CBC Radio Interview

Here is a link to my interview on CBC Radio.  The interview was recorded in the Edmonton studio on September 12th.  I understand that it aired a couple days later, on September 15th.  It was a lot of fun to do, and I look forward to the opportunity to do further media interviews about the project.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-17-edmonton-am/clip/16169617-exploring-albertas-old-time-watering-holes-one-pint

Nordegg

Last time I was out at Nordegg I played golf twice.  The first time around it was with my daughter Hailey... her first round of golf ever.  Two days later I played a round with my neighbor Rob.  It was another beautiful day, and there was almost no other golfers on the course.  It certainly is a beautiful place to play a round of golf.  This panoramic view was taken from the first hole.  I'm standing on the fairway as I took this photograph.  The rocks in the center are the creek bed.  To the left you can see the second and third fairways.  In the center is the fourth fairway, with the Bighorn Range visible in the distance.

I've now played 14 rounds so far this season, so I got my money's worth on my annual membership.  It takes ten rounds to break even.  My score is consistently in the mid forties on nine holes, even using my shitty bent clubs.

A Drive to Golden

On Sunday September 21st, Hailey and I headed out to Nordegg.  We checked out the golf course after we arrived, to see if we could squeeze in a round, but it was booked for a private tournament.  Instead we popped over to the lounge and had a beer and something to eat.  Later in the evening we sat around visiting until the wee hours.  I got up early on the morning of Monday September 22nd and hit the road.  This was the first morning of the season that I had to scrape my windshield, as the temperature dropped down to -2c overnight.

Hailey stayed behind at the cottage and slept in, and I headed for Golden.  I had pre-arranged to meet my friend Rob there.  He brought the film drying cabinet that I am selling for him, and when we connected we did the transfer to my truck.  Then we had lunch together at a local restaurant, and visited for a couple of hours.  Rob and I have been friends for at least 15 years.  I think back to some of the great times we had together.  We went on some extended photography road trips... to Utah twice, out to Vancouver Island, and numerous trips to the mountains and badlands.  Sadly Rob has given up photography and moved on to other interests, so we no longer have that in common.  But despite that, we have remained in touch and remained close friends.  We are hoping to get together sometime in the new year for an extended visit.

In the morning when I left it was not only cold, but I was on a schedule, so despite driving one of the most beautiful highways in the world, I didn't stop for any photographs.  By the time I made the return drive in the afternoon, the light wasn't as good, plus the wind had really picked up.  Traffic was really heavy and there were still a lot of tourists in the mountain parks.  So I didn't take the camera out of the truck on the way home either.

I drove past this old building in Field on both legs of my drive.  This is the old CP Rail Telegraph Building in the town of Field.  I shot this particular photograph in the very late fall of 2023 when I was on my way home from Vancouver Island with Arturo and Chris,  I'm still out at Nordegg as I write this, so I don't have access to any of my photography notes.  I'm really not sure of any of the technical information about this image... including film, development, lens, etc.  I thought I would include it here with this post as it fits the theme of my drive to Golden.

CBC Radio Interview

On September 12th I had to travel to the CBC Edmonton studios in downtown Edmonton, in the City Center Mall.  I had an early morning appointment to do a radio interview about the Beer Parlour Project.  This time around, unlike the previous one at CHED radio, this one was not live.  I later learned that the interview was broadcast on CBC radio on September 15th.

I have not yet heard this interview, or the other radio interview that Chris and I did together.  I attempting to get links to these so that I can include them here on my blog, and also on the Beer Parlour Project website.

Fall in Nordegg

On Sunday September 21st I headed out to Nordegg.  My daughter Hailey came along with me.  Margarit stayed behind in the city.  She and her sister Natalia are dealing with sorting through all the stuff that belonged to their mother.

On Monday the 22nd I blasted over to Golden to meet my friend Rob and pick up his drying cabinet.  While I did that, Hailey stayed behind at the cottage and relaxed.

Tuesday the 23rd was forecast to be the nicest day of the week and it did not disappoint.  The temperature got up to about 24C and it was mostly sunny all day.  I wouldn't call it a wind, but there was a breeze, somewhat brisk at times.  Shortly before lunch Hailey and I headed over to the golf course to play nine holes on the Historic Nordegg course.  Hailey had never played golf before, and never even swung a club.  I'm certainly not a good enough golfer to offer much in the way of coaching.  She had an acceptable score for an absolute newbie, and I think she enjoyed the game.  The fact that it was a beautiful day, and that for most of it we were the only ones on the course, certainly helped.

Last time I played, at the beginning of the month, I discovered that my six iron had a dent in it.  This time around I noticed that my 5 and 7 irons had suffered the same fate.  There was a round depression, about the size of the golf ball, in the face of all three clubs.  This was a really cheap set of clubs that I bought, about three years ago, at Canadian Tire.  They were made in China, and for 250 bucks I got a putter, five irons, a wedge, a driver, a three wood, and two hybrid fairway woods, all in a golf bag with stand, and club covers.  It appears you get what you pay for.  The quality of these clubs certainly leaves something to be desired.  I have never abused them, and probably only played three dozen nine hole rounds with them since I bought them.  I'll make due until the end of this golf season, but will have to get something better next year.

After our golf game was finished, Hailey and I took the canoe down out of the rafters of our garage.  We loaded it in my truck and I hauled it over to Goldeye Lake.  Hailey jumped in and paddled around on the lake for a couple of hours.  While she did that, I blasted back to the cottage and looked after a few chores.  Hailey found a spot on the far shore of the lake and had lunch and read a book for a while.  I had pre-arranged to be back to the lake to pick her up at about six.  I actually got there about a half hour early.  She struggled a bit to paddle across the small lake as the breeze kept pushing the canoe off course.  Eventually she got back and we loaded the canoe back into the truck and returned to the cottage.

We were both pretty tired in the evening from the physical activity of the day.  We had a BBQ and grilled a couple of steaks before eventually turning in early.

Twenty Three

September 24th is Hailey's 23rd birthday.  This year it was extra special as the two of us were out at Nordegg together, without anyone else around.  I distinctly remember the day that Hailey was born.  It was a beautiful sunny fall day.  Margarit had been in labor most of the night, and Hailey arrived early in the morning.  I remember going home to get some rest later in the morning, looking around at the beautiful fall colors, and thinking how much my life was going to change.

The morning dawned heavily overcast and drizzling, but by late morning the rain quit and the clouds began to lift.  Actually, we could really use some rain, as there has been virtually nothing out here for over a month.  The precipitation today didn't amount to anything and we got less than a millimeter.  Just enough to keep the dust down, but that was about it.

By late morning Hailey and I decided to venture out.  We did a quick run to the dump to get rid of some garbage, and then headed into town.  Most of the shops are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the off season.  So we were unable to get Hailey a slice of pie from the Miner's Cafe, and I was unable to drop off my prints at the Beehive.

We headed up to the minesite for a walk around, and as per usual I took my camera along with me.  As in the past I booked my access with the County staff and had permission to be in on a private tour.  There were some staff working down at the briquette plant so we avoided that part of the site.  I discovered that some asshole had vandalized the electric motor in the far winch house.  There was a package from bandsaw blades on the floor.  The motor was torn apart and destroyed.  The armature was laying outside with all of the copper wire stripped off of it.  For F*ck's sake.....!!!  This stuff is way more valuable historically, than it is for a few pounds of copper.  The County really needs to take steps to adequately secure the site with some proper fencing.  The mine dates back to 1910, and has been shut down for seventy years.  To date, there has not been a lot of vandalism.  But in recent years, with increased activity in the area, vandalism and looting has been accelerated.  Once this stuff is lost, it's gone forever.  This is exactly why I am investing my own time and money to document it while I still can.

Hailey's younger sister Helena passed along a wonderful birthday gift just before we left.... a bad cold.  Hailey suffered with that all day on her birthday, and I suspect it will only get worse.  I think I'm catching it too....

Once we got back to the cottage in the afternoon, I started slow cooking a batch of Greek Ribs for Hailey's birthday.  Hopefully her cold symptoms aren't too bad yet, and she can actually taste them.  We will have a nice relaxing dinner together and hang out in the evening.  Another day or two out at the cottage and then sadly we will have to return to the city.

A Drive to Ferintosh

A few days ago I realized that one of the film holders that I used on Beer Parlour Project outing number BP36.0 in Ferintosh, was missing.  I called out to the hotel and checked with the owner Darlene.  Sure enough, I had left it behind in the bar, but she had set it aside for me.

On Sunday September 14th I made a quick run out to Ferintosh to pick it up.  I hung around with Darlene for an hour or two and had a good visit.  She has been running the hotel from many years.  Her husband Stan passed away a couple of years back, and she's been doing it on her own ever since.  The hotel is currently for sale, but there is not a buyer in place.  She elected to close the hotel as she can no longer put in the hours needed to run it.  But, at the same time she still lives there, and has ongoing costs.  It is going to be a challenge for her to see her way out and I wish her all the best.  Whenever I am back in the general area I will certainly stop by for a visit.  It sounds as though she is going to continue to open the bar on an as-needed basis, until she can sell the place.  I encourage anyone passing by to stop in and support her.

On the way home I stopped by this field of sunflowers near Gwynne and took a few photographs.  This included some phone snapshots seen here, as well as a few with the big camera.

95 Years Old

On September 22nd my Mother-In-Law Martina would have been 95 years old.  Sadly, she didn't quite make it to this milestone.  She passed away just before midnight on Saturday September 13th.

Martina suffered from Dementia and was not able to communicate with anyone for the past couple of years.  The only person that she really recognized was my wife Margarit.  In the days leading up to her passing she refused food and water, and just eventually drifted away.  I spent most of the last day there with Margarit and my brother-in-law Shawn, as Oma drifted away.  We kind of expected that in her typical stubborn Austrian manor she would hang on until my sister-in-law Natalia arrived.  But she didn't make it.

I stopped by her residence around 11:30 to drop off some food and a change of clothes for Margarit during her vigil.  Oma seemed to be in a deep sleep and was breathing peacefully, unlike earlier in the day.  About 10 minutes after I left, Margarit said that she just stopped breathing.

She was born in Austria and lived through the Second World War.  She lost several family members during the war and eventually moved to Canada around 1960.  Her life was long, and she mostly lived in good health, at least until the end.  Of course there were good times and bad times, but in the end it was very calm and peaceful.

On September 22nd, her actual birthday, I understand that Margarit baked a Sacher Torte as a birthday cake to celebrate the day.  It is a traditional cake from the Sacher Hotel in Vienna, and a favorite of Oma's.  The family all had a piece of cake and sang happy birthday to her.  Sadly Hailey and I missed out on it, as we were in Nordegg.

Fixer Upper

This is the last scan... for now... from the recent batch of Ilford HP5+ that I developed.  I rated the film at 320 iso  and developed in 510 Pyro, 1:100, for 7:35minutes, at 24C.

I shot this image a couple of weeks ago up at the Nordegg Historic site.  The building was obviously a residence, but I don't know the history of it.  Possibly it was the residence of one of the mine supervisors or managers.  These two old cars left abandoned out front are pretty photogenic.  I made some darkroom prints of this negative and will be offering them for sale at the Beehive Artisan Market in Nordegg.

I shot this on September 3rd 2025, at about 2:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a wide 90mm lens.  It was a very gloomy and smoky day, so the light was pretty flat and not very intense.  This resulted in a long exposure of 4 seconds at F22.0.

Big One Brewing

This is yet another shot from my recently processed batch of Ilford HP5+ film.  The batch of 20 sheets of 4" x 5" film was processed in 510 Pyro Developer, 1:100, for 7:45 minutes at 24C.

This broken toilet was in an old building at the Nordegg Historic Site.  It made me laugh as I thought about all the jokes I've heard over the years about guys blowing up a toilet with a big one.  In reality it was probably just vandalized, or maybe it froze and burst.

I shot this one on September 3rd of 2025 at about 2:15 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a somewhat long 180mm lens.  As the light levels in the building were very low, the exposure was for 30 seconds at F29.0.

Now we're on MSN...!

MSN.com picked up one of the news stories on the Beer Parlour Project.  Hopefully this leads to even more exposure for our project.  Hopefully we can eventually gain some support, either in the form of an arts grant, or perhaps a publishing contract.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/alberta-photographers-capturing-history-of-small-town-hotel-taverns-before-they-disappear/vi-AA1KPwMO?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=68c59888acc1498eb79569d090eee3bc&ei=48

School Door

This photograph is from the same batch of HP5+ film as the previous Ping Pong image.  It is also at the same abandoned school in eastern Alberta.  This batch of 4" x 5" sheet film was processed in 510 Pyro Developer, 1:100, for 7:35 minutes at 24C.

I shot this image on July 22nd 2025 at about 2:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TU view camera a long Fujinon-A 240mm lens.  No filter was used.  The film was rated at 320 iso and the exposure was for 1/60 second at F20.0.  The door was a pastel blue, so I also shot a sheet of color film at the same time.  Once I process that one perhaps I will share that image as well.

Ping Pong

On our way home from Macklin, Saskatchewan back in July, Arturo and I stopped at an old abandoned school house on the Alberta side of the border.  We had just spent a few days in Saskatchewan taking in three old hotel taverns for the Beer Parlour Project.  Inside the school we found an old piano, and this ping pong table.  The pigeons seemed to be enjoying it, but it looked as though a real match hadn't been played for many years.

This is from the recently processed batch of Ilford HP5+ 400 that I developed.  The film was rated at 320 iso and processed in 510 Pyro Developer, 1:100, for 7:35 minutes at 24C.  I shot this on July 22nd at about 1:45 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony view camera and a slightly wide Schneider 110mm lens.  There was no need for a filter under this soft interior light.  The exposure was for 1 second at F36.0.

BP12.0 Doug

This is a rework of an older image from 2024.  This was the visit by the Beer Parlour Project team to the Viking Hotel in Viking, Alberta.  It was the 12th stop on our long tour, so we refer to it as BP12.0.  This is Doug, a long time local.  I believe he used to work at the hotel as a handyman.  I just did a new edit of this photo and changed up the contrast a bit.  I think I've probably posted this one in the past, but thought that this new version is slightly better.

Some New Prints for the Beehive

Over the past year or so, a number of my prints have sold at the Beehive Artisan Market in Nordegg.  In advance of the upcoming holiday gift season, I decided to prepare some additional prints.  A few weeks back I rounded up some older prints, mostly from 20 years ago or so, and took them out to the market.  More recently, I made some 8x10 prints from new negatives.  These photographs were all taken in 2024 and 2025.  The first is a building interior, rumoured to be the brothel, near the Nordegg mine site. The second is the remains of an old vehicle up at the mine.  The third is a close up of one of the underground locomotives that hauled coal cars up from the mine.  And the last one is a sweat lodge found out on the Kootenay Plains.  So all of the images are from the David Thompson Country, and the general area of Nordegg.  I have these all mounted and matted, two copies of each, and will drop them off at the Beehive next time I'm out in Nordegg.  

CTV News Feature

This is a link to the video feature on CTV news, that aired back on September 8th.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfh6TRiHWzo

Sweat Lodge and Prayer Flags

A few days ago I processed a batch of Ilford HP5+ 400 in 510 Pyro Developer.  The solution was diluted 1:100, and development was for 7:35 minutes at 24C.  This combination is really working well for me.

I stumbled across this first nations site just beside a trailhead out in the David Thompson County of Clearwater County.  

I took this photograph on Canada Day, July 1st 2025, at about 3:10 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45Ti view camera and a wide Nikkor 65mm lens.  I rated the film at 320iso.  A #11 Yellow Green Filter was used to lighten the foliage and the grass.  The exposure was for 1/30 second at F20.0.  

I'm really happy with the way this one turned out and may consider adding it to the Apparitions project.

CTV News at BP34.0 - Andrew Hotel

This is the written article that CTV News put together about the Beer Parlour Project visit to the Unwind Bar & Grill in the Andrew Hotel.  The video story that was compiled at that time aired last Monday, on September 8th.  I will be posting a link to that feature in an upcoming post.

Photography project shooting to preserve old hotel bars before businesses go under
By Ali Yusuf


Published: September 08, 2025 at 5:47PM EDT

Patrons at the Andrew Hotel bar are documented by photographers with the Beer Parlour Project, on Aug. 15, 2025. (Connor Hogg/CTV News Edmonton)

A small team of photographers are documenting old taverns and their customers in western Canada before the establishments disappear for good.

The Beer Parlour Project team travels across Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia to preserve the history and nostalgia of small-town watering holes, with the hopes of bringing in more business.

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In an interview with CTV News Edmonton, Rob Pohl, a photographer with the Beer Parlour Project, said this project gave him the opportunity to work outside of his comfort zone.

“I’ve focused my attention on landscape (photos) and a fair bit of historic old building remnants of people,” Pohl said. “At my age, I’ve done almost everything I can think of doing and wanted to branch out and do something a little different.”

“It was a challenging project for me to do something different than what I’m accustomed to,” he added.

Pohl said that most small towns in western Canada took advantage of being close to railway stations by building taverns and hotels nearby.


He said as time passed, many of them shut down their operations due to financial instability or couldn’t survive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s a challenging photo project to be involved in. It’s getting people to experience what’s an important subject to us and celebrate what’s left,” Pohl said.

Some of the stories told would be of infidelity, romance, typical Saturday-night antics, and even someone who rode into the bar on a horse after having a few too many.

Chris Doering, another photographer and researcher for the Beer Parlour Project, told CTV News Edmonton the stories told by patrons felt like a “vault of memories.”

“It’s an interesting bit of nostalgia you get. You hear happy stories, you hear incredibly sad stories. All in one sentence or one paragraph sometimes and a lot of emotion,” Doering said.

“They’re not seen as often or heard as often, but they’re still here,” he added.

Pohl said the stories serve as an understanding of how simple life was back then.

“Every one of the stories … collectively tells a bigger story. It all comes together about what a focal point life had in the small towns,” said Pohl.

“People worked hard in those days … when they went to town on a Saturday night, that was the focal point of their week.”

The goal of the project is to visit 100 establishments with the hopes of creating a traveling showcase of their work and to secure grant funding to release a book of all their curated stories.

Many of the hotels documented by the team shut down weeks after being documented. However, the Andrew Hotel, where Pohl and Doering had their latest shoot, confirmed it will remain open under new management.

For more information, visit the Beer Parlour Project’s website.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg

880 CHED

On September 11th I was invited in to the studios of 880 CHED radio in Edmonton.  Stacey Brotzel of the morning show interviewed me about the Beer Parlour Project.  My colleague Chris was also in on the interview, via telephone, from his home in Calgary.  I think the interview went pretty well and I look forward to hearing it.  I think I should be able to find a link to it somewhere, at some point.

Historic Site

On August 31st the Brazeau Collieries Historic Site in Nordegg closed for the season to public guided tours.  The site belongs to the province of Alberta, but is administered by Clearwater County.  County staff will remain on site through the fall doing some maintenance and restoration work.

I've spent a lot of time up at the site over the past year and have sort of become the unofficial, official photographer.  I am attempting to document all the little details up at the site, with my large format view camera.  Several of my prints from these efforts are on display at the Discovery Center in town, where the mine tours are booked.  There is also a small museum here, featuring some history about the mine and the town.  This is where my prints are displayed.  This is also closed for the season, but my prints will remain on display next spring.

County staff allow me to go in by private tour and document the site.  I am very grateful for the opportunity, and will continue to work on this project for some time to come.  Most recently I visited the site on September 3rd.  I booked my visit with County staff and checked in and out with them during the course of the day.

It has been very smokey in the Nordegg area for several days, and the day I chose to visit the site seemed to be the worst.  You could not even see across the valley to Coliseum Mountain.  It made for some very interesting lighting, as there was sort of an orange pall, and the light was very subdued.  The forecast called for it to warm up to +29C, but due to the smoke and lack of sun, it only made it to +19C.  I thought the softer light might be ideal to document a few things, so I spent the afternoon in the central part of the site.  I understand that there is some restoration work going on at the briquette plant, and I was not permitted to visit this part of the site, at this time.  

It was a good day and I exposed about a dozen sheets of 4" x 5" film... mostly black and white, but a couple of color as well.  I really need to catch up on my backlog of film processing.  I know I have some strong images from my numerous visits to the site, but have only developed a small portion of them so far.  Results will be shared here on my blog as I catch up on my backlog.

Tipi Ring

This is the last scan from the recently processed batch of Fuji Neopan Acros 100.  It was actually back in August that I developed this batch of 20 - 4"x5" sheets, in Rodinal Developer, 1:50, for 11 minutes at 24C.  

When Margarit and I were visiting southern Saskatchewan last fall we found this Tipi ring in Grasslands National Park.  It is simple a ring of stones, that once held down the perimeter of a Tipi.  There were several here, on this outcrop overlooking the Frenchman River Valley.  This one was the most conspicuous.

I took this photograph on September 17th at about 2:00 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a slightly wide Fujinon 125mm lens.  A #25 Red Filter increased contrast.  The exposure was for 1/4 second at F18.0.

Stone Ruin

I'm still working my way through the last of my scanned Fuji Neopan Acros 100 negatives.  This old stone ruin is situated in the Rural Municipality of Stonehenge No. 73.  A rather fitting name I thought.  I photographed this structure while Margarit and I were visiting southern Saskatchewan last fall.

This photograph was taken on September 21st 2024 at about 1:00 in the afternoon.  I shot it with my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a wide Nikkor 75mm lens.  A #8 Yellow filter lightened the value of the foreground grasses, and created a little separation in the sky.  The exposure was for 1/30 second at F16.0.

Elevators

I may have posted another version of this image in the past... I can't recall for sure.  This one is a scan of a Fuji Neopan Acros 100 negative.  This is another from the batch that I just processed, back in late August.  The film was rated at 80iso and developed in Rodinal 1:50 for 11:00 minutes.  I find that this provides about a half stop of added contrast.

This one was taken last fall, when Margarit and I were touring southern Saskatchewan.  This is a well known ghost town in the Rural Municipality of Coulee No. 136.  There are still a handful of people living nearby, but no one left right in town.  I shot this one on September 19th 2024, at about 5:15 in the afternoon.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a Fujinon 125mm lens.  A #25 Red filter deepened the shadows, increasing contrast, while lightening the foreground grasses.  The exposure was for 1/4 second at F16.0.

Woodhead

I still have a few more scans of Fuji Neopan Acros 100 to share.  This was from a batch of film that I developed back in late August, prior to my recent trip to Nordegg.  Most of the images are from my trip to Saskatchewan last fall with Margarit.

This shot is of the Witch's House, but in a little tighter, so that the turret is not obvious.  Someone placed this weird looking Tiki style wood carving of a guy, complete with hair, inside the house.  A local photographer regularly takes students out here to photograph the house as a foreground for astro photography, and as a backdrop for light painting.  Perhaps he left it here.  You can see the dude in the lower left corner of the center window.

I shot this sheet of film on September 16th 2024 at about 6:00PM.  The exposure was for 1/8 second at F16.0.  I used my Ebony SV45TE view camera and a wide Rodenstock 90mm lens.  A #22 Orange filter brought out the tonality in the weathered wood, and created a little separation in the sky.  Development was in Rodinal developer 1:50, for 11:00 minutes at 24C.  This old house is located in the Rural Municipality of Arlington No. 79.

David Thompson Country Calendar - September Page

This is the image I selected for the September page of my 2025 David Thompson Country Calendar.  These young aspens are along the shore of Abraham Lake.  The lake is actually a reservoir, and is the result of the damming of the North Saskatchewan River by the Bighorn Dam. 

Transalta Utilities generates electricity at the dam, and it is also used to control water levels on the river, downstream.  In the early spring the reservoir level is very low.  Water is continually released to generate electricity, but over the summer months the inflow into the reservoir is greater than the amount released.  By late summer the reservoir is full, often flooding shoreline trees and getting close to the highway in places.  This photograph was taken in late fall, a couple of years ago, when this small grove of trees became inundated.  Over the winter months the water is released and the level drops significantly, with the cycle repeating in the spring.

Rockola GP160

I hope it is OK for me to call him a friend.  Actually Gary is a friend of Chris and Connie, and I got introduced through them.  But he has now been out to my place in Nordegg a couple of times, and we have had some good visits, so I hope he considers me at least a casual friend.  Gary is originally from Manitoba, and back in the day, together with his father, they ran arcades, and serviced coin operated amusements.  Gary's Dad used to be a distributor for Rockola Jukeboxes.  Gary is the Go-To guy in western Canada for mechanical pinball machines.  He is one of the last, and best technicians left that can still work on this stuff.  He lives in Lake Louise, and has been working for Parks Canada.  So it is not that big a stretch for me to get him to come out to Nordegg and restore my old Rockola.

My brother Shawn ended up spotting this at a garage sale and I managed to pick it up for 250 bucks.  She has a bunch of miles on her, and has seen a little rough handling, and poor storage... but there is hope.

Gary came out a couple of months ago and had a look it.  It was obvious to him that the needle from the tone arm was missing, and he felt that the cartridge was suspect.  He steered me towards a place in Florida called Jukeboxneedles.com.... and I was able to order the parts I needed.  During his first visit we were able to determine that the mechanics of the machine were functioning, though they needed a little TLC.  We had no way to test the audio components without a needle.

The parts that I ordered arrived back in August, so I arranged for Gary to come out to Nordegg over the Labor Day long weekend.  He graciously agreed, and came for a visit with his daughter, and his two dogs.  We had a great visit together and spent a couple of days hanging out.  His daughter Kalyna hit it off with Ryan and Braeden and they did a bunch of stuff together.  Meanwhile Gary and I... mostly Gary... tackeld the Rockola.  The old wires to the cartridge... now probably 50+ years old, are as fine as a human hair, and the coating is very brittle.  Gary managed to remove the old cartridge, strip back those ancient wires, and solder in the new cartridge.  We gave it a test drive, and sure enough, after the old tube amp warmed up, the speakers blasted an old Springsteen 45.

With confirmation that the audio system is functional we were encouraged and moved on to the other components.  Gary removed a couple of motors and took them back to Lake Louise to clean and rebuild.  We know that the mechanical stuff works too... because we tested it... but it all needs a little cleaning. lubrication and adjustment.  So at some point in the next month or two, when Gary has a little time, he will make a return visit to Nordegg and we will dive into the rest of the rebuild.  

So far I've only invested the intial 250 bucks, plus about 75 more for the cartridge and needle.  I've paid Gary a little for his time so far, but it has not been significant.  It appears that we will be able to get this unit up and running within the budget that I initially had in mind.  I'm really looking forward to this, and have a bunch of 45's from my teens that I can load into it.  It will be a great addition to our retro themed guest cottage.

Sadly the glass is broken on the top of the Rockola.  I will have to search and see if I can find a replacement.  If not, I will have to get a new piece of glass cut, and then figure out some way to display the list of singles.