Presenting the almost perfect timeless scene: a vintage truck, former service station and an old school wood grain elevator. Taken not twenty or thirty years ago, but in 2016. One corner in Bashaw Alberta, a small community approximately in the middle of the province, founded about a hundred years ago and visited by us for mere minutes as we passed through while racing to a gig.
The truck seen is a Mercury “M Series”. Simply a rebadged Ford, this make was produced mainly for Canada and was not seen in the US. As such, they are not terribly common. This is a heavy duty model, early 1950s era, with a huge brush guard and outfitted with a backhoe.
The setting here is what appears to be an old service station being used as a garage of sorts. The gas pumps would have stood roughly where the truck is now. The old sign post adds so much to the photo.
In back is the last grain elevator in town. This one is fairly modern as wood ones go, having been built in the early 1980s. Once owned by the Alberta Wheat Pool and still in their company colours, it later belonged to the firm Agricore. Today an independent operator, Bashaw Processors, operates out of here. BIGDoer.com will be visiting this firm a little later in the years to document what they do. Stay tuned! Maybe at the same time, we’ll talk to the owner of that old truck too.
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Date of adventure: March, 2016. Location: Bashaw, AB. Everything seen can be viewed from a public road.
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Beer Parlour Fridays: before Pilsner in Saskatchewan, there was Bohemian or simply Boh. For decades, it was the most popular beer in the province. Incidentally, both Pil and Boh were for decades products of Sick's Brewery. This Boh cap was found in the basement of an old hotel in SW Saskatchewan during a visit by the Beer Parlour Project. It celebrates the beer winning a prestigious best in world award in the late 1960s.
Beer Parlour Fridays: here's a standard issue cast-metal round-top Beer Parlour table. These were supplied through the liquor control board (who heavily regulated the business) and therefore could be found at most drinking establishments. They date back to the 1940s-1960s period and surprisingly, we still see them out there in the wild all the time. Often they were covered in terrycloth to help sop up spilled beer. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Beer Parlour Fridays: The Tompkin's SK Hotel/Lucky Loon Saloon, previously Woody's. It was just a drive by visit and not a stop on the recent Beer Parlour Project tour of SW Saskatchewan. Had it been open we would have checked it out, however. Celebrating old school watering holes at https://www.BeerParlourProject.com. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Beer Parlour Fridays: The Wildwood Hotel in Wildwood Alberta, built in the late 1950s to replace one that earlier burned down. Visited in October 2024 by Chris and Rob. Watch for this hotel and others appearing at https://www.BeerParlourProject.com. Celebrating old school watering holes!
Scroll down to the comments for more!👇 _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
A retro, all-metal playground in Burstall Saskatchewan. The rocking horse, aka the tooth chipper or shin buster, was perhaps the most dangerous. Chris says he still has scars from one. But on a summer's day, those slides could get as hot as a baking pan fresh from the oven and gave new meaning to the words toasted buns. If you survived this playground, you were ready to take on the world. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Date: 2024. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
(Via Facebook)
Looks like an F-8 ‘Big Job’ there. No doubt that backhoe would have ripped that frame apart seven ways to Sunday…
The backhoe sure does looks like too much of a load for that truck. Thanks for commenting!