Journey Through the Past

I recently made a trip to Hazlet, Saskatchewan, a small but vibrant community of eighty-seven people.  They have a restaurant, a gas station/store and an R.M. office.  That's a lot for a little town and best of all, everyone there was pleasant and helpful and courteous.  I'm looking forward to another visit this summer. 

And of course I took some photos along the way.  I wanted to try something decidedly different so I shot only black and white photos that day with hopes of creating a present day journey through the past.  Black and white photos always seem to evoke a sense of history and times gone by. 

Much of the trip was on roads I hadn't travelled before so most of what I saw that day was new to me.  That said, I wanted to start off with something familiar, something to set the mood for the day.  That familiar thing happened to be the photo above, Zion Lutheran Church near Horsham, which I have visited on many occasions.  I always keep my fingers crossed that it's is still standing. 

Completely by chance I happened across the Grand Time School sign, the site of a former one room school.

The United Church in Golden Prairie, now an historical site.  It's open to visitors and has a guest book.

In the ghost town of Nadeauville I was pleasantly surprised to find this one room school. 

Bethany Lutheran Cemetery, one of three cemeteries I saw that day; all of which were well kept and in good condition.

Not far from Hazlet was this concrete and brass monument for the Idaho School District.  This style of school marker is rare.

A diversion into the present time: what a huge and stately horse! 

     
Located southeast of town on a graded trail was the Hazlet Mission Cemetery. 

Leah at the R.M. office told me about this one, the Unionville School District sign.  I've seen several signs of this style in the Swift Current area.

Right next to the Unionville School sign was this little house with a huge lilac bush that was just about to bloom.

South of town in a small coulee is the Hazlet Cemetery, partially hidden by trees and bushes.

On my way home I saw a magnificent display of "Jacob's Ladder" near Sidewood.  This never gets old.

All of the above photos were taken in southwestern Saskatchewan.  I hope you enjoyed this journey through the past as much as I did.