On February 3rd we made a return visit to the Victoria Hotel in Bruderheim, Alberta. In addition to our usual crew, a couple of friends joined us on this one. Steve and Arturo, friends of mine from the Monochrome Guild were along to experience the vibe.
Margarit, Connie, Chris and I had lunch together in Edmonton and then set out for Bruderheim. We arrived shortly before 3:00 in the afternoon. The owner Liza and her brother Al had arranged for a couple of elderly locals to be in attendance. Chris interviewed them and gained some background information for our project.
Willie is 93 years old and has been in the area for a long time. Chris gathered some information from him about the history of the area. Hazel, now retired, was a waitress at the hotel for many years, starting around 1967. She shared some stories about the goings on at the place over the years. I managed to get a portrait of each of them with my big camera.
A short time later Arturo and Steve arrived and we visited with them, as well as with all of the other patrons. As in the past the owners were very accommodating and allowed us free run of the place. They also promoted our visit on social media.
There was a pretty good crowd in attendance and we managed to visit with many of them, as well as to photograph a few. I also handed out some black and white prints made from negatives taken during our previous visit back in December.
Chris brought along a couple of ALCB Glasses. This stood for the Alberta Liquor Control Board. There must have been millions of these glasses issued to the licensed establishments across the province back in the day. The draft beer would be filled to the line on the glass and served to thirsty patrons. I remember hearing stories from older friends and co-workers back in the day about the draft being 10 cents a glass. Later I remember it being 50 cents. We had these two filled with draft and photographed them in the tavern. Liquor sales were privatized in Alberta over 30 years ago and these glasses disappeared from use. It seems lots of people stole them as they show up regularly at antique and thrift stores.
The Beer Parlour Project is a long term documentary project being undertaken by Fine Art Photographer Rob Pohl and his wife Margarit, from Edmonton. Working along side them are Chris Doering and Connie Biggart, friends, historians, researchers and photographers from Calgary, Alberta. We are travelling to locations throughout western Canada to document small town hotel taverns. Not only are we fascinated by the history of these places, but we are also intrigued by the current evolution of these establishments as the gathering place that they have become in many small towns. We are meeting and visiting and photographing the current owners and their patrons. We respect the fact that some do not wish to have their picture taken, and there is no pressure. Those that oblige us and allow photographs to be taken, may someday find their image included in some part of our project. This is in addition to the research that is undertaken to uncover the past history of these places, some over a century old. The project has an online presence and a website is in the works which will follow the path of our explorations. In the future we are also planning to put together a gallery exhibition of photographs, and eventually a book. The project was originally conceived in 2019, but the Pandemic put things on hold for a while. Our first trip was in July of 2022 when we visited the Hidden Gem Tavern in Egremont, Alberta. It is anticipated that the project will continue for most of the next decade.
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