Time for a brief stop at the former Moccasin Flats Gas and Confectionery in Bellevue Alberta. It’s a place that’s been on our radar for sometime now – of course every old and empty, overgrown and boarded up building is – and while this stop was brief we fully expect to return at some point to spend more time taking it all in. It is a worthwhile subject.
We don’t know much about the operation…for now anyway. The Bellevue walking guide, the only record we could find that makes mention of it, says this:
“Originally a dairy and operated by Tony Suadino…later the site of Boutrey General Store, Maple Leaf General Store, Jo’s Maple Leaf Confectionery, and finally Moccasin Flats Gas and Confectionery”
Not much really. Not dates, nothing in depth. I guess we’ll have to dig up more when we revisit the subject. That’s what we do anyway.
The gas pumps out front are 1970s models (according to experts we spoke with). The price per litre shown is forty-nine-nine – never understood that tenth of a cent thing. You’d have to go back to around 1990, if not a bit earlier, to find prices consistently that cheap.
Short Subjects: reports that for any number of reasons are brief in nature. They might be updates to older articles, previews of posts planned or not yet published, brief snippets of things that don’t fit in anywhere else or subjects that are so obscure that information on them can’t be found.
If you need any more information on what we talked about here, by all means contact us!
Date of adventure: July, 2015. Location: Bellevue, AB. The property can be viewed from public sidewalks
Beer Parlour Project Friday🍺: The Thorsby Hotel, built in 1929 & a photo by the manager's 7 years old daughter. More below 👇
Agreema politely asked if she could shoot a few photos & we obliged. A dark environment like this is very unforgiving & the camera she used quite temperamental, so she did an amazing job. We're out of work as photographers! Great food at this place, BTW!
Beer Parlour Project Friday🍺: The Tofield Hotel, built in 1912 & patron Lana, shot on Rob's vintage view camera. More below 👇
She's a sweetie & met her late husband at the hotel. The building from the alley side hasn't changed much since being built but the front brickwork is now covered by siding.
Crossley slides (unrestored), an unnamed fellow snacking on Sun-Maid Raisins - mountains of BC - 1950s. More below 👇
The distinctive red box is instantly recognizable! The location is listed as the Whitewater Valley & we think it's in the Sandon area close to Retallack. Perhaps some of our friends out that way can confirm. Sandon B.C., would Hal know? Crossley frequented Sandon so the location makes sense. Note the (mine?) road cutting across the slope in back. The slide is dated 1955 in the catalogue but 1956 on the frame.
Shout out to: Jason Sailer. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
An old section of Highway #6 (BC) in the 1970s & 2021 - it's the second most shared post in our entire history! More below 👇
The original photo shows the road about the time it was decommissioned. This was always a troublesome section & so it got replaced by a new route further up the hill. While it hasn’t seen a car in eons, it remains overall in reasonable shape, save for some rockfall in places like this. These came down about ten years ago.
Happy Holidays from Off the Beaten Path w' Chris & Connie. Thanks for your continued support & encouragement. More 👇
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CPKC's Holiday Train from a few nights ago. Rather than fight the crowds to see it, we wanted something a little more intimate. A bit of hike, but we brought mulled wine to help us keep warm while waiting. It's not a great shot & originally we had no intent to share it here, but what the heck.
Trainspotting is like fishing. It's not about the catch but rather getting out. If a train comes by, great, but if not, we had each other & a chance to get away from the day's problems. That's a BIG win in our books...even if we did freeze our bottoms off. _______
Out exploring with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
A fun day! Same information I got on the building as well. May have to check the history book!
My Crowsnest contact knows who owns the place, so maybe I can find out more. I want to reshoot the place anyway.
Be interesting to hear what he finds out Chris! A reshoot is always fun 🙂
Yes, most places like this are worth a revisit.