We can’t help it. We’re crazy in love with small town museums. They are the most wonderful of places, repositories of local history, quaint and full of charm, allowing one to step back in time and connect with what used to be. Simply wander about taking in the exhibits, examine, go slow, get in close, snap some pics, look, imagine and immerse yourself. Let it take you there.
For this visit we’re in the former coal mining town of East Coulee taking in the East Coulee School Museum. It’s a good sized venue, the various class rooms each done up with a specific theme. A number touch on coal mining which at one time drove the local economy – one room it’s tools of the trade and in another how a miner’s cottage might appear.
East Coulee School Museum: taking in some history in the Alberta Badlands. A piece by Chris Doering & Connie Biggart. (BIGDoer/Synd)
One exhibit shows what a typical classroom might look like back in the day. Those torturous wood desks, forcing you to sit up tall and straight! History books over there, a globe here, pencil sharpener…school is in! It looks right, it feels right.
Scroll down for photos and to comment.
And over there in a corner, waiting for a mischievous student to slip up, a dunce cap. Thank goodness these were not in use when your author went to school…just sayin’. Got an A+ in “detention” class.
When you need a break there’s the Willow Tea Room for some refreshments here at the museum. Mmmmm, come for Saturday Breakfast.
A couple rooms are for travelling exhibits or rented out for events. Team BIGDoer was here for the premier of >>> Forgotten Prairie < << from Cache Productions, part of a series funded by Telus. It documents a rag-tag group of friends, Chris and Connie of course included, while out exploring a number of picturesque ghost towns (with permission of the owners), found on the Alberta and Saskatchewan Plains one miserably cold early spring weekend. It's powerful and touching stuff, a must see.
On the grounds, an ancient bus seen in the 1989 film “Bye Bye Blues” (a fine flick if you can find it), some coal mine cars and for the kids playground equipment. Those pinchy chains on the old-school swing set. Ouch! And wood splinters in the seat! Back when fun was a dangerous thing.
The East Coulee School dates from the 1930s and was last used into the 1970s. Vacant for a time after, it’s been a museum since the mid-1980s. It took lots of hard work by locals to get it here. Kudos to these dedicated folks. Chris & Connie insist you drop by. And tell them we sent you. Also donate if you can. They can use all the help they can get.
The town of East Coulee dates from the 1920s. By the 1940s it was home to several thousands folks, almost all of them tied in some way to the numerous mines that operated within sight of town (The Western Monarch, The Atlas and The Murray being the big ones). Most miners lived in “company” houses.
By the 1950s coal mining was on the decline and by the 1960s was near gone. And with the closing of the last holdout, in the early 1980s, it was completely done for. East Coulee at this point was a near-ghost town. Today it’s bounced back a wee bit and is home to about a hundred and fifty people, give or take, some who are old timers that once toiled away underground.
Just across the river from East Coulee is the >>> Historic Atlas Mine < <<. It's a temple to coal mining, a literal time capsule, and well worth taking in. It's the last of its kind and the last to close in the valley. Just down from it is >>> East Coulee’s historic wood bridge < <<. People are working to see that it's preserved. It's so tied to the town and the mines that operated here.
The museum owns this place: The Humble Miner’s Cottage, locked up since the 1980s when the owners passed and complete with furniture and many household possessions intact. We got to take a peek inside before it was emptied in preparation of the home being stabilized. It’s hoped one day it can be made into an exhibit to be toured – please help them realize this and donate.
If you’re a museum, big or small, and want Team BIGDoer to pay your venue a visit and document the experience, please send us a message. We do this at no charge because we want to help.
I’ve been reading many of your blog posts and love all the places you see! Very jealous of some abandoned places you find. Also love how you have the history on each post.
We admit it, we are blessed! Finding those extra special places and getting the okay to go inside is our superpower I guess. And since photos are rarely enough, so we always try and dig up a bit of a backstory. Keep coming back for more and comment when you can. Thanks!
Excellent! I cannot pass up a small town museum. Recently we visited a pioneer museum in Alberta Beach and one in Stony Plain. Both were well worth it.
(A long read) After twelve years it's time to put a face to the name and come clean on something. That's rarely-seen Chris in the photo, one half of Team BIGDoer, my best friend for almost thirty years and orchestrator of everything you see here. For his entire adult life, he's battled a deep depression.
Mostly it's manageable, but there are extended bouts where it's crippling and his life comes to a grinding halt. Sometimes there are days or weeks where he's lost. Sleep does not come easy at this time and further aggravates the issue. As he ages, it's worsening and seems intent on destroying him from the inside.
If you see a lack of posts here, or ones poorly worded, confusing or simply off, it's from one of these periods.
Through all this, he remains as kind, thoughtful and loving as ever, but is somewhere else. To the family, it's just Chris and accepted as it should be. The kids and grandkids adore him no less. Until today, however, this has been hidden from the outside world, although closer friends and some readers were probably already suspect of his condition. I hope admitting this does not break the site.
He finds clarity when we're out and doing things, hiking or documenting something historic and it's only THE reason this page and our website exists. It's therapy. Then he's a new and passionate person, but the monster as he calls it always returns. The Beer Parlour Project has brought out a side I've never seen and when out in the field he's never been so on point and confident.
This post is not for sympathy but to inform. Just so you know where he is and here's what you can do to help (a last ditch request)...
If you see a missed comma or oddly worded sentence in a post, please be kind. You'll probably see his uncertainty when he's off and be nice there too. But if you like what you see, even if the write up could be presented better, post your encouragement. Say something and say it loud...it's important and will keep him sharing. Help Chris get better by cheering him on.
Other than some photos that are mine, everything else comes from him. All the tiring research and the writing (he admits he's NOT a writer), are his.
Chris puts every dollar he makes into this "project of a lifetime", and it's supplemented by donations from readers who enjoy the content. If you want to help...
Admittedly he was not thrilled with the idea of posting this but agrees it probably should be said, even if it makes him uneasy. He doesn't like appearing in photos either. He's so shy, thinks he looks goofy and hates his husky eyes. I love them and they're windows into a wonderful, complex and quiet, but tortured soul. It breaks my heart when he's in a bad space.
This image comes thanks to photographer Arturo Pianzola and was captured while exploring the historic Riverview Mental Hospital in Coquitlam BC. Chris thought since he was in the area last year, he'd stop by to visit with a grandfather he never really knew, who spent his last years at the facility and is buried on the grounds.
Thanks for listening and your understanding. Hopefully we'll see you next week. Johanna (Connie).
Journey of Natty Gann (Disney 1985) and the same location in the Crowsnest Pass 2014. We're visiting the Pass over the new year, as we often do, and this time we'll be staying at a house that appears (briefly) in the film. How cool, eh? Chris has decided it's time on this visit to reshoot this and other Natty Gann comparison shots we did from ten years ago. Stay tuned!
This scene was shot in historic downtown Coleman and shows the former Holyk's Grocery. It was built in the early 1900s and the store closed in the '60s. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
From 2015. Rob Pohl and his strange old-style view camera joined us in documenting the Laing House (with permission). Head down to the comments to see an amazing coincidence with something I found inside.
From the Crossley slides, it's an undated view of Towers School, out near Cluny Alberta. It was originally called Swastika School but that's before the word and symbol were ruined by negative connotations. Built 1922. Gone? _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
The same alley in downtown Calgary's west end, in the 1970s & today. You have to look hard to see the connection! The area was quite run down back then and is in stark contrast to all the shiny condo towers seen present day. Calgary Place West, an apartment block, appears in both images although it's barely a sliver in ours. Check the comments for more info.
Photo credit: James Tworow collection. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
Lost highways (2022): a section of old #93 in Southeastern BC. That BIGDoer-mobile is gone now but quite famous and had a following of its own. Old mine roads, cow paths, 4x4ing across fields - no problem and people would recognize us out in remote areas just by this car. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
I’ve been reading many of your blog posts and love all the places you see! Very jealous of some abandoned places you find. Also love how you have the history on each post.
We admit it, we are blessed! Finding those extra special places and getting the okay to go inside is our superpower I guess. And since photos are rarely enough, so we always try and dig up a bit of a backstory. Keep coming back for more and comment when you can. Thanks!
Forgotten Prairie is an excellent documentary. You should all be proud.
Thank you. There’s a lot of heart and soul in FP. Glad you enjoyed it!
What a great venue. It was so much fun screening Forgotten Prairie there.
A most magical night, a most amazing film, and the premiere a huge success.
Such a cool museum!
Finally, something we can agree on! Haha. It’s a great place!
Heading out to Drumheller this weekend and will be hitting up the Tyrell, the Atlas and then this little museum.
A great itinerary! That should keep everyone busy. Hope it went well.
Excellent! I cannot pass up a small town museum. Recently we visited a pioneer museum in Alberta Beach and one in Stony Plain. Both were well worth it.
Awesome, we might just have to check them out! Love these places.