Monday 31 August 2020

Frains church

At Frains, Alberta where there really is this nothing except this church and an abandoned hall across the road. I tried the church and it was locked. Nice plain very well kept Ukrainian Catholic country church in very rural Alberta.






Sunday 30 August 2020

Sad sights

On the way to see a church in Frains, Alberta I found this spot. There is nothing in Frains except a church and the remains of an old hall across the road..

This is an old homestead. In the front is a solitary grave. The headstone reads:

Boreslaw Kilar
1932 - 1933
Holy Child of God Pray for Us

When I got down the road to the church I managed to strike up a conversation with a older farmer who was hauling bales and parked at the side of the road waiting for a tractor to catch up to him. I asked him about the house. He told me there were a number of unmarked and solitary graves in the area. This was before there was a church and people were buried on the land. The church at Frains, which is just down the road, was built later. 

Life was tougher back then.





A friend of mine who found this place earlier this year has a great post about it.

glenbowe.home.blog/2020/06/13/a-solitary-grave

Saturday 29 August 2020

Moose Portage Post Office 1928 - 1957

This is northeast of Smith, Alberta, south of Fawcett Lake, on Range Road 261 south of Township Road 722. The post office operated from 1928 to 1957. The nearest farm is about a mile away. The post office would have served a very rural population. Due south is the Athabasca River and there was a portage there. From what I was able to find out it was named after the abundance of moose in the area.



A very worn and faded sign marks this place. If you get up close it reads Moose Portage Post Office 1928. The date after 1928 cannot be read due to weathering over the years. I looked it up and the end date is 1957. It is behind a fence on private land so I took photos from the road.




Friday 28 August 2020

Rural fence post art

Spotted this driving by a farm south of Calmar, Alberta.

If I have to visit my family you should visit yours

Meeting up with my sister this weekend. I really do not want to, not that I have anything against my sister, I just do not feel up to it.

For the last few weeks I have had back, knee, hip, ankle pain (all on my right side) and persistent headaches. No idea what I did to cause it, maybe my warranty expired. I did see a doctor and that did not solve anything. I would prefer to just stay home and not go anywhere. Maintaining family relationships however is important so I am making the time to do that.

Pelican School update

I found out that the land that Pelican School is on was recently sold. A friend of mine has a cousin that has a farm just down the road. I was informed that the new owners plan on demolishing the old school. At this point it is probably a hazard. I got to see it before something like this happened to it.

I was informed this afternoon that it is now torn down.

Pelican School 1922 - 1949

East of Wainwright, Alberta and named for a small lake in the area. Fading into obscurity and becoming very overgrown.





Not entirely abandoned. I was checking the windows with my telephoto lens to see if there were any owls. I was being watched by this resident.


Thursday 27 August 2020

Case



A "Case" farm implements "Eagle on the Globe" statue circa 1930's and 1940's.  There was one of these at most Case dealerships at the time.


Spotted this one somewhere in Saskatchewan.

- Michael Truman
Past Presence Website

Handsome In Its Old Age



I encountered this handsome old barn recently, north of Arborg, Manitoba. I hope I look as good in my old age.

Steve Boyko

Abandoned House Near Zbaraz


I found this weathered old house near Zbaraz, Manitoba. It looks pretty intact but quite well weathered.


Steve Boyko

Wednesday 26 August 2020

Ghost town Saskatchewan

From Dale and Lynn Redekopp

Expanse is a ghost town in Saskatchewan south of Old Wives Lake. Expanse thrived for a couple of years as the CPR end of track from 1912 to 1914, but was disorganized as a village in 1935 due to changing economic circumstances and the great depression. The St James Presbyterian church which was built in 1912 was converted to the St James United church in 1923. The church was moved to Mitchelton, Saskatchewan in 1958 and ceased to be active in 1986. The streets of Expanse have reverted back to nature. Pictures were taken in September 2014. 

This is practically nothing left these days.









Tuesday 25 August 2020

Abandoned Alberta

Near Grasslands, Alberta.


If it is bale season you have to expect bale posts


Still some yellow fields in my area

Canola in Leduc County, Alberta August 25, 2020.


Lone tree in Leduc County, Alberta

1:30pm August 25, 2020.

Springwater, Saskatchewan house

Springwater looks like a ghost town. Few people and a number of abandoned buildings. This house has brightly coloured trim and a green chimney. Someone might live in it or it might be an art project or both. It is unique.

You can streetview this on Google Maps. It is right beside Highway 51. It is located about right here: 51.972507, -108.376024



Monday 24 August 2020

Abandoned Alberta

Near Thorhild, Alberta. I did not exactly turn down the wrong road, it still took me where I wanted to go, it was not the road I thought I was on. On bright side I got to see this.



Skeletal barn

Very small building. Rural Alberta south of Nojack.



Abandoned Alberta - La Pearl Church

The cemetery is well kept and across the road. I did not get close enough to look inside.

Not far from Ribstone, Alberta. This is a rural country church.





Sunday 23 August 2020

Saskatchewan grain elevator

Dodsland, Saskatchewan.


Niton School 1929 - 1952

Just a few miles north of Niton Junction, Alberta.

It is locked and there are metal screens over the windows. It is not really abandoned, I think this looks like it was to be part of an outdoor museum. There is an old caboose and a piece of old farm machinery on the property. It looks like this is as far as they got.