Big Red House

 

The Rollags came from Norway and lived in the United States before settling in Alberta. In Spring of 1909, arriving ahead of their families, the four Rollag brothers and their father traveled by train to Taber, Alberta, with all of their farm machinery, livestock, and household items. From Taber, they traveled overland to Halvor Rollag’s homestead land. Once on the homestead land, a shack was constructed on the northeast corner of the property. Over the summer, a large two-story house was built with lumber purchased at the lumber yard in New Dayton. The house was regarded as the most extravagant in the area. A Christmas party was held at the Rollag home in 1909, with 44 guests present. On Easter Sunday in 1910, the house was threatened by a large prairie fire. Thankfully, a slough and fire break kept the fire away.

In 1944 Mr. and Mrs. Rollag moved to Lethbridge, where Mr. Rollag worked in the real estate business. The Halvor Rollag homestead was sold to Graydon Ingram, who took up farming after being held as a prisoner of war during his service in the Royal Canadian Air Force. At some point, the second floor was removed so the house could be used for grain storage. Mr. Ingram farmed the land until his death, at which time he left the land to his nieces and nephews, who sold it to the current owner in 2007.

Botha Mercantile

 

The Botha Mercantile building is the oldest surviving commercial building in the hamlet, and as such, has a detailed history.

Coming from Nebraska by train, Mrs. and Mr. E.H. Prudden arrived in Lacombe on December 6th, 1902, with their sons Willis and Earl. The family operated a store at Old Red Willow before moving to Botha, Alberta. In 1909, Willis and Earl built a large building, 75 x 80 feet, known as the Prudden, Bassler, and Eyestone block. The building originally housed a Hardware Store operated by Lou Bassler and a General Store operated by E.H Prudden. In later years, the Hardware Store was managed by W.F Eyestone.

Additionally, before the Botha School opened in 1912, classes were held in the upper level of the Pruden, Bassler, and Eyestone block store.

Like most historical buildings, ownership changed many hands over the years. Initially, E.H. Prudden operated his General Store in partnership with his sons until 1928, when Willis died suddenly. E.H’s living son, Earl, then partnered with James Gibson, who took over the store entirely in 1931. Times were tough in the ‘30s, so James Gibson moved out of his house and converted a portion of the store building into living quarters to save money. The store operated this way until 1943 when Gibson sold the store to Joe Johnson. Johnson held onto ownership for a brief time, selling to the Groves brothers, Melvin and Morley, in the spring of 1945. Morley and Melvin Groves operated the business until 1974 when they sold to Bill and Ida Cross, who ran the store for five years before selling to Ed and Inge Schowalter.

Little Plume Church

 

Prior to construction of The Little Plume Church, services were held in both the local school and resident's homes. The Little Plume Church was built 22km South of Dunmore, Alberta, on February 24, 1919, but burnt down in the spring of 1921. By late summer, the community had rebuilt their humble church, with a dedication on August 7, 1921.

The namesake of Little Plume, Peigan Chief Little Plume, was born in Brocket in 1889 and served overseas in WWI with the 192nd battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. He spent most of his life in Brocket and died in 1971.

Like the sermons shared inside its walls, the story of Little Plume Church is one of constant improvement. In January 1955, Little Plume Church was wired for electricity for the cost of $490. By 1957, it was determined the church needed further upgrading, so the building was placed onto a newly constructed basement; a 10-foot addition was built, Sunday School rooms were added, and a furnace was installed. A restoration of the cemetery occurred in 1974 - 1975 with grant funding from the Provincial Government.

Lightning struck the church on June 24, 1975, piercing a large hole in the roof and tearing siding off. The building was repaired and stuccoed in the spring of 1976. In the years following, Little Plume Church experienced additional upgrades such as a natural gas installation in 1977 and an expansion to the building's front in March 1979, including an entrance, office, nursery, and washrooms, with a kitchen and fellowship hall in the basement. The estimated cost for this upgrade was $86,500. A dedication of the expansion was held on June 22, 1980.

By the year 2000, like so many other country churches, the Little Plume Church faced the possibility of closing its doors but diligently remains open, providing church services to a congregation of about 25 people.

On August 11, 2019, the Little Plume Church celebrated its' 100th anniversary with an extended Sunday Service, followed by a community lunch.

This church is still a centerpiece for the community, holding Sunday services every week at 11:00 am and hosting other community events such as musical recitals and polling stations.

McCormick-Deering W30

 

The McCormick-Deering W30 was manufactured from 1932 until 1940. McCormick-Deering intended for the W30 to replace the 10-20, but the 10-20 remained popular so both tractors were produced simultaneously. When first released, the 2 wheel drive W30, weighing in at 2199kg (4850lbs), was priced at $975USD and was equipped with the same 284 cubic inch, 4 cylinder engine as the Farmall F-30. In its 8 year run, only about 32,500 W30s were made.

Raley, Alberta

 

Home to the oldest primary grain elevator still standing in the province, Raley, Alberta took its name in 1902 from C. Raley, a prominent resident in Lethbridge. The community was home to three grain elevators - a 30,000 bushel elevator built by A.G. Robertson, a 15,000 bushel elevator operated by Sunny Belt Grain Elevator Company Ltd. and the Alberta Pacific that still stands today. In 1910 a post office opened, and the Raley School No. 2099 was built just east of the grain elevators.

After the arrival of the St. Mary's River Railway, a 35,000 bushel elevator was constructed by the Alberta Pacific Elevator Company in 1905. To increase capacity, an annex was added in 1940. The Federal Grain Company bought the elevator in 1967 and operated the elevator until 1972 when they sold it to the Alberta Wheat Pool. Shortly after acquiring it, Alberta Wheat Pool sold the elevator to the West Raley Hutterite Colony, who still use the annex to store fertilizer.

In the southwest corner of our beautiful province, the Alberta Pacific grain elevator still clad in most of its tin siding, and the annex displaying CPR red paint still stand proud with the picturesque rocky mountains as a backdrop.

In the Glory Hills

 

Like most history enthusiasts, historic barns catch my eye. The one featured in these photos definitely caught my attention. I have not learned the history of this particular barn, but as I stood there capturing photos, I found myself wondering who settled the area.

The first settlers to the area arrived in the late 1890s and early 1900s. For the most part, they were Germans from Russia. Their ancestors had been encouraged by Catherine the Great to migrate to Russia. Settling along the Volga River, they turned the region into productive agricultural land and populated the area as a protective barrier against the nomadic Asiatic tribes who inhabited the region. Upon their rights and privileges being revoked by the Russian Crown, several groups of German Russians left for the Americas. Consequently, families arrived in Canada, and many went on to the Glory Hills.

The district known as Glory Hills earned its name when a settler saw the glorious hills to the north and declared them "Glory Hills." The terrain, consisting of bush with timbered areas and numerous lakes, proved to be fertile farmland once cleared. Glory Hills was never a Post Office; mail was collected in Stony Plain. Farming was the primary industry in the area and supported other ventures such as a brick factory, blacksmith shops, and various saw-mill operations.

Utopia School District

 

Utopia School District No. 840 was founded in 1903 and operated a one-room school adjacent to the Waterton River. Before Utopia School was ready for students, the trustees had many heated discussions trying to settle on a name. Early pioneers picked the name Utopia in hopes this beautiful district would always remain in a state of perfectness. The Utopia School was one of ten one-room schools southeast of Pincher Creek. Instead of the typical teacherage of the time- accommodations provided by the school, teachers would live at a nearby farm. Located near the school was a shed where the teacher and students stabled their horses. The first teacher on record received a wage of $50 per month. Grades 1-8 received instruction for nearly half a century at Utopia School- the school operated from 1904 until 1950, when the building served as a community center for a short time.


St. Henry's Church

 

The settlement of South Western Alberta began with large free-range ranching operations coming to the area in the 1880s. The first settler in the parish of St. Henry was Jim Gilruth. Gilruth came from Montana and built a cabin in the Yarrow district sometime between 1883-1885. Soon after, members of the Gilruth family and others had settled in the area. In the early days, mass was either held at the Gilruth homestead or families would make the long, arduous trip into Pincher Creek for their Sunday church service.

In 1904 families got together and began to establish plans for a church. The Speth family donated a 10-acre parcel on top the area's highest hill. With the Rocky Mountains to the West and South, the Porcupine Hills to the North and the expansive prairie to the East, the views were and still are spectacular. After funds were raised, residents got to work building their church. Trees were cut from Wood Mountain, 40 kilometers to the west and hauled by wagon to the building site. Once at the building site, the trees were hewed into 8x8 timbers to become the bones of the church. A cornerstone with 1906 engraved into it was set into the South East Corner but has since been covered with cement. The whole parish helped with the construction of St. Henry's whenever they could get away from their farm work. A few even camped on site during the building process. Lumber came from Fernie Lumber. Millwork such as doors and windows came from Cushing Mill in Calgary.

Although it was not quite finished; sporting a temporary altar, bare walls and planks for seats, the church was blessed on May 28, 1907. Father Lacombe named the church. He chose to name it after St. Henry because “He is a good German saint.” A bell dedicated to St. Boniface was ordered from France and installed in 1908. In 1913 a statue of St. Henry was donated and remains in the church today.

After serving the area for 94 years, St. Henry's discontinued Sunday mass in 2001. Parishioners now travel to Pincher Creek to attend church. The Historical Society of St. Henry’s is a non-profit, voluntary association of local families, supporters, and former parishioners who maintain the church and grounds. After suffering damage during a severe hailstorm in late 2014, the church received a new red tin roof which is currently the roof that protects this resilient structure.

Skiff, Alberta

 

Previously, Skiff, Alberta had three grain elevators. Two of which wore Alberta Wheat Pool colours. Alberta Wheat Pool No. 1 was constructed in 1929 and in 1984 merged with Alberta Wheat Pool No. 2 which was built in 1954. Agricore purchased these two elevators in 1998 and demolished them in 2000.

Skiff’s surviving grain elevator was built in 1929 by the Ellison Milling and Elevator Company with a capacity of 123,000 bushels or 3360 tonnes. In August of 1975 Parrish & Heimbecker expanded their wheat and durum milling activity with the purchase of the Ellison Milling Company. With this addition, the company acquired 12 grain elevators in Southern Alberta. P&H operated their Skiff elevator until June of 2002. After closing to the public, the elevator was sold to a private farm and is still in use today.

Since first opening in 1918, Skiff’s general store has changed hands many times. During the hard times of 1935, Ray Eshom and family moved to Skiff with a vision of rejuvenating the downtrodden business. As times improved, so did their business. During their ownership, the General Store was expanded to include petroleum products, farm machinery, and automobiles. The old store was drafty and cold, so in 1940 the building was expanded and the exterior stuccoed. Skiff’s General Store changed ownership a few more times before closing in the 1990s.

Ford Prefect

 

Introduced in October 1938, the Ford Prefect was the first Ford with a model name rather than a letter or number designation. Manufactured in Dagenham, Essex from 1938 – 1961, the Prefect was a family car aimed at the thrifty consumer. Ford UK advertised it as a more upmarket version of their other economy cars, the Popular and the Anglia.

The Prefect came with an 1172 cc flathead inline 4 cylinder engine that could be started with a hand crank in case of battery or starter failure. On its way to a top speed of 98 kilometers per hour, the Prefect's 30 horsepower would take it from 0-80kph in 22.8 seconds. With mechanical brakes, 6 volt electrical, vacuum powered windshield wipers, and not even the option for a heater, Ford's Prefect was indeed an economy car. The only real styling change in the lifetime of the Prefect was the headlights being integrated into the fenders after the second world war.

In 1948 Ford established its' North American Sales and Service (NASS) division, bringing 12,250 British Fords with them. Ford was one of the first companies to try and sell inexpensive imports in volume. In 1950, Ford was the best selling import car in both Canada (14,804 units) and the USA (1,850 units). The British Ford line was officially absorbed into the Ford Division in 1966.