When I took this photo this past spring, I never really thought much about it. Today while working on some history, I found it.
Donated to the local heritage group to ensure that it was preserved for many years to come. This home was built between 1898 and 1902 and was built by Mr. Sylvester Holden who lived in Deloraine and was a member of the Deloraine Holiness Movement Church.
In 1904 a “large, spacious Tabernacle” was built. On the grounds there was plenty of space for families to pitch tents during the Summer camp meetings. This house was meant for Church leaders and as a temporary home for families coming back from Missionaries. In 1958 the home was then used as parsonage by the then Reverend of the church.
This little service station, close to the border, has had many owners over the years. The first recorded owner does not mention his time owning the shop and the second owner mentions a time when he was employed there restoring antique vehicles.
In 1952 Mr. Smith purchased the station and over the years it became a “sound venture with complete engine building.” Mr. Smith’s hobby of restoring antique vehicles gave himself and his wife much pleasure and he tried very hard to keep his popular little service station known in the small town which was slowly declining in population.
Mr. Smith had a fondness for Hudson automobiles and attended Hudson meets all over North America with his wife Barb.
He employed 3 men who catered to customers on both sides of the 49th parallel.
Do you think this old car might be a Hudson? I think so.
There were many old vehicles on this property. Some were very hard to photograph because you couldn’t get a clear shot of them because they were parked beside a building or their was a building in the background, etc, etc. Regardless, here is what I got that day. It was hot, sunny and the landowner had a very sketchy looking rooster who I was afraid to turn my back on. He never took his eyes off of me while he was hunkered down in the tall grass.
I’m thankful that not everyone plows down their old buildings and scraps their old cars and equipment because I’m not sure what I would photograph.
I spotted this church while the sun was going down.
At 109 km/hr its hard to know if you really did see what you thought you saw so I did a quick google search when I reached my destination and sure enough. Unfortunately it was going to be dark on my way back so the next morning I woke up long before Colton so I headed back.
Built in 1911 this old United Church is still pretty stable. Unfortunately most of its windows are broken but it is still something to see. I could not avoid the hydro lines, which I truly hate! I guess if I really wanted to, I could Photoshop them out.
I didn’t go around to the other side of the church as there was a house right next door and it was early in the morning so I didn’t want to freak anyone out by walking around by their house. What I did find on google showed photos of the inside of the church as well but I also didn’t want to start poking around in there. I would imagine that now that the windows are gone, most of the things posted online would have been removed.
Found this little house East of Weyburn on my way to visit Colton a couple weeks ago.
This was another one of those roadside stops that I didn’t have to get out of the Jeep for, which was fine with me because I knew I had to stop to get a photo but it saved me time to get to the boy.
A couple weeks ago, during a brief stint of remote learning, Cade & I were driving around and I spotted these cars in town, just nicely tucked away. Of course I made note of the location to find the owner. Must have been my lucky day because when Cade drove around the corner, there was a truck parked there with a person inside. Long story short, he was the man I was looking for and let me know that he had a real little treasure that I might want to photograph.
It was an oldie and he told me that his Dad drove him to his first day of school in it. He said he would make sure that it was a in a location good for photographs.
This car was very popular on Instagram. I think every photo of it that I posted got featured on a page dedicated to old cars.
There were some outbuildings and other stuff parked around these cars so I had to get close, down and sometimes awkwardly angled to get good shots. And of course I wasn’t able to get the car from all sides.
The photo below was featured 4 different times on different pages on Instagram and easily has become one of my favorite photos.
This car is a Chevy Biscayne. The year, I do not know but I bet it was a real head turner in its prime. I’m happy that I was able to find it and capture it.
Parked behind this car was an old International Harvester.
I’m going to make the assumption that these trucks were highly sought after for farming operations. I have lost track of how many I have found, all in different stages of life or decay, for lack of a better word. Better yet, all in different stages of patina.
This old truck has definitely seen a lot of weather and sun and even though its paint is all gone it really is a nice old truck.
With all the stuff around these cars, some of the shots were hard to get and I did have to crop them to get some of the background “noise” out. Who doesn’t like a close up? I think you’ll agree, it worked out fine with this old truck.
This shot was also popular and it is also one of my favorites. I’m really enjoying black and white these days.
I often wonder how hard it would be to get some of these old vehicles to run again. I can see why all of these car enthusiasts try to save these old beauties.
This has got to be one of my best finds. I’m thankful that the owner allowed me to stop and take some photos. I should wrap this off and give him a call and shoot his other car, while the weather is still bearable.
Sixteen kilometers from Wilcox, Saskatchewan is the small town of Rouleau. Rouleau is better known as Dog River, the home of the sitcom Corner Gas. The show ran from 2004 to 2009 with a majority of the show filmed in the small town except scenes inside Ruby’s, the police station, inside Emma and Oscar’s house.
Without stopping, you would never know this successful sitcom was filmed in this town, except for the grain elevator on highway 39 which still bares the name of the small, made up town.
While driving through the town early one morning I easily located “The Howler”.
On the side of the building is a series of cut outs of the shows most popular characthers that you can pose with.
And right across from the street is the “Dog River Hotel” which is don’t recall from any of the episodes.
To bad it wasn’t open when I stopped.
While there are many of these location markers in the town, most of the buildings have been restored and you wouldn’t know that they were part of the shows set.
After shooting these photos I had to make sure that I wasn’t missing Corner Gas or The Ruby. I stopped and did a search on the internet and found out that the set for these two locations was built under the premise that they would be used for 13 episodes. They continually had to made repairs to it in order for it to last as long as it did. They left the set up for many years after production wrapped up but eventually it became dangerous and had to be taken down.
The one thing I did drive around to find was Emma and Oscar’s house.
You can do a self-guided tour of town which says will take approximately 1 hour. I contemplated not making the stop but am happy that I did. I likely creeped these people out by taking a photo of their house but I’m sure they are used to it.
I have to admit, I think Saskatchewan might be a prime location for abandoned properties and towns. Here is another home I found along the way to Wilcox and another one I didn’t even need to get out of the car for.
I could have stopped every couple miles to photograph something on my way to Wilcox. This truck was parked by an old church in an abandoned town East of Weyburn.
Located in what used to be known as Bernice, Manitoba in the RM of Two Borders, this little school is located right on the side of the highway.
While heading to Saskatchewan this past weekend to see my son, this school was conveniently located and I didn’t even have to get out of the Jeep.
Bernice School No. 547, which was established as Gould School, operated between 1888 and 1914. In 1914 it became Bernice (Berneice) School and operated as such until 1965 when it then became part of Napinka School No. 2369.
This summer my son got himself a try-out at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, better known as the Notre Dame Hounds. I drove him out there for a scheduled ice time where he was asked to come back again. We left Wilcox that Thursday in early August knowing we’d have to wait a couple weeks to find out how the other try-outs turned out. The following Monday he got the call.
Oh what a wave of emotion. On top of getting everything ready for him to go I found myself counting down the days until he was leaving. As they became fewer and fewer, I became more and more emotional. This was a huge step for a 16 year old kid. A 16 year old kid with a passion to play this game, at all costs. No time for me to be selfish.
My boy does not do photos, as you can tell. He’s never in any of them and we don’t do family photos. But I did tell him, this is huge thing and we have to document it somehow. Two days before he left I took him down to the beach for a couple shots.
Once settled in to their dorms, classes and varsity, the kids started try-outs. We knew that he was projected to play either U17AAA in the CSSHL which would take him as far as B.C., (this made Grandma and Grandpa very happy), or U18AA in the SAAHL.
90 skaters and 15 goalies took to the ice for a week of scrimmages and a spot on the U18AAA Hounds. Once those players were picked, the rest of the boys were placed on other teams. Colton secured himself a spot on the U18AA Hounds (there is also a team called the Argos).
Congrats Colton. You set a goal when COVID ended your 2019/2020 season prematurely and here you are, doing it. While this will be the first season ever that I won’t be there to watch you play, we’ll be cheering you on, as always.
Many moons ago I found an old house. We got permission to explore and found lots to keep us busy. As we walked the property enjoying the view, talking about what an amazing place this would have been to homestead we made a discovery that really excited my exploring partner, but at the time, not so much me.
I knew we’d be a while as this was his favourite thing to shoot, not the houses so I shot too. I wish now, when I think back to the many places I’ve visited and the old cars and equipment I’ve purposely passed by, that I didn’t.
Maybe it’s time to start revisiting, with fresh eyes.
In 1870, at the age of 17, William decided to immigrate, with this help of his brother-in-law, to Pennsylvania. Upon his arrival, intolerable working conditions at the iron foundry had him seek work as a gardener. He rented and cultivated a small piece of land. Once a week he sold produce to the market and gained a reputation for excellent produce.
He returned to Ireland 9 times and on one of his trips home he fell in love and married Mary Jane. They eventually came to Canada where they rented a dairy farm in Ontario. They returned back to Ireland to care for William’s sick parents. While there, an old neighbor encouraged William and his young family to come back to Canada and settle in the Underhill area.
In the 1900’s after many years of hardship and never giving up, some years only harvesting enough to pay the rent for their land, the family built this beautiful home.
The home was passed down to their son Walter whom in 1940 married and started to raise a family of his own. Walter and his wife were married for 63 years and spent much of their life on this land.
Walter enjoyed farm life, and from an early age was quite active with the livestock and grain operations. As a young man his focus was fully on farming. With the help of his Dad and brother, they began expanding the farm in the 1930’s.
The brothers were innovative in farm mechanization, replacing grain stooks and threshing machines with self-propelled combines and caterpillars. When Walter was 23, he attended the U of M, taking an agriculture course which he thoroughly enjoyed.
Walter and his brother continued to improve their farming operations. In 1947, they added the Hartney Airport and surrounding land to their farm.
A very successful crop for them was flax and in the late 1940s the brothers and their Dad were named the Flax Kings of Manitoba. One aspect that greatly affected their farming operation was the addition of lights to the tractors and combines. This allowed for late night seeding and combining, and 24 hour work days became a way of life for them.
Walter continued farming after his brother left for Alberta, and would do so successfully for another four decades. Even at 86 Walter was still managing to put in a full days work. Multiple hip and knee surgeries had severely limited his mobility, leaving him dependent on crutches to walk. He managed with sheer determination, to get in and out of the combine every day. He also loved the freedom his pick-up gave him and would drive around the countryside supervising seeding and harvesting activities, his heart forever with the farm.
Those who got to know Walter soon became aware of his love for farming. He was hardworking and expected the same of those working alongside him. He was always looking for ways to improve the farm and increase crop yields. Walter was very sharp and seldom came out on the short end of any business deal.
Walter took great pleasure in his beautiful yard and trees. The yard where his daughter now lives is a sight. I have never seen such a yard, loved and cared for.
This old truck was at an old house that I was told was being torn down. I was so excited to be able to photograph the house that I didn’t really acknowledge this old truck. I don’t even thought I included it in my original post.
Last weekend I went through some of my old folders where I remember there being old cars and farm equipment and you know what! I didn’t shoot a lot of that stuff.
Cade is the best searching partner. He sees things I’ve driven by before and have missed.
Last Fall he took me to a house that I’ve wanted to photograph for a long time and the owner called to tell me he was burning it down the next week. I took Cade with me because their have been wild boars spotted around the house. On our way home he found this house. We stopped roadside and found the owner who gave us permission.
On one of our many trips to the Iceplex this summer, we passed this yard. I was thrilled when I finally got permission to shoot. There was one issue, a dog, whom I was told would likely ignore me.
I enjoyed the ability to do some editing. I was shooting away, scanning for the dog when all of a sudden I heard the voice of my darling child screamed “dog”. He was still laughing when I made it back to the Jeep. He told me I move fast for an old girl.
I took this photo two summers ago. I came across it this summer and thought I’d post it. I didn’t think it was anything special but it got my a feature on Instagram’s Raw Abandoned page.
Our municipality has a local flywheel club that is run on a volunteer basis. Every year the members have a parade and a designated weekend where they can show off all the work they’ve put into the tractors over the year.
The clouds on this day were amazing and so Makenna and I checked out a couple locations that day to take advantage of it. We visited a yard full of old Fords, an old favorite of mine that I visit every year and this place.
This summer I discovered that I really do like shooting the old vehicles and equipment and wish that in previous years I had paid more attention to that old equipment in the yards we visited. Over the winter I may have to go through all my old photos and find the cars, trucks and other goodies that I ignored.
On Tuesday night I meant to get my camera all set up in the backyard to catch this.
I got busy doing other stuff and figured I’d try the next night. Well a lady from town mentioned on her Facebook that she was out there watching them. So I crawled out of bed and went outside. Partly cloudy. I figured I’m out here anyways so I took a couple shots.
I’m set up again tonight. It’s clearer and hopefully I’ll get something.
CRUMBLING MEMORIES 