North of the Hills

This past spring I needed a break from work and, of course, the first thing that pops into my mind is "cemetery run." Living in Medicine Hat means being close to many pioneer cemeteries, mostly abandoned, but a few still being cared for by relatives or sympathetic souls. 

The following are all situated north of the Cypress Hills at locations formerly known as Newburg, Josephsburg and Gros Ventre-Tothill.  These really weren't "settlements" as such, but places where people picked up their mail . . . and buried their dead. 

Most of the country cemeteries were established on land donated by generous settlers . . . often by those who had personally lost a loved one, and often a very young child. There was nothing easy about pioneer life.

Above and directly below are shots of the second location of Salem Evangelical Cemetery.

Following are shots of the first location of the Salem Evangelical Cemetery.  No markers remain but, this cemetery, as well as Site Two, are still maintained by relatives.  The church is long gone.

This guy keeps an eye on things.

Saint Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery is down the road and around the corner from the Salem Evangelical Cemetery sites and dates back to 1888. That's very old in southeastern Alberta's history. The cemetery is no longer maintained.

This spot is not far from Saint Peter's and was ideal for a picnic and a nap. The purple flowers are a very old variety of Tall Phlox. These are not native plants but were planted by someone a long time ago, probably from seeds from their homeland, and yet have survived in the wilderness all these years. The flowers have a sweet scent that must have triggered happy memories of their homes far across the Atlantic Ocean. These same flowers are still present on many hillsides in and around Medicine Hat. 

Evangelical Cemetery . . . not far from the others shown here. This one is maintained by the family that live just down the road.

More Tall Phlox . . . colourful and fragrant in the still spring air.

- Michael Truman

Name of the ranch or was there once a post office here?

Saw this in Saskatchewan. I thought it was unique.

Clover Lake School, Saskatchewan

Former one room school a little east of Mervin, Saskatchewan. September 4, 2018.

North Immanuel Lutheran Church

An American pastor by the name of T.L. Rosholt from Opheim, Montana organized an congregation in 1913 of local Admiral area residents. Enough interest from the locals actually created two different groups of parishioners (North Immanuel with forty parishioners and South Immanuel with thirty-four parishioners) – partially to an influx of Norwegian settlers into the region. Church services were held in resident homes, or the local one room schoolhouse. In most cases, Norwegian speaking services were held in the morning and English speaking services in the afternoon.

Money was raised and a basement for the North Immanuel church was built in 1922. Additional fundraising in the years following raised enough so the actual church could be built in 1926. South Immanuel fundraised as well and built a new church in the spring of 1933. In July 1964 the South Immanuel church was struck by lighting and burnt down. A closed church from nearby Instow, Saskatchewan was moved onto the property. In 1966 dwindling church attendance at both churches led to the decision that North Immanuel be dissolved and that both congregations merge to form Immanuel Lutheran church and to have services in Admiral.

A Google search shows the church popping up occasionally over the years since, and still being affiliated with the Lutheran church. Some records indicate the church finally closed its doors in 2007 (as the church isn’t listed on the current Lutheran church webpage). Regardless it looks in good shape, so it may be owned by someone else.

Admiral: Prairie to Wheatfields (1978) history book. Visited in September 2017 near Admiral, Saskatchewan

https://www.facebook.com/JasonPaulSailerPhotographics/

- Jason Paul Sailer

What happened to summer?

Medicine Hat Court House

The Medicine Hat Court House was built between 1919 and 1920. It has Provincial Heritage status and, in my opinion, "it's a beauty!"

It served as a model for court houses in Red Deer and Vegreville.

I love the arched main entrance with the double columns on either side of the doors.

- Michael Truman

Random music post

Saunders, Alberta

I talked a friend of mine into exploring what was left of Saunders on September 7, 2018. He is a good buddy who is easily talked into trips like this. Neither of us had ever been there. 

At one time the town had a railway station, school, union hall, tennis courts, baseball diamond, and about thirty-five houses. All of the buildings had electricity and water. Now practically nothing remains.

A map of the town is posted on this sign.

According to the posted map Big John's Spring was named for its founder John Harbonovitich who died after drinking a few too many on a cold night found on his doorstep with his keys in his hand.

One of the town roads.

Some spots are marked. Many are not.

My friend and I did not drive down this road. We walked a good distance where the townsite was. This was one of the roads in the town.

That road led us to this cemetery a bit hidden in the trees.

Saunders Baby Cemetery.

The town cemetery is at the end of the baby cemetery.

The railway trestle was here. We were way too late to see the actual trestle. The picture is deceptive, it is a long span over a sharp drop.

One of the remaining supports for the trestle.

Down by the river there was a ferry crossing many years ago. Jack Hasse drowned operating the ferry. There is a little memorial to him by the river.

Thought we would see more. We found the old mine. The entrance was blown when the mine ceased operating. It was not worth taking a photo. It would have been more interesting if more of the town was left or more signs were posted saying where things once stood. Nevertheless it was a good day to get out.

There are some damn lonely spots on the prairie

This is southeast of Medicine Hat, Alberta. This is a small fenced cemetery. The foundation of the church can be seen just a bit south of here. There are no headstones that could be seen and one small fenced plot showing one definite grave.

A marker to note this site.

Road warrior

Tomorrow I get to drive three hours to attend a courtroom session for divorce proceedings in Edmonton. I am aimng to get this resolved before the end of this year. When that is over I have to drive back as very early Friday morning I have an appointment for a CT scan. Then on Sunday I get to drive three plus hours to my mother's place, stay overnight, then on Monday drive her an hour from her place to an eye exam and back, then drive home three plus hours so I can be to work on Tuesday.

Good thing I scheduled some posts in the interim.

Abandoned barn near Turtleford, Saskatchewan

The title says it all. Spotted September 4, 2018.

 

Something different

A bit of experimenting with a tree shot I took earlier this year. The first two I posted before. I found a filter app that will produce a negative of an image. I kind of like the effect.

The original winter shot.

Black and white.

Negative print.