Alsask SK Then & Now

In concept it’s pretty straightforward, and rather clever, but in execution demanding with failures all too common. We’re speaking on how a BIGDoer.com “Then & Now” is made . It’s where we take an old photograph showing some town scene from long ago and do our best to duplicate it with a today perspective. Rule number one is we match the angle and composition as closely as possible. In practice many things conspire to make this problematic. The biggest is that often times there’s now something in the way and blocking view (trees are common), but a million other reasons apply. Even finding suitable photos is not always easily done. So truth is these are a lot of work, but this unique approach is so much fun we can’t stop.

Seen in this post, we’re looking up Main Street in Alsask Saskatchewan. This town, almost touching on Alberta, owes its existence to the railway which came through in the early 1910s. The trains continue to pass, but only once in a while. While agriculture has always powered the local economy, for a time the town was home to a large military installation, many buildings of which still exist to this day. Please see: Canadian Civil Defence Museum’s Alsask Dome and Canadian Forces Station Alsask. Alsask gets it’s name account it being almost atop the ALberta/SASKatchewan border. Just a hair to west is where the line is drawn.

The community today is home to just over a hundred people. In the early days, and during the military period (1960s-1980s) it was much, much more. With the highway bypassing, few folks take the time to stop by, but we do each and every time. We so love that small town vibe.

The “then” photos comes from our friends at Priaire-Towns.com, but comes with no accompanying info. With that, it’s not known the date when it was shot, but given the general newness of everything seen and that over all frontier feel, early in the town’s history can be assumed. So we’re looking back roughly a hundred years or so.

Seen to the left, old photo, is the Alsask Hotel, a fixture here till it was torn down a year or two back (it was closed for some time). At some point (pre-1980s, we know for sure) the building had a veranda type addition built out front. To the right across the dirt street, it’s a row of businesses. One displays signage of Agheson (sp?) and Hoskin Hardware (a good business to be in then) and beside, a building marked Alsask (?) Cafe. The name is kind of fuzzy to read. Otherwise, we know not what the others are, but we guess all the usual suspects are represented: laundries, general stores, liveries, land offices and so on.

As you can see, nothing remains of them now. Today, main street is practically empty and any buildings standing appear to be more modern. The position here is down by the trains tracks on Railway Street (lots of small towns had a Main & Railway). That might be the edge of the train station in the old photo. Notice a few people are walking about in back.

Since there was almost 100% change in this Then & Now, with nothing really to connect the two eras one might question why even bothered. Well, to demonstrate that time and change are unstoppable.

Where the one fellow stands in the “then”, left, is about in line with the present day street sign. Other than the road following the same angle there’s really no reference points to help line things up. This is odd, as almost always there’s at least something. So here, change in downtown Alsask has been dramatic. Still it’s a quaint place. Check out the old school when there.

Your author has a connection with the Alsask Hotel. In the 1980s, it was a meal stop for the Calgary to Saskatoon bus. Was a passenger on that run a couple times back then. Remember the cafe in the hotel well and the grain elevators across the street. This was about the time the base closed, so while the town was on the down slide, it was still moderately busy. Not so today. While we wandered about, we saw no one.

Even though we don’t have a lot to tie the two photos together, I believe we’re standing pretty close to the original photographer’s position. And this we find over the top mind blowing. Not just channelling the fellow, but in the exact spot where he stood so long ago. We flow through time freely, us wanna-be HG Wells’, reflecting the people and things that came before and how it all fits in with the present. Who is that man, that lady across the street? The silence broken, it’s a whisper on the breeze, a secreted message from the past? Or an overactive imagination? I swear, I heard a call.

Time marches on in Alsask. But then again, so does it everywhere. A community is born, matures and then starts a long slow decline. Just like our own lives.

As mentioned before, more times than we care to admit, we fail to line up the photo properly in camera. It looks good (and we have a system) but on closer inspection we find we’re no where close to right. It only takes a couple degree of “off” to ruin things, which is not always evident right away. As such, we have a lot of Then & Nows shot that end up in the trash. If a place is close by, we can pay it revisit and do a reshoot, but for those far away, it’s no such luxury (usually). There’s a real risk that all the work will be for nothing. To help our odds, we usually shoot several “now” shots, each taken from a slightly different angle and with this odds are one should match up. By the way, all lining up is done in the field, not in post. So it’s a challenge.

Till the next Then & Now, keep on being awesome.

They’re saying…

”If you grew up on the prairies, (or even if you didn’t) you are going to love what Chris and Connie do. Part urban explorers, part historians, part documentarians and some intrepid travellers, makes this site interesting, educational and addicting. Highly addicting.” James Churchill.

Some recent favourites…
5th Ave Hanna Alberta – a century apart.
Sandon BC Then & Now – the quintessential ghost town.
Brokeback Mountain then and now – Brokeback Meadows – a movie T&N.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date of Adventure: April, 2019.
Location: Alsask, SK.

What a difference a century makes.

The hotel in the old photo before it was demolished.