Off the beaten path with Charley
To Empress, where remnants of an eastern Alberta rail town’s past sit preserved
Story and photographs by Tim Johnston
John Steinbeck once wrote of travelling across the United States in a pick-up truck with a camper in the box. For company, and perhaps for a bit of security, he took along his dog. This formed the genesis for the title of the work, “Travels with Charlie”. That Steinbeck book is one of my favorite pieces of literature.
In early May, the planets governing my life aligned to provide an opportunity for a short road trip of my own. There was one catch. I would have to take the family dog along with me. And so, on an overcast Friday afternoon, I set up our Dodge Journey for an overnight road trip, loaded the camera gear and some food, and held the car door open for Charley, our Miniature Pincer “guard dog”.
Charley doesn’t really like car rides. But on that first afternoon, she had lots of room to move about the car as both back seats were folded down. She also had a window half-opened when she wanted to join me in the front. And finally, there were blankets in the back that she could cover herself with when things got boring.
Using Google Earth, I had earlier planned out our itinerary. Mainly, I was looking for villages and hamlets to visit for photographic opportunities. I would go east as far as Empress, following an old Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) line, then north to Oyen and the abandoned Canadian National Railroad (CNR) line that I would then follow back west toward Calgary.
Bassano was our first stop. I searched for an entry into the CPR yard area to photograph the remains of the roundhouse and turntable but couldn’t find one. Instead, I settled for photographs of the old bank building on Second Avenue. Afterward, Charley and I drove southeast to the Bassano Dam. When it was built, it was one of the largest earthen dams in the world. It’s still pretty impressive, the way it blocks a large curve in the Bow River and collects the river flow against a matching curve in the coulees to the north. The pelicans that inhabit the outflow area are marvelous and stately flyers.
From Bassano, we followed the right-of-way of the CPR “Royal Line” that runs nearly straight east to Empress and then into Saskatchewan. Settlements named Rosemary, Millicent, Patricia, Princess and Empress gave memories of past royals. Town layout plans provided by the railways encouraged settlers and speculators to head west. “Railway Avenue” paralleled the rail line and avenues adjacent to this ran back to the edge of the settlement. Streets crossed the avenues creating blocks that were subdivided into lots for businesses and residences. Some towns numbered their roads while others gave them names. Jenner has Railway Avenue, Prairie Avenue and Bison Avenue. Crossing theses are Ellis Street, Coleman Street, Main Street and Brown Street. Rosemary town fathers opted for Railway, Lupin, Florence and Gwen Avenues crossed by Rose, Iris, Tulip, Centre, Aster and Dahlia Streets. Despite the planning and promotion, most of these places are now just shadows of what they were when the early residents settled in.
As we approached Jenner, the hour was nearing 10:30 p.m. The light had gone from the sky and I was tiring after our explorations of the afternoon. I drove into the hamlet looking for a place to park and stay the night. The county fire hall looked welcoming and so I pulled in beside it and arranged my bedding in the back of the car. I took Charley for her evening walk, careful of my step in the dark and quiet of the night.
The rising sun streaming into the front window of the car woke me before 6:00 a.m. After some photographs around the community, Charley and I were on the road toward Empress in the hope of finding somewhere that served breakfast. Along the way, I took a side trip north of Buffalo to a beautiful (and completely vacant) campground on the north side of the Red Deer River and then stopped in the hamlet of Bindloss for photographs of vintage buildings. The Bindloss United Church is actually quite modern. With a dwindling congregation, the building is no longer in use but it is maintained. Charley and I encountered a member of the security team on our walk around the church in the form of a very large skunk. Fortunately for us, the skunk waddled away without making a stink about our intrusion. Also relatively new is the Bindloss School. I once visited the school during my days as an Alberta Teachers’ Association staff officer and used photographs taken then in an article in the ATA Magazine. I was pleased to see that the student garden, built by the Grade three and four students in 1994, was still in place and well kept.
Heading east again, I passed a road sign indicating the location of the Cavendish cemetery. As I hadn’t encountered that name before, I decided to turn around and visit the resting place of some of its early inhabitants. Charley and I explored the site with me examining gravestones and Charley examining the exotic scents of the prairie. One of the tall gravestones remembered Ester Edgington who was born in 1866 and who died in 1936. In a little field of prairie grass under a sky of brilliant blue, this is all that remains of a place once known as Cavendish.
Reaching Empress, I was happy to find that the owners of “That’s Empressive” ready and able to provide a hearty breakfast of fried eggs and bacon. Breakfast was served in a corner of the main floor. The beautiful Ojibwa–inspired art of the owner, Nokomis, known locally as Patricia Donaldson, surrounded me. Her partner, Ross Bulcock, told me some of the history of the area while I ate and afterward took me on a driving tour along the abandoned railroad right-of-way. The CPR station has been restored and Ross showed me details of the work that makes this place a true community jewel.
Leaving Empress, Charley and I drove north to visit Acadia Valley, Benton Station, Sibbald and Oyen. In Sibbald, I photographed the vacant hotel and noted the hand-printed sign on the door cautioning citizens about topless dancers who, in the day, displayed their charms in the hotel’s bar. Then Highway 9 took us westward through Cereal, Chinook and Youngstown. In Cereal, I spotted a brilliant red Chevrolet el Camino being driven by its proud new owner. I asked him to park it in front of a deep blue building on Main Street where I photographed it.
We travelled on through Chinook, Scotfield, Stanmore and Richdale, all communities that appear to be nearing the end of their days. Reaching Delia, I was charmed to encounter the Mother Mountain Tea House and Restaurant. So charmed, in fact, that I entered and enjoyed a delicious light supper. The owner proudly showed me a photograph taken in the place of all of Canada’s premiers having dinner. Ralph Klein was our premier at the time.
I had planned on spending another night in the car with Charley but after supper, decided it would be wiser to head home to Calgary. Sleeping on two yoga mats the evening prior had been fairly comfortable but I was missing my own bed. Travelling home in the gathering darkness, James Taylor’s song “Our Town” played on Serius Radio. His lyrics captured the essence of what I had experienced visiting these small places in the eastern part of Alberta. I’ll add them here to finish my story.
Long ago, but not so very long ago
The world was different, oh yes it was
You settled down and you built a town and made it live
And you watched it grow
It was your town
Time goes by, time brings changes, you change, too
Nothing comes that you can't handle, so on you go
Never see it coming, the world caves in on you
On your town
Nothing you can do
Main street isn't main street anymore
No one seems to need us like they did before
It's hard to find a reason left to stay
But it's our town
Love it anyway
Come what may, it's our town
(Written by Randy Newman, copyright the Walt Disney Corporation.)
-30-
To Empress, where remnants of an eastern Alberta rail town’s past sit preserved
Story and photographs by Tim Johnston
John Steinbeck once wrote of travelling across the United States in a pick-up truck with a camper in the box. For company, and perhaps for a bit of security, he took along his dog. This formed the genesis for the title of the work, “Travels with Charlie”. That Steinbeck book is one of my favorite pieces of literature.
In early May, the planets governing my life aligned to provide an opportunity for a short road trip of my own. There was one catch. I would have to take the family dog along with me. And so, on an overcast Friday afternoon, I set up our Dodge Journey for an overnight road trip, loaded the camera gear and some food, and held the car door open for Charley, our Miniature Pincer “guard dog”.
Charley doesn’t really like car rides. But on that first afternoon, she had lots of room to move about the car as both back seats were folded down. She also had a window half-opened when she wanted to join me in the front. And finally, there were blankets in the back that she could cover herself with when things got boring.
Using Google Earth, I had earlier planned out our itinerary. Mainly, I was looking for villages and hamlets to visit for photographic opportunities. I would go east as far as Empress, following an old Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) line, then north to Oyen and the abandoned Canadian National Railroad (CNR) line that I would then follow back west toward Calgary.
Bassano was our first stop. I searched for an entry into the CPR yard area to photograph the remains of the roundhouse and turntable but couldn’t find one. Instead, I settled for photographs of the old bank building on Second Avenue. Afterward, Charley and I drove southeast to the Bassano Dam. When it was built, it was one of the largest earthen dams in the world. It’s still pretty impressive, the way it blocks a large curve in the Bow River and collects the river flow against a matching curve in the coulees to the north. The pelicans that inhabit the outflow area are marvelous and stately flyers.
From Bassano, we followed the right-of-way of the CPR “Royal Line” that runs nearly straight east to Empress and then into Saskatchewan. Settlements named Rosemary, Millicent, Patricia, Princess and Empress gave memories of past royals. Town layout plans provided by the railways encouraged settlers and speculators to head west. “Railway Avenue” paralleled the rail line and avenues adjacent to this ran back to the edge of the settlement. Streets crossed the avenues creating blocks that were subdivided into lots for businesses and residences. Some towns numbered their roads while others gave them names. Jenner has Railway Avenue, Prairie Avenue and Bison Avenue. Crossing theses are Ellis Street, Coleman Street, Main Street and Brown Street. Rosemary town fathers opted for Railway, Lupin, Florence and Gwen Avenues crossed by Rose, Iris, Tulip, Centre, Aster and Dahlia Streets. Despite the planning and promotion, most of these places are now just shadows of what they were when the early residents settled in.
As we approached Jenner, the hour was nearing 10:30 p.m. The light had gone from the sky and I was tiring after our explorations of the afternoon. I drove into the hamlet looking for a place to park and stay the night. The county fire hall looked welcoming and so I pulled in beside it and arranged my bedding in the back of the car. I took Charley for her evening walk, careful of my step in the dark and quiet of the night.
The rising sun streaming into the front window of the car woke me before 6:00 a.m. After some photographs around the community, Charley and I were on the road toward Empress in the hope of finding somewhere that served breakfast. Along the way, I took a side trip north of Buffalo to a beautiful (and completely vacant) campground on the north side of the Red Deer River and then stopped in the hamlet of Bindloss for photographs of vintage buildings. The Bindloss United Church is actually quite modern. With a dwindling congregation, the building is no longer in use but it is maintained. Charley and I encountered a member of the security team on our walk around the church in the form of a very large skunk. Fortunately for us, the skunk waddled away without making a stink about our intrusion. Also relatively new is the Bindloss School. I once visited the school during my days as an Alberta Teachers’ Association staff officer and used photographs taken then in an article in the ATA Magazine. I was pleased to see that the student garden, built by the Grade three and four students in 1994, was still in place and well kept.
Heading east again, I passed a road sign indicating the location of the Cavendish cemetery. As I hadn’t encountered that name before, I decided to turn around and visit the resting place of some of its early inhabitants. Charley and I explored the site with me examining gravestones and Charley examining the exotic scents of the prairie. One of the tall gravestones remembered Ester Edgington who was born in 1866 and who died in 1936. In a little field of prairie grass under a sky of brilliant blue, this is all that remains of a place once known as Cavendish.
Reaching Empress, I was happy to find that the owners of “That’s Empressive” ready and able to provide a hearty breakfast of fried eggs and bacon. Breakfast was served in a corner of the main floor. The beautiful Ojibwa–inspired art of the owner, Nokomis, known locally as Patricia Donaldson, surrounded me. Her partner, Ross Bulcock, told me some of the history of the area while I ate and afterward took me on a driving tour along the abandoned railroad right-of-way. The CPR station has been restored and Ross showed me details of the work that makes this place a true community jewel.
Leaving Empress, Charley and I drove north to visit Acadia Valley, Benton Station, Sibbald and Oyen. In Sibbald, I photographed the vacant hotel and noted the hand-printed sign on the door cautioning citizens about topless dancers who, in the day, displayed their charms in the hotel’s bar. Then Highway 9 took us westward through Cereal, Chinook and Youngstown. In Cereal, I spotted a brilliant red Chevrolet el Camino being driven by its proud new owner. I asked him to park it in front of a deep blue building on Main Street where I photographed it.
We travelled on through Chinook, Scotfield, Stanmore and Richdale, all communities that appear to be nearing the end of their days. Reaching Delia, I was charmed to encounter the Mother Mountain Tea House and Restaurant. So charmed, in fact, that I entered and enjoyed a delicious light supper. The owner proudly showed me a photograph taken in the place of all of Canada’s premiers having dinner. Ralph Klein was our premier at the time.
I had planned on spending another night in the car with Charley but after supper, decided it would be wiser to head home to Calgary. Sleeping on two yoga mats the evening prior had been fairly comfortable but I was missing my own bed. Travelling home in the gathering darkness, James Taylor’s song “Our Town” played on Serius Radio. His lyrics captured the essence of what I had experienced visiting these small places in the eastern part of Alberta. I’ll add them here to finish my story.
Long ago, but not so very long ago
The world was different, oh yes it was
You settled down and you built a town and made it live
And you watched it grow
It was your town
Time goes by, time brings changes, you change, too
Nothing comes that you can't handle, so on you go
Never see it coming, the world caves in on you
On your town
Nothing you can do
Main street isn't main street anymore
No one seems to need us like they did before
It's hard to find a reason left to stay
But it's our town
Love it anyway
Come what may, it's our town
(Written by Randy Newman, copyright the Walt Disney Corporation.)
-30-