Saskatchewan Trip - Day 4

Day four of our visit to Saskatchewan started like all the others.  Chris and I had morning coffee and something to eat at the rental house in Macklin, and then hit the road.

This time we headed to the north of Macklin, and then eventually made our was west into Alberta.  We had a pre-arranged a Beer Parlour Project outing in Edgerton that evening.  Leading up to that we did a bunch of exploring and scouting around.  We stopped at an old school house and checked out what was left lying around.  Then we made our way on to an abandoned grain elevator along the Canadian National rail line.  It is a busy section of track and we had three large freight trains pass by while we explored the old elevator.

We made our way to an old school house on the Alberta side and found that it was full of interesting subject matter.  A piano, a ping pong table and some old theatre seats, among other things.  We photographed here until it was time to head over to our scheduled Beer Parlour outing in Edgerton.

We also briefly stopped in the town of Chauvin and explored some of the old buildings on main street.  Sadly the hotel was closed and for sale and apparently had not been operating for a least a couple of years.  That's too bad, as it would have been perfect for a Beer Parlour outing.  There was also an old bank, a couple of stores, and a soon to be removed telephone booth.

It was a really enjoyable day and the weather was more than cooperating, though once again the mosquitos were pretty bad.  We managed to roll into Edgerton by mid afternoon and set about introducing ourselves and getting ready for the next Beer Parlour Project outing.

Beer Parlour Project - BP 26.0 - Coleville Hotel

Our visit to the Coleman Hotel was pre-arranged.  Chris had put the word out on social media, as well as in a press release.  The local radio station in Kindersley contacted us and was running ads about our visit.  A number of people that were in attendance told us that they had heard about the event on the radio.  Jenny, the news reporter for the station, and the two morning DJ's were in attendance at the tavern and we had a couple of beers with them.

Owner Greg was a gracious host and gave us a complete tour of the hotel.  He even picked up the tab for our beers and their signature roast beef sandwich, and refused to let us pay.  We generally avoid this at all costs, as we don't want to get a reputation as a bunch of freeloaders looking for a meal ticket.  We would rather pay our way, but in this instance that was simply not allowed.  We very much appreciate the hospitality.

The hotel was very well attended and there were lots of interesting people around.  We interviewed and photographed many of them.  Once I get a chance to unload and process all of the film that I shot, some of those portraits will make it here onto my blog.

Greg installed a high tech golf simulator in a section of the hotel.  He is thrilled that it has paid for itself relatively quickly and says it is a popular local attraction, particularly over the winter months.  We all gave it a try and could see that it would be a lot of fun, and good for the beverage business, during the offseason when the golf courses are closed.

We even got a tour of the basement.  I must say that it was not as creepy and dirty as some of the ones we have seen.  Check out how worn those stairs are going down...!  The old wartime gas mask and pool rest covered with cobwebs were down in the basement.

It was a really fun evening and we really enjoyed our visit.  Towards the end, we had already packed up our gear and were about to start saying our goodbyes.  But then two local guys burst upon the scene, so we just had to dig out the cameras again, for one final portrait.  One of the guys resembled Sam Elliott and the other Clint Eastwood... just like out of an old western...!

It is our hope that the Beer Parlour Project runs long enough for us to tour at least 100 hotels.  With these two recent outings in Saskatchewan, we are now one quarter of the way there, and showing no signs of slowing down.

Saskatchewan Trip - Day 3

After morning coffee on Friday May 9th, Chris and I decided to venture to the southeast of our base in Macklin, Saskatchewan.  We passed through a number of small towns, and stopped to explore all of them.  This included Primate, Denzil, Salvador, Luseland and Kerrobert.  It was a beautiful sunny day and the afternoon got very warm.  There must have been a fair bit of rain or snow in the area this spring as the puddles were all full, and the mosquitos were voracious.

Grain Elevators, train stations, banks and stores... we managed to explore a number of them.  We also stopped in at a couple of hotels in an attempt to arrange a visit at a later date.

On this day we had pre-arranged for a visit to the hotel in Coleville.  By mid-afternoon we headed over there, introduced ourselves, and got set up for the next edition of the Beer Parlour Project.

Beer Parlour Project - BP 25.0 - Unity Hotel

Most of the time we reach out to hotels in advance of our visits for the Beer Parlour Project.  This allows us to issue a press release to local media, and also to put the call out to local residents.  We always post our schedule on the Beer Parlour Project website, and Chris makes advance announcements on social media.  But sometimes our attempts to pre-arrange things, just don't work out.  At times we are unable to connect with the right people.  Running these small businesses is very time consuming and the last thing in the world that some owners want to do is waste time talking to a group like ours.  Other times there is a language barrier and we can't get our message across.  Many of these old hotels have been taken over by immigrants from India and Asia.  So occasionally we just cold call on one of these establishments, introduce ourselves, and see if we can gain permission for a visit.

During this most recent trip to Saskatchewan, our first two attempts at cold calls didn't work out very well.  The hotels in Wilkie and Macklin were just too quiet, and there was no one in attendance to interview or to photograph.  We had more success at the Muse on Main Hotel in Unity, Saskatchewan.  On the evening of Thursday May 8th Chris and I stopped in for "Just 1 Beer" and something to eat.  There were a number of locals around, so we decided to introduce ourselves and see if we could set up.  This became BP 25.0 and a full blown visit of the establishment followed.  Owner Ben was a gracious host and allowed us to do our thing.  Chris conducted a number of interviews, and I took several portraits with the big camera.  When I get around to processing my film I will share some of those images.  For the time being, here are a few phone snapshots I took during our visit.  We loved the wall of shame, where the owner posts the names of patrons that stiffed him for their tab.  I managed to take a portrait of our server, with this in the background.

Saskatchewan Trip - Day 2

Day 1 was just a driving day, that saw me scout around a bit, but mostly just get to Macklin.  After our first night at the rental house, Chris and I got up the next morning, and decided to head to the east, and a little north.  We wandered about for the day, and checked out every little settlement we came upon during the course of the day.  This included Evesham, Senlac, Rutland, Winter, Vera and others.  At one point we stopped at an old community hall, and wandered around a bit.  The door was unlocked, so we went in.  On the blackboard, in the hall that was once an old school, people had written down the names and current locations of former residents that had attended a reunion.  Most of those dated back to 2007.  That doesn't sound like all that long ago, at least if you say it fast enough, but in reality, its 18 years...!  I found a piece of chalk and noted the date and wrote "Beer Parlour Project" on the board.

Eventually we ended up in Wilkie, and checked out the hotel there.  It was kind of on our radar, but turned out to be a disappointment.  We went in and had a couple of beers, but just didn't feel the vibe.  The owners were East Indian, and had Indian news blasting on the television.  We were the only patrons in the bar, except for one guy playing the VLT's.  There was an obvious disinterest on the part of the server, and a language barrier to boot.  So we didn't attempt to arrange a more formal visit.

Rumor has it that this building was once the Gladys Hotel in nearby Scott.  We are told it was moved to Wilkie at some point, but the facts don't quite add up.  The Gladys was originally three stories, while the Wilkie is now two.  It's certainly possible that a story was removed, but based on old photographs, the windows don't line up properly.  We were a little skeptical to say the least.

Eventually we headed over to Unity, and checked out the hotel there.  It had a much more welcoming vibe, and despite being a cold call, we ended up spending the evening there for BP 25.0.