (midnight) Archbishop Richard Smith

I attended the 9:30 mass. As usual basilica there were hundreds of people and the ceremony was simple and beautiful. That’s exactly what brings me to this place every year. 

Midnight Mass at basilica 

9:30 p.m. Rev. Adam J. Lech  

Rev. Adam J. Lech during his Mass 

Christmas Mass Schedule

Christmas Season Celebrations
Christmas Eve: 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 12:00 midnight
Christmas Day: 10:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 26: 10:00 a.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 27: 10:00 a.m.
Saturday Dec. 31: 5:00 p.m. (anticipation Mass)
Sunday, January 1: 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m.
12:15 p.m., 5:00 p.m.
Monday, January 2 10:00 a.m.

Although every Sunday of the year is The Lord’s Day, when the Father calls us together to listen to His Word, when we give Him thanks as we remember His wonderful works in Christ, when He nourishes us with the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation, there are other Feast Days or Holy Days of Obligation, namely:

Christmas Day and New Year’s Day— The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

January 1 has also been designated as “World Day of Prayer for Peace” when the Church encourages us to pray for peace in the world, for love and good will among all nations, and for light and guidance for civil leaders.

Singing at the midnight Mass

REFLECTION

The news of the awesome event of Our Saviour’s birth again sounds throughout the world. Countless generations before us dating back 2000 years, have been inspired and completely renewed in the coming of the Son of God.

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shone.”

The Light is birth of the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Christmas is for the “Children of God”. That is for all of us, both young and old. The Grace of Christmas is our gift, meant to transform our hearts and our lives. If we welcome Jesus, and follow Him sincerely, the light of Christ will illumine our pathways of life.

May Jesus our Lord, Savior and Friend, be born once again in our Hearts and in our homes this Christmas. May we share Jesus, the One whom we celebrate in our living and in our association with others. Like Jesus may we be gentle, kind, honest, just and a bearer of peace.

May this Christmas be peace-filled and joyous as you gather with your families and loved ones.  

We wish you a Blessed Christmas and

God’s Blessings in the New Year.

Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24, 2011
7:00 p.m. Archbishop-Emeritus Joseph MacNeil
9:30 p.m. Rev. Adam J. Lech
12:00 (midnight) Archbishop Richard Smith

Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25, 2011
10:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.
Basilica will be opened from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm

Monday, Dec. 26, Tuesday, Dec. 27 10:00 a.m. – One Mass only
Wednesday, Dec. 28, Thursday, Dec. 29,
Friday, Dec.30: 12:05 noon, and 5:30 p.m.

Christmas is a very special time of the year for all Christians, and a tradition for many families is to celebrate an ‘Evening’ or ‘Midnight’ Mass at the Basilica. In order to accommodate the high attendance at all Christmas Liturgies, we ask that you “DO NOT reserve the pews with coats, hats, bags, etc.”, with the exception of the person who has gone to park the vehicle.

By: John Winslow

The first Christmas – the way it was 2,000 years ago
2000 years ago, something happened in a small town just outside of Jerusalem that changed the course of history. The birth of a baby, known as Jesus, put Bethlehem on the map – and the world has never been the same. We still mark our calendars by it today.

WECA – Bethlehem walk
Walking through the marketplace in the Town of Bethlehem would require traveling back in time. But with live goats and flocks of sheep, vendors selling bread, candles, cloth and birdcages, and others creating pottery and crushing olives and grapes — the scene at the West Edmonton Christian Assembly this weekend is as real as it gets.

This morning I was afforded a great treat. The Edmonton Foodbank invited me to a media op at West Edmonton Christian Assembly for the official opening of their exhibit, Bethlehem Walk. What an experience it was.

In a day and age when most people are afraid to mention the Christ child as the principle purpose for celebrating Christmas, and many won’t even call it Christmas, West Edmonton Christian Assembly has created an awesome re-enactment of the nativity story. This exhibit, rife with amazing actors, young and old, brings to life the scene that would have greeted Mary and Joseph when they arrived in Bethlehem for the census ordered by Caesar Augustus. WECA has recreated the market centre of Bethlehem, complete with merchant stalls, fields on the outskirts of town, stables and, of course, the full Inn, in their gymnasium.

Entrance into Bethlehem

A beautiful show in a field on the outskirts of town Bethlehem

Christmas angel descending from the sky

As you arrive for the Bethlehem Walk, you sit in a field on the outskirts of town. An introduction of the exhibit is given followed by the Christmas angel descending from the sky. A choir of angels then blasts out a modern, Pentecostal type Christmas song. At this point the doors to Bethlehem are thrown open and you step into a scene from taken from a history of some 2016 years in the past.

People of Bethelehem

Products for sale

From the cross and wood carving shop, to the Roman jail, and a mill in which real olives are turned into olive oil and wheat into flour, the realism shows the creators of this exhibition have done their homework. I noted a couple of things that take away from the authenticity of the exhibit, but I was looking for them when most folks wouldn’t. If you can ignore the “made in Pakistan” stamp on the mortar and pestle at the spice shop, and the pumped in lullaby music at the manger, you’ve got it made. I questioned the gentleman acting the part of the High Priest of the Jewish temple about his garb. He was remarkably well read on the subject, to the point he even explained the difficulty in creating the costume when there are differing Jewish opinions on the makeup of the breastplate and the length of the robes. Note: The Torah would never be removed from the temple unless it was accompanied by a quorum of Jewish men, 13 years of age or over. Children acting out many of roles are also well versed in the history of what they are acting out.

Products for sale

Products for sale 

Collette Smith, going by the Hebrew name Minda, was folding and “selling” cloth in the Bethlehem marketplace.

The fishmonger has real smoked fish on his table; the chicken butcher has live chickens. There are stables that will have animals in them when the exhibit officially opens to the public. If you have a good nose you will smell the frankincense and myrrh at the spice table. You will definitely smell the smoked fish and the remnants of that which exits the rear end of a chicken. Fear not, it all adds to the realism that is the Bethlehem Walk.

After spending time in the Little Town of Bethlehem, those attending the Bethlehem Walk make their way back in to the auditorium of WECA. The auditorium has been decked out in dinner theatre style, with tables containing cookies and a little something to sip, all FREE! While enjoying some refreshments there will be live music and such taking place on the stage. 

Bakery

All in all, this is a great experience for anyone of any religion or cultural background.

Edmontonhas many great exhibits during this time of year. Among these is Candy Cane Lane, The Christmas lights at the Legislature, Maisie’s Magical Christmas House, and now Bethlehem Walk. Pastor David Wood, the executive director of the exhibit, says the Bethlehem Walk is WECA’s gift to the City of Edmonton. It is an opportunity for Edmontonians to experience first-hand the story of the Nativity as set out in the book of Luke, Chapter 2.

There is no cost to experience the Bethlehem Walk. A donation to the Edmonton Foodbank from people attending the exhibit would be appreciated. Make an evening of enjoying this amazing exhibit. The experience is definitely family oriented. Kids of all ages will enjoy the experience!! This kid is going back again!!

I enjoyed the show so much, when I had an opportunity to see it a second time I jumped at the chance. The actual show for the general public is by and far better than the show for the media. I am so glad I attended a second time. I had a chance to meet with Dave Wood, Senior Associate Pastor of WECA. We had a great chat, shared some statistics, talked a little religion and shared some humor. I am blessed to have had this opportunity.

Bethlehem Garrison jail

They had a prisoner in there…

The pillory was used to publicly humiliate a victim

A couple of interesting stats. Opening day saw The Bethlehem Walk double it’s anticipated attendance. They had over 2700 participants on Friday night. Saturday night they extended their hours due to the onslaught of people arriving to see the show! I will provide totals for the Edmonton Foodbank at a later date. I know they are beating their food donation targets by big numbers. Fill-Up and Marjorie were at the event on Saturday night as well as Tamara and Debbie. Way to go WECA.

Edmontonians are invited to take in an interactive Christmas, dating back 2,000 years in the WECA gymnasium, at 6315 199th Street (Scroll down for a Google map).  Entitled the “Bethlehem Walk”, this free event asks those taking part to bring with them a non-perishable food item to be donated to Edmonton’s Food Bank.

‘Three kings’ walking thru the Bethlehem

‘Three kings’ walking thru the Bethlehem

The “Bethlehem Walk” was open to the public from December 10-13, from 6:00pm-to-9:00pm.

Bethlehem was a crowded place  

There are even wisemen and a live manger scene.

The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh in Hebrew) consists of 24 books, also known as: the Torah (Pentateuch) 

Bethlehem Walk 2011 – Event Information
Christmas comes to life as all of Edmonton is invited to taste, see and feel the story of that first Christmas night. Join us for a weekend for the entire family as we recreate the town of Bethlehem in our 11,640 square foot gymnasium. This event is free and a gift from WECA and its event Sponsors to those living in the Edmonton area.

Please support the Edmonton Food Bankwith non-perishable donations at the door. Admission is FREE! 

Even the baby in the crib was real…

Park & Ride Information
For your convenience please take our FREE park & ride with your family. This is located at the Lewis Farms Transit Centre. Click here for a map.Google Map Link.

Here you will be able to park your vehicle for free and enjoy quick pickup and drop off on any of our free Bethlehem Walk Park & Ride buses. Enjoy traveling this Christmas Season to the Bethlehem Walk in Park & Ride Style!

“The original story is lost,” said David Wood, Bethlehem Walk executive producer. “We need to tell the story.” The marketplace in Bethlehem has been recreated in the 11,640 square foot gymnasium at the facility for the second time. Last year, 13,400 people took the walk. Organizers are expecting up to 25,000 this year over four days.

Blacksmith at work

Blacksmith at work 

Blacksmith at work

“People have heard the story of the birth of Christ,” said Smith. “But in our modern minds we can’t picture it. “This makes it more real. And that’s just the idea”, said Wood.

“(But) all we’re here to do is … to tell a story and let people experience the first Christmas the way it was 2,000 years ago,” he said.

Location:
West Edmonton Christian Assembly (WECA) 6315 – 199 Street, Edmonton, AB
Click here for directions. For more information please contact the office at 780-489-2579 or email us at weca@weca.com. Bethlehem Walk Edmonton is a proud supporter of Edmonton’s Food Bank.

For more information, as well as times, visit weca.com.

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