Rocky View County's top rural routes stories of 2020

Langdon Ball Diamonds

Construction of four new baseball diamonds in Langdon progressed throughout 2020.

According to Chrissy Craig, chair of the Langdon Community Association, construction of the four-state-of-the-art diamonds was completed in the fall, and the fields should be able to host games next spring.

The complex cost approximately $4 million and received a significant financial boost in July 2019, when Rocky View County council approved $2.25 million to cover construction costs of all four fields. Craig said funding came through before the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning the project was not delayed.

Currently, only the basics have been built, according to Craig. “Niceties” like lighting, bleachers, a concession stand and clubhouse will be built in coming years. Additional fundraising for those amenities will be necessary in the future.

According to Craig, Langdon’s baseball community is eagerly awaiting the new facility. Craig said baseball is one of the most-played sports in the hamlet, alongside hockey.

Often, Langdon’s baseball teams have to travel to other communities like Indus or Carseland for their games. Craig said having the new diamonds will be a boon for these groups, and will allow the hamlet to host tournaments.

Irricana Cemetary

The Town of Irricana embarked on a project to revitalize and beautify the local cemetery this fall.

At a Town council meeting Sept. 21, council approved the formation of a new committee to oversee the rehabilitation of the graveyard. Coun. Jim Bryson was appointed to act as council liaison for the Irricana Cemetery Revitalization Committee. He had the idea for the project after visiting the site on Father’s Day.

“I went to the cemetery and noticed one family had gone and cleaned up around the headstones of their departed,” Bryson said. “But the rest of the cemetery looked shabby – I decided we should do something about this.”

The project includes removing a stand of aging poplars and potentially replacing the trees with a mausoleum. Bryson said the Town also needs to sort out its records of who is buried where, as a number of anomalies were discovered beneath the surface when the Town retained a company to use its ground-penetrating radar.

“We found all kinds of interesting things – there are eight bodies that there are no records of, [and] bodies where they’re not supposed to be, where there were originally no plots,” Bryson said.

Irricana’s cemetery is more than 100 years old, and Bryson said the oldest headstone dates to 1911.

Carlos Foggin

A local conductor committed to bringing classical music to Rocky View County and other rural communities in the province was among the recipients of the 2020 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Awards.

Carlos Foggin, music director and conductor of the Balzac-based Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra (RMSO) received the honour June 4. He said he was grateful his contributions to the local music scene were recognized, but added RMSO’s musicians deserved just as much credit.

“My job is to give everyone enough space and enough encouragement to do what they do best,” he said. “The best conductor knows when to get out of the way and just let the musicians play.”

Foggin formed RMSO in 2016. The orchestra is meant to bring live classical music to smaller communities in the Calgary region.

In March, the orchestra’s fourth season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. After incorporating new measures, including limiting audience capacity, shifting to smaller groups of musicians and restricting instruments to strings, RMSP kicked off its fifth season with a pair of performances Nov. 7 and 8. Following new restrictions on group performances announced Nov. 24, the orchestra is now awaiting approval to resume its concerts.

Masonic Lodges

Facing declining memberships, masonic lodges in Irricana and Acme made the choice to amalgamate this year.

In October, the Irricana Masonic Lodge, which formed in 1925, combined with the Acme Masonic Lodge, which has been around since 1912. The new lodge is called Acme Irricana Lodge No. 137.

Doug Barnard, a member of the lodge, said memberships at the two freemasonry organizations had been decreasing for several years. Members decided the best way to keep the lodges robust was by combining them, especially considering Irricana and Acme are only 22 kilometres apart.

“There were about eight of us coming to the meetings [in Acme], and you have to have five to make quorum,” Barnard said.

“Irricana was going the same way. A lot of members passed away, and young people aren’t joining right now.”

Before gatherings were cancelled, the meetings are now held at the Irricana Masonic Lodge at 7:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month.

Masonic lodges are fraternal organizations that meet privately. Discussions at the meetings are secret, Barnard said, and anyone wishing to join the Acme Irricana lodge must contact the organization and undertake a three-stage initiation process.

Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park remained resilient and popular throughout 2020.

The pandemic and a resulting government-mandated closure of the park in mid-March meant lost revenue early in the year. According to Sarah Parker, executive director of the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation (GRPF), the park sat virtually empty for six weeks, as people were not allowed to travel there by car.

GRPF also called off its guided golf-cart tours of the park, which left a hole in its revenue.

“That is tens of thousands of dollars in revenue that typically goes to supporting the foundation and the work we do in the park and in the community,” Parker said.

Restrictions at the park were lifted gradually beginning May 1, and additional health measures were put in place to limit possible transmission of the virus by visitors and volunteers. 

Despite being vacant for a period, Parker said the park has seen a record number of visitors in 2020. Between April and October, she said attendance increased by 157 per cent compared to 2019, and in July and August, more than 21,000 people visited the park.

This year did see a hiatus in one of the park’s programs – its Park Talks series. According to Parker, a decline in attendance and a lack of donations led GRPF to suspend the monthly lectures even before the pandemic occurred.

Kathryn School dynasty

A Keoma-area family’s decades long-attendance at Kathyrn School came to an end this year, when Mikayla Harms graduated from the school to attend Beiseker Community School.

Harms was the last member of the Jackson/Harms family to attend the school. For nearly 50 years, at least one member of the family was enrolled at the school.

“It’s very cool that my family has been going to Kathyrn for around 50 years,” she said. “It is sad that my family’s time at Kathyrn will end with me. However, I am excited to start a new chapter in my life and see what opportunities await me.”

According to Harms’ mother Deanna Harms (neé Jackson), the family’s history with the school dates back to 1951, when her mother Gail Jackson enrolled at the school. Gail went on to spend 12 years as a student there, graduating in 1963.

A nine-year gap followed before Brian Jackson – Deanna’s brother – started kindergarten at Kathyrn School in 1972. Since then, there has continuously been a member of either the Harms or Jackson families at the school.

“The cool thing about this, at Kathyrn, there are actually five or six families that have a similar story,” said Kathyrn School principal Dave Banderk. “That just doesn’t happen in [Rocky View Schools] much anymore. It’s one example of a number of different families that have gone to Kathyrn for three or four generations.”

Ag Tour Cancelled

For the first time in its 35-year history, Rocky View County’s (RVC) annual Agriculture Tour was cancelled this summer.

According to Jeff Fleischer, supervisor of Agricultural Services, planning for the latest iteration of the annual event began in January and was 80 per cent finished when the County decided to pull the plug because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We evaluated several different scenarios but, in the end, we didn’t want to jeopardize anyone’s safety or experience on the tour, and public health and safety was our top priority,” Fleischer said.

The event was meant to run in July and would have focused on farms and agricultural businesses in southeast RVC. The tour’s goal every year is to showcase local producers and promote agricultural businesses in the county.

Accompanying the cancellation was the suspension of the RVC Master Farm Family Award, which recognizes a local farm or ranch family for agricultural-related achievements. Normally, the award is handed out during the Agricultural Tour.

“We felt it wouldn’t be fair to the recipients of the award, as the ceremony at the Agriculture Tour is intended to be a special occasion,” Fleischer said. “We don’t feel like they would be properly recognized if [the award were] handed out in another manner.

Beiseker Mural

Beiseker’s newest piece of public art – a mural adorning the façade of a local auto restoration shop – was painted and unveiled this fall.

The mural on Heighton Auto Restoration’s exterior wall is meant to commemorate the shop’s upcoming quarter-century anniversary in the village, which will be celebrated in September 2021. The painting was completed Sept. 16.

The 51- by 41-foot mural was designed and painted by Didsbury artist Dwight Lockhart. The mural depicts a retro scene featuring palm trees, an old Shell gas station, a drive-in diner and Heighton Auto Restoration. The painting also features 13 vehicles that are actual cars and trucks owner Chris Heighton has restored over the years.

Heighton said he hopes the mural becomes a conversation piece in the village.

“It’s something that when people drive into Beiseker and they’re driving through the village, they’ll stop and take pictures,” he said.

Heighton said he also hopes the artwork inspires other local businesses to paint murals elsewhere in Bieseker.

Grain Academy

A beloved exhibit documenting Alberta’s agriculture history found a new home in Irricana this summer.

The Grain Academy, a long-time fixture on the second floor of Calgary’s BMO Centre since 1981, was moved to the Pioneer Acres of Alberta museum. According to curator and general manager Shelly McElroy, Pioneer Acres was originally approached in September 2019 to see if the Irricana-based museum would be a good fit for the Grain Academy.

Jim Anderson, former executive director and curator with the Wheat Pool Grain Museum Society, said the exhibit had to be moved due to an overhaul of the BMO Centre, which mean the Grain Academy’s lease was terminated this year.

“There wasn’t any more room for us at Stampede Park,” he said.

The exhibit features artifacts used to produce and transport grain from the early pioneering days to modern times. Among other items, visitors to the Grain Academy can see a restored boxcar from 1906, a dissected grain elevator and other agricultural tools.

After delays due to COVID-19, the exhibit was officially unveiled at its new location this summer.

Quilt of Valour

The military service of a 100-year-old veteran of the Second World War who calls RVC home was recognized this fall.

At a Sept. 21 ceremony on his property west of Airdrie, Bill Ward was given a Quilt of Valour to commemorate his service to Canada.

During the war, Ward worked as a mechanic, repairing tanks in Sicily, Italy, France, Belgium and Holland. After the war, he remained in Holland for two months to prepare trucks to be sold and tanks to return to Canada.

Ward celebrated his 100th birthday in May. Due to COVID-19, his family celebrated his centennial with a drive-by parade at his home near Big Hill Springs Road.

Ward’s daughter, Jocelyn Wittner, said she isn't quite sure what to attribute her father’s longevity to.

“He eats lots of carbs, lots of pastries and drinks lots of coffee,” she said. “He’s never smoked or drank, though, and he’s always been busy. He has good genes, I guess.”

The Quilts of Valour program was launched in 2009 with the goal of showing appreciation to veterans. Volunteers make quilts, which are then presented to former servicemen and servicewomen across Canada. In the last 10-plus years, more than 15,000 quilts have been presented to veterans, and between 40 to 60 hours are needed to complete each quilt.