A Peek at Cochrane’s Brickyard History

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pg 17 A Peek into the Past Gordon and Belle Hall Vol. II

In and around 1902 or 1903 when Pete Collins took over the Little Brickyard, he must have bought the entire west side of the Big Hill also. C.W. Fisher in 1906-07 bought land off of Collins to build his mansion on, which is now the Mount St. Francis Retreat. In 1907 Pete Collins supplied the land for the cemeteries which consisted of about five acres. The cemetery at this time was called the Quigley Cemetery as Jimmy Quigley negotiated the deal. Quigley and other residents of the area had members of family buried on their property and these were moved to the new cemetery. The land first planned for a cemetery was located where Manachaban School is now, but somehow got moved to its present site.

Pete Collins must have sold the brick factory when he sold the land in 1919 because in 1928 Collins was there at the factory. I remember him almost cutting his thumb off in some machinery. Jack Beynon did the hiring for the factory and paid the wages at this time. Jack Beynon Sr. was called old Jack or Big Jack, while his cousin who lived on Horse Creek was called Young Jack. The Beynon and Davies men were avid curlers, Beynon being secretary of the club for a number of years. If you were at their house for breakfast after curling the night before, they would be showing how they made their shots with saucers on the table.

Jack Beynon Sr. was also Uncle Remus (sic) in the local minstrel show and was a long-time member of the Oddfellows Lodge. The Beynon and Davies dairy came to an end in 1948 or 1949 and Sid Reed and Sam Peverell had a hog-raising business there for a few years. They built a number of buildings for hogs. O.M. Gilbert bought the property and started an early calf crop business. He built a big calving barn under the hill west and couth of the Cochrane Ranche house. Gilbert was a hard working man of more than middle age and passed away with cancer. A.N. Gilbert, O.M.s son ran the business •for a number of years finally selling to the provincial government for a park.

When my son Allan was fire chief in the early 70s, he was asked to burn the old house that sat next to Collin’s Brickyard on the west side of the creek. There is a lot of history in the 100 years since Cochrane started his Cochrane Ranche that are buried now in the mists of time.

Collins Brickyard, Cochrane, AB
Collins Brickyard Cairn

BRICKYARD AND DAIRY PART OF RANCHE HISTORY

Recently attending the tenth anniversary of the opening ceremonies of the Cochrane Ranche site, I was reminded of the history that is now largely forgotten and very seldom mentioned of the 105 years of past history associated with this site. In the late 1890s a Mr. Little began a brickyard one mile west of the village of Cochrane on the west side of the Big Hill Creek and on what was Cochrane Ranche property or lease. Little died in 1900 and his widow married Peter Collins two years later. Collins owned a brickyard in Calgary but after his marriage, took over the Little Brickyard.

In 1902 Collins built his first kiln. He had a horse driven brickmaker. In 1906 additional kilns were built and brickmaker was driven by steam power. A spur line was put in from the main CPR line and wood was shipped in from Morley to fire the kilns and of course bricks were shipped out by boxcar. The last year the Collins brickyard operated was 1928 as my father and myself worked there.

The Beynon and Davies families came to Cochrane in 1907. Jack Beynon Sr. was foreman in the Collins brickyard from 1907 until 1913. His wife Annie operated a cafe and confectionery in Cochrane. In the old Oddfellows Lodge minute books, it is mentioned that in 1912 they bought 10 suppers at Annie Beynon’s cafe for $3.50 total bill.

Jack Beynon and Edgar Davies joined the army and fought in the first world war. Beynon was wounded in the Battle of the Somme and his wife Annie went overseas and became a nurse in the hospital where Beynon was convalescing. As soon as the war ended they both came back to Cochrane. In 1919 John Beynon, William Davies and Edgar Davies formed a company and went into the dairy business.They purchased 750 acres from Peter Collins on the old original Cochrane Ranche. Jack Beynon, who was a stonemason, built a large stone barn to house the dairy cows. They used the old Cochrane Ranche house as residence and added on the old Cochrane Ranche barn to make hog pens.

The way they worked, Jack Beynon was the hog man, he cooked pig feed in the little hut built into the hill and when the creamery was moved south of the piggery, they brought buttermilk over a long trough held up by A-frames. The buttermilk ran into a tank, which in the summertime was a haven for flies. Edgar Davies looked after the cows and William Davies did the land work with horses and hauled the cow feed. They all milked cows at milking time. The milk was hauled to the CPR station to go on the train, until trucks started hauling milk sometime in the 1930s. Beynon and Davies were always known as the Brickyard and were well known by everyone, especially the younger people of Cochrane. The children, or anyone else for that matter, were always welcome at the brickyard where Mrs. Annie Beynon had a glass of milk and a sandwich, or for the older visitors, a glass of dandelion wine.

Deep Dive

The Rural One Room School

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Page 130 More Big Hill Country 2009

As settlement took place in the area surrounding Cochrane, the need to provide an education to the children became imperative. The first step in setting up a school took the form of an information meeting, usually at a pioneer’s home. That meeting would lead to the formation of a committee of at least three residents of the proposed school district.

This “education” committee would apply to the Minister of Education for approval to carry on with their establishment plans. The department stipulated the school district had to include at least four persons, constituting the School Board, who actually resided in the area and who, on the formation of the district ‘ would be liable to assessment of taxes for school purposes.

In some cases plans to form a school district faced stiff opposition. Bachelors living in an area feared that the establishment of a school district would raise their taxes and, as a result of apparent short sightedness they would oppose the education committee’s plan.

The local school board was the sole taxing authority as well as the only collecting agency. The board would make an estimate of the amount needed to run the school and then set a rate of tax to agree with this. Financing the rural school could be demanding, especially when local residents fell on hard times due to drought, livestock losses or human tragedy. Taxes were often deferred until a load of wheat or a cow was sold or the milk cheque had been cashed. During a tough period, while very few rural residents paid the school tax, the school still functioned by reason of the paid-up taxes of the more fortunate ratepayers in the district.

Apart from taxes, school boards raised some money from rental of the school building for functions such as public meetings, dances and for polling booths on election days. A tuition fee of thirty cents per day per child would be charged students who attended from an unorganized district or from neighbouring districts whose schools, for one reason or another, were not operating. After 1905 the cost of maintaining schools was met by an additional method, legislative grants.

Where did the schools spring up in these districts? The Canadian government intended to use western natural resources and lands to promote western settlement and railway construction. A simple effective survey system divided the arable prairie lands into square townships, each comprising 36 sections of 640 acres (259 ha) with the basic homestead comprising of a 160 acre (64.75 ha) quarter section.

Under the Dominion Lands Act of 1872 two sections in each township were reserved for the support of education. “And whereas it is expedient to make provision in aid of education in Manitoba and the North-West Territories, therefore sections eleven and twenty-nine in each and every surveyed township throughout the extent of the Dominion Lands, shall be and are hereby set aside as an endowment for the purposes of education.”

Where topography determined the placement of the school and its outbuildings, land was either purchased from, or donated by a settler.

Once the school site had been selected it did not mean that the location issue was solved. A shift in the school population often left the school in anything but a convenient place. No one could predict with certainly the number of families that would take up residence in the district or the increase in population of the families already living in the district. When a population boom meant a building had became too small and another was available, school boards arranged for the moving of school buildings from one district to another. In our locale, the Inglis School (north east of Cochrane) was moved to Cochrane during the late 1940’s when enrollment went the other way and dropped below the minimum requirement.

On January 3, 1939, by order of the Minister of Education, Calgary School Division No. 41 was created bringing into one administrative unit some seventy-six local school districts. The new School Division was divided into five subdivisions, each to be represented on the Divisional Board by an elected trustee.

The Minister of Education, Anders Aalborg noted in his 1960 New Year’s greeting to teachers that only 10 years earlier there were 1545 one-room schools in operation. By 1959 the number had dropped to 275 schools. Alberta’s highway system developed rapidly in the mid 1940s and early 1950s. After World War II many rural school districts centralized their operations. The introduction of school buses altered the shape of rural education at this time.

In 1977 the Calgary School Division No. 41 changed its name to the Rocky View School Division No. 41.

Glimpses into the past, based on notes from Big Hill Country, Chaps and Chinooks: a history of west of Calgary and memories of those who attended the one-room schools in the Cochrane area follow. The one room schools have been grouped according to their location in relation to Cochrane and then alphabetically.

Deep Dive

We’ll continue our stories about local schools in the weeks to come.

Son of London Banker T.C. Fooks

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pg 582 Big Hill Country 1977

Tom Fooks, the son of a London banker, was originally from Kent, England, and lived at various places around the world, including occasional stays at his farm on Horse Creek. He purchased the SE¼ of 30, the E½ of 19, and the W½ and NW¼ of 20, all in Township 26, Range 4, W. 5th.

Although Tom himself did little work on his farm, money generally seemed to be plentiful and he was presumably a remittance man. He was considered rather eccentric, but was a very clever individual. He was extremely restless, which probably accounts for the fact that he quit University in England just before graduating as a medical doctor. Tom was also extremely daring; many stories could be told of his escapades during the 1930s in his light airplane around Cochrane, Pine Lake and in the mountains, at a time when any sort of an airplane was a novelty in the skies.

Tom Fooks liked to play jokes, which often didn’t seem very funny to his victims. Once when out flying, Tom spotted a neighbor walking in his summerfallow, so proceeded ·to make passes at him so low that the frightened pedestrian lay flat in the dirt. Another neighbor was delighted to accept Tom’s invitation to accompany him on a drive to Toronto. All went well until Tom decided to stop in the middle of a downtown Toronto street, take the car keys and walk off. His abandoned and rather bewildered friend was left to deal with irate policemen as best he could for several hours.

A very proper English farm couple asked Tom for supper one evening. Tom accepted graciously, and the couple looked forward to an evening with a cultured person from “home.” However, the evening came and went, but no Tom arrived. Around midnight, a commotion at by Tom and his saddlehorse, both tangled in the clothesline. After straightening things out, the sleepy farmer asked Tom to come in, which he did, then he sat there all night, giving the couple the conversation they had longed for, and went home after breakfast!

At one time Tom had a string of race horses, including a well-known stallion, Doctor Joe. However, his horses came to a sad ending when their irresponsible owner went off to Vancouver and left them tied in the barn. When found by a neighbor, some of them had starved to death.

Tom Fooks joined the Air Force at the beginning of the Second World War. He has since disappeared and no one knows his whereabouts.

The final paragraph made me wonder if a web search would find any results for T.C. Fooks. I've included them below and in Deep Dive.

Mark Boothby Tweet

Thomas (Courtenay’s son) went to Cambridge University. In 1925 he won the annual cross-country race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities. A photo of Thomas crossing the finish line can be viewed online4. He knew Lord Burghley – both were in a combined Oxford and Cambridge athletics team that competed against Harvard and Yale5. Lord Burghley later won the 400 metres gold medal at the 1928 Olympics. The character Lord Andrew Lindsay in the film Chariots of Fire is based on Burghley. Thomas married Lucy Day in 1935 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is listed on the 1939 register as a visitor at 43 Woburn Place, Holborn, London, a farmer (married). Thomas was granted a Royal Aero Club Aviators Certificate as a pilot in 1946. He was appointed as an Assistant Labour Officer in Kenya in 19526. Thomas died on 19 September 1991 aged 87 in Nairobi, Kenya, leaving an estate of £607,396. The T. C. Fooks Charitable Trust was registered in 1993 with the aims of relieving poverty and advancing education by making grants to suitable organisations. It had ceased to exist by 2011 when it was removed from the register.

https://dartfordhistory.blogspot.com/2018/

Deep Dive

William “Bill” James Scott Family

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pg 700 More Big Hill Country 2009

Bill Scott’s grandfather, William Scott and his oldest son Samuel, age 16, came to Canada in 1932 from County Down, Northern Ireland to look for work as the feuding between the Protestant and Roman Catholic families was something the Scott family wanted to get away from.

They got work at Taber, Alberta and various other farms in southeastern Alberta and in 1925 they returned home to Ireland to bring their family to Canada. They settled on a large farm in the Dalroy district in Alberta and in March 1931 the family moved to the Glenbow district working in partnership with Chester de Ia Vergne.

In 1932, James “Jimmy” Scott (1911-1999) returned to Northern Ireland and married Elizabeth Annie (Lily) Aiken (1914-2001) in early 1934 whom he had known before. Their son William James “Bill” was born on December 15, 1934.

In 1936 Jimmy returned to Alberta bringing his wife and young son with him.

Eric L. Harvie bought the Dr. Morris property down on Glenbow Road in 1937 and Jim and Lily Scott were hired to look after the property until 1941 when Jimmy Scott’s brother Sam joined the Royal Canadian Air Force Jim and Lily moved back to the de la Vergne place to work with his father Wiiliam Scott.

Bill Scott rode a saddle horse to Glendale School from there the first few years with his Aunt Rose. Bill, like most rural children in those days, was quite shy in his first year away from his parents while attending school. Bill attended Glendale School from grade one to eight, riding down Glendale Road, back and forth with companion students, Bob Norris, Dennis, Bill and Shirley Wearmouth , his aunt Rose and the MacKenzie brothers walking alongside. The MacKenzie kid’s father Norman didn’t want the horses eating the cow’s grass so they had to walk instead of ride. Norman and a neighbour Ernie Thompson made the gates so tight to open and close and in winter the snow drifted and buried the fence line gates that it was easier to walk the two miles to school.

Bill attended Cochrane School for grades nine and ten, riding his bicycle with his neighbour Angus MacKenzie. They rode up and down Glenbow Road, along highway IA and the Big Hill back and forth to Cochrane. Bill and his parents were now living at the Drake Place, a quarter of a mile north of Eric L. Harvie’s summer home on Glenbow Road.

Mr. R.C. Burns had bought this property in 1934 and their youngest daughter Marion attended Glendale School from 1935-1937 to grade 3. (Marion was Edith Edge’s attendant when she was the Calgary Stampede Queen in 1953.) Mr. and Mrs. Bums also owned a house in Mount Royal in Calgary and Mr. Bums’ Law Office was in the Grain Exchange Building in Calgary. Mr. and Mrs. Bums were from a farming background in New Brunswick and Mrs. Bums had a fine dairy herd of Ayrshire cows with “Ness” bloodlines, a well known herd in the Maritimes.

Jim and Lily Scott were hired to look after the Bum’s farm and dairy herd in 1946, shipping cream to the Cochrane Creamery. R.C. Bums bought the Harry Hollies farm in 1942, NE Sec 6 Twp 26 Rge 3 W5M which was later owned by Jack Hawkwood.

Sam and Helen Scott and their family came back to work for his father William at the de Ia Vergne Glenbow Ranch, after the war. The Glenbow Ranch was now owned by Mr. Harvie and Sam’s wife Helen and their children had been living in Carstairs during WWII.

Bill Scott attended Mount Royal College in Calgary, near Mewata Park, for grade eleven and grade twelve. Mount Royal offered introductory university courses to students outside of the Calgary area. You had to be a taxpayer in Calgary to attend other Calgary Schools or board with city relatives. Bill boarded with Bella Thomson on 11th Avenue S.W. She was Norman MacKenzie’s widowed cousin and it was fairly close to Mount Royal.

After completing Grade 12 at Mount Royal, Bill worked for two years in the oil business. He then returned to Mount Royal and attended two years of University there. Following Mount Royal, Bill traveled to Norman, Oklahoma and completed his Engineering degree in January 1959, specializing in Petroleum Engineering. At one time, Bill seriously thought of attending veterinary college. During the summer holidays from school and after graduation he worked for Mobile Oil at Weyburn and Estevan in southern Saskatchewan. Years later he had his own small Petro Company.

While attending University at Norman, Oklahoma Bill met Sandra Lentz, who he married in 1957. They had four children Alexis, Jeff, Susan and David. In 1956, Bill’s parents, Jim and Lily Scott had taken over the dairy herd from Mrs. Burns as she had become very ill with cancer. Mr. Bums still kept a few laying hens and in the next four years or so, Jim Scott and Norman MacKenzie worked together during haying season.

In 1967 Bill bought the Verner Jensen farm in the Bearspaw district at the north end of Rocky Ridge Road, along Burma Road for his parents. They continued with their dairy operation until 1986 when they sold their cows and dairy quota. They then ran a beef operation until 1999 when Bill’s father, Jim passed away. Bill’s mother, Lily passed away two years later in 2001. The farm was sold to Inland Gravel Co.

Bill and Sandra’s (Sandi) marriage broke down in the mid 1970’s and in 1982 Bill married Anne Billard and became a father to Anne’s young family.

In 2000, Bill and his family bought a ranch in the Columbia River Valley area near Canal Flats in British Columbia. They built a Black Angus cow/calf operation. Bill’s family is involved in most of his adventures. Angus MacKenzie met Bill and his son Jeff in 2006 at a Soderglen Bull Sale at Airdrie. Here Angus was invited by Bill to drop in someday and see Bill’s Thoroughbred horses at Crossfield, Alberta. Angus plans to take him up on this offer.

Bill and Anne Scott live in the northwest corner of Calgary directly east of the Bearspaw Golf Course, north off Twelve Mile Coulee Road. Bill Scott has never lost touch with his rural background; he just added a little class to it.

Deep Dive

Christmas Greetings 2025

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Merry Christmas to All

The Members, Volunteers and Directors of CHAPS wish everyone all the joy, health and happiness of the season.

It’s always fascinating to look back through old issues of the Cochrane Advocate. This December 1916 edition offers a wonderful glimpse into how our community celebrated the Christmas season over a century ago — the ads, local notices, and small-town stories really bring the era to life.

But there’s also a sobering reminder of the times. Among the festive news is the announcement of the death of Herbert Rhodes at Vimy Ridge, a stark contrast that reflects the realities families were facing here at home.

History has a way of weaving joy and loss together, and papers like this help us remember both.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Christmas get-together at the Cochrane Historical Museum.

It was wonderful to see such a strong turnout and to share the season together surrounded by our community’s history. Your continued support makes these gatherings so special.

Deep Dive

George and Gwen Connon

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By Gwen Connon pg 362 More Big Hill Country 2009

I was born in 1935, along with my twin brother Glen, into a family of 12. We lived in the Big Bend District west of Innisfail, Alberta. This was later sold to become the Innisfail Airport. We moved to the Niobe district, north of Innisfail, about three miles south of Penhold, Alberta. We attended school at Niobe, either walking about two miles each way or riding horseback.

Growing up we attended the United Church, which was held at Antler Hill School. I was a member of the choir there. I rode my bicycle about a mile and a half to take piano lessons. Some of my brothers and sisters went to a 4-H group in Penhold, showing their calves and selling them there.

I attended High School at Red Deer Composite High, staying in the dormitory during the week. In 1951 , I met George. He was from a family of 14 and they lived west of Bowden. George and his family came from Scotland when he was only three years old. Growing up he was active in hockey, baseball and fishing. George went to work for a local farmer that raised show cattle.

After leaving school, I went to work as a bookkeeper at A & B Motors and Burrows Hardware. George left the farm and worked at Central Cleaners for several years. We both loved to dance and then started curling. He was involved in umpiring baseball for several years.

We were married on October 21 , 1953 and George went to work at the Bowden Institution until May 1956. He was offered the job of Farm Manager at Spy Hill Gaol, which wasn’t even built then. There were two big farm homes there. We lived in one and had 10 inmates in the other along with a guard. Construction started soon on the new Gaol. By 1958, they moved us into a new home across the main road from where we were living. George ran a large dairy herd with the inmates doing the milking and farm work.

Our first child, Michael was born in 1955 in Innisfail. Larry was born in Calgary in 1957, Rick in 1961 and Heather in 1966. They all attended school in Cochrane.

In 1969, we decided to move to Cochrane as we were meeting each other on the road, taking kids to various activities they were involved in. We lived on William Street, not far from the outdoor skating rink. Some days I would feed supper to as many as ten boys and then send them out to hockey, baseball or where ever else they were going. Meanwhile, Heather and I would deliver the Calgary Herald, which was an evening paper at that time.

George worked various shifts and he and two other people took turns driving. In his spare time he joined a group of other people helping to raise money for the Indoor Arena up on the hill by the High School.

Michael graduated from Cochrane High School and along with Roy Paul and Mike Schlegel owned and operated Double Action Excavating. I was their secretary for a few years. They did a lot of work for Calgary Power in Cochrane and area. Construction was booming at that time so they excavated several homes in Cochrane, Bragg Creek, Cremona and areas. In 1983, Michael decided to move to Vancouver where he still resides, working in the car business. He and his wife Linda have three children who are now graduated and out on their own.

Larry left Cochrane and worked in Calgary, Red Deer and Lacombe in construction. In 1972 he moved to Vancouver Island where he owns and operates a roofing business. Larry met Darlene LeGas and they were married in 1983. They have two children, Tyler and Christine. Tyler is attending College hoping to attain a Business Degree. Christine left school and works at various jobs.

Rick finished school here and went to work at Town and Country Auto Parts. He married Stacy Tribe in I 985 and they have a son Christopher who will graduate June, 2007. Their daughter, Kelly is in Grade 9 at Bow Valley High. Chris is a football player and Kelly is deeply involved with soccer. Stacey worked for several year at the Cochrane Gas Plant and now is at Mr. P. Potty.

Heather graduated from Cochrane High School. She worked for Fast Gas for awhile and then met her husband Paul Matchim from Newfoundland. They went back to Newfoundland for a three week holiday, which extended to 3 1/2 years when they returned to Calgary. Paul owns a Sheet Metal Business and they live in the city. They have one daughter Melissa. Heather is a teacher aide working with children from other countries who don’t speak English.

During the years, George and I have been very active with Senior Curling, Horseshoes and the United Church. We both loved to camp and fish and travel. We moved to Scotthaven Apartments in 1989 and soon became Manager, which I still do. We meet a lot of interesting people.

George retired from Spy Hill Gaol in 1982 and went to work at the Curling Rink for several years. We also did some catering to weddings, anniversaries and at the Gas Plant.

George became ill with Alzheimer Disease for the last eight years of his life. He passed away March 8, 2005. I had a heart attack in September 2006 but am now feeling very well.

William Duncan Kerfoot killed at Ortona

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an email from Ted Barrow

CHAPS recently received this email from Ted Barrow.

Hi, I was wondering if this would be of interest to the museum. The text below is slightly updated from a Facebook post from two years ago:

“I found this amongst my brothers things when he died last year. It was given to my mother who was widowed aged 22 when her first husband, William Duncan Kerfoot, was killed 80 years ago today at Ortona, Italy. Bill was a rancher she met when she took on a teaching job at the Kerfoot ranch near Calgary Alberta, Canada. They had only been married for a few weeks.

The battle for Ortona is know as ‘little Stalingrad’. While the Americans and British were squabbling over who should get to Rome first the Canadians were sent to Ortega on the east coast to liberate the city. The facists had rendered the cities streets unpassable by destroying buildings and the fighting was intense.

I grew up with his picture and medals on display wherever we lived and I respected my dad for not wanting to hide or deny my mothers past. My middle name is Duncan and I guess thats because Bills middle name was Duncan too. My mum and dad met on an airfield in Canada and married in England after the war and went to live in Argentina where my brothers were born and grew up. I was born in the UK.

I have often wondered what would make a Canadian cowboy want to fight so many thousand miles away from home and how that one snipers bullet changed so much. I wish these plaques were rare but they aren’t. “

I'll be honest and say I'm not sure all the facts are correct here but its the story as I understood it as I grew up with and have always held dear.

Ted Barrow

The following video is from CHAPS 100 Stories for 100 Years Series on YouTube.

Kerfoot Family Notification submitted by Will Pratt

Deep Dive

Jack and Betty Macdonell

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pg 572 More Big Hill Country 2009

Jack Macdonell was raised in Calgary, Alberta and Betty was raised on a farm near Manson, Manitoba. They met while working for the summer at Lake Louise. Their friendship blossomed into love and they were married on July 5, 1952.

The Macdonells came to Cochrane in 1956 when Jack accepted a teaching position at the “new” Andrew Sibbald Elementary School. He taught Social Studies, English Literature, Language Economics and Drama.

Many wonderful drama nights happened because of Jack’s dedication. Some of the plays were “The Valiant”, “Jane Eyre” and “Johnny Dunn”. The community really enjoyed these productions.

Jack eventually assumed the position of Principal and officially opened the new Cochrane High School in 1963 on Cochrane Heights. In 1966 he was appointed Assistant Superintendent for Rocky View School Division and commuted to the office in Calgary from Cochrane.

During 1968 and 1969, the Macdonells took a sabbatical from teaching and went to Reading, England. When they returned, Jack returned to the Rockyview School Division and in 1971 was appointed Superintendent. Jack’s love of teaching drew him back to the classroom when he accepted a position of principal in Bassano, Alberta.

Betty was a great homemaker and cook. She loved to bake. She was involved in the United Church as a UCW Member, a Sunday school teacher and a C.G.I.T. Leader. The children loved her vivacious personality. Betty and Jack mentored many young people over the years. They provided room and board for many students from Morley who found it difficult to attend school regularly from their homes. Betty’s brother Toby arrived from the farm to finish his grade 11 and 12, followed a year later by their sister Linda.

On their arrival in Cochrane, Betty and Jack rented the Sid Reed house and in I958 they bought the Klassen home where Jack pursued his love of building and renovating.

They retired to the Shuswap area of British Columbia where Jack built their home. In the winters, they spent a great deal of time travelling to many destinations. In 200l, due to failing health, they sold their home and moved to a modular home park in Vernon, British Columbia to be closer to doctors. They are living there today.

Betty and Jack have three daughters. Lynne Louise married Blair Pinder. She followed in her father’s footsteps and taught for the Rocky View School Division for several years. They live in Calgary.

Leslie was married and divorced. She has two sons Christopher and Bradley and two grandchildren. She lives in Toronto.

Margo never married, lives in Calgary and teaches music. All three girls graduated from Cochrane High School

Deep Dive

Rev. Father John Lessard

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page 569 More Big Hill Country 2009

Father Lessard started his work in the Cochrane area working with the Sarcee Indians. (sic) His work among the Sarcees was a stepping stone to his appointment to the Cochrane Parish. He spent six years in Cochrane, Alberta, as a parish priest and was also very active in the local community.

Father Lessard was the founder and publisher of the local paper “The Old Timer” which covered the Cochrane and district news for many years. He also sent it overseas as he felt it was important for the men overseas during WW II to have some news from home and keep up with what was going on.

Father Lessard founded the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), the Girl Guides and he was forming a Boy Scout Troop when he was transferred to his new post.

Father Lessard was an enthusiastic member of the Cochrane Board of Trade and a strong supporter of the local branch of the Red Cross Society. His community work went far beyond the boundaries of his own parish with the result that all sections of the community had benefited from his efforts.

Townspeople, farmers and ranchers of Cochrane and District packed the 1.0 .0 .F. Hall to bid farewell to Father Lessard as he had been called to Edmonton to accept an administrative post in the oblate order in which he was a member. Farmers and ranchers and a number of Calgarians braved bad roads and another light snowstorm to attend this function. One of the features of the evening’s entertainment was the appearance of Norma Piper Pocaterra who came to sing a song or two and ended up, through the insistence of the audience, almost presenting a full scale recital! Mr. Frank Gainer also joined in some renditions to make the evening very enjoyable.

Refreshments were served by the ladies of the community and Father Lessard was presented with a well filled purse, an engraved cigarette case and an engraved cigarette lighter. The presentations were made on behalf of those present by the Chairman Mr. F.L. Gainor and Mr. R.E. “Bob” Moore.

Father Lessard thanked everyone present for their tangible expression of loyalty and good wishes. He said it had been a pleasure to work for the interests of the townspeople because the spirit of Cochrane and district was well known. He was sorry he had to leave the district and also sorry that it meant an end to his work among the Sarcee Indians. (sic)

Deep Dive

Can you date this photo of Cochrane?

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Can you date this photo? The credits on it are from Trevor Beynon dated 1960s.

Here is the original we received. The second photo is an AI-sharpened copy.

Click on either version to expand.

Cochrane 1960's
The 60s Trevor Beynon Aerial-topaz-text-upscale-300w

What do you see that can be dated?

  • West side residential development doesn’t exist
  • Beynons and the rodeo grounds are visible on the west side east of the Creek.
  • Gilberts ranch exists on the current site of the Cochrane Ranche.
  • Cochrane Heights is  under development
  • The elevator is still in place 
  • No sign of development on the east side including  Big Hill Lodge
  • The old pool is still there
  • The trailer park is still on the west side
  • Cant tell if the Shot Tower still exists
  • Esso fuel depot is on south side of tracks beside elevator
  • Hwy 22 intersection and Copithorne mountain don’t exist.

Please tell us what you see and comment.

We will research and update later this year.

Update

Thanks for all the excellent responses. The definitive answer is in the images below.

Click on any image to view.

75th Library Anniversary

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Cochrane Public Library 75th Anniversary Nov. 23, 2025

A very well attended 75th anniversary event was held this past week.  It was nearly perfectly timed to coincide with the founding on November 24th 1950. Hosted by Carmen Erison with speakers Marni Fedeyko Town of Cochrane, Charles Love, Melissa Legacy, Cochrane Public Library, and Gemma Noon of Folklore Research, who presented a video history of the “Willing Working, Women” who realized the need for, implemented and ran the library during its early years. Entertainment provided by Good Vibes Memory Choir who were excellent. Still Water Tea provided refreshments, and Farmer’s Leaf provided gifts.

Four women formed the core group of Willing, Working, Women.

  • Vola McPherson,
  • Nan Boothby,
  • Amy Callaway,
  • Grace Oldfield

Long time volunteers:

  • Emily Lathwell (33 Years),
  • Margaret Beattie (32 years),
  • Catherine Hansen (25 years),
  • Dorothy Steves (21 years)

Ruth Davies used to travel with Nan Boothby to Calgary to acquire and then repair books for the Library collection.

Be sure to click on any of the following images for an expanded view. We’ve more history of the library in the articles in Deep Dive at the bottom of the page.

Timeline of Knowledge
A legacy begins: Celebrating our Founders
Meet the author night: Nan Boothby Library Poster from years past.
former Nan Boothby Library sign on rear of Library
Bruce Boothby (son of Nan), Gordon Davies (son of Ruth), Fay Lewis (daughter of Catherine Hansen), Nan Boothby painting in rear
Thank you card for Boothby family
Thank you card
Library Time Line

CHAPS Library Research

Dave Beattie, Fay Lewis, Gordon Davies, Mark Boothby

Deep Dive

J.A.W. Fraser

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Page 770 Big Hill Country 1977

JOHN ARTHUR WILLIAM FRASER, 1868-1930

J. A. W. Fraser, affectionately known to his friends as “Jaw”, came to Alberta from Scotland around 1890. He homesteaded the Merino Ranch near Cochrane, later moving to the Jumping Pound, where he purchased between seven and eight sections of land. About that time (1892 or 1893), he dropped his original “JAW” brand in favour of XC. From then on, the Fraser Ranch was known as the XC.

In 1895 Jaw Fraser married Dolly McCreight, and a daughter, Dorothy, was born the following year. Dolly died in 1897, and he married Muriel Winter, (daughter of Judge and Mrs. Winter of Calgary) in 1903. There were two daughters of the second marriage, Daphne and Diana.

Early in his ranching career, Mr. Fraser imported Highland cattle, which however, proved to be unsatisfactory as beef. Later he settled for the more conventional breeds of Angus, Shorthorn and Hereford, always buying the best available breeding stock. Eventually a fine herd of roughly a thousand head was built up. He was a pioneer in the field of vaccination against blackleg.

In 1902 Mr. Fraser imported his first Suffolk Punch stallion, “Lord Nelson”, which he bred to lightweight mares, resulting in a heavyweight hunter type, perfect for driving and a good saddle horse too. Many of these horses were sold to the Royal North West Mounted Police and when World War I broke out, they were in great demand as remounts.

Those were the days when men fought at the drop of a hat, and no saga of the old ranch would be complete without some mention of Ted Cook, an ex-farrier Sergeant of the Boer War, and for many years, foreman of the XC. A big kindly man and a great favorite with all the children, with whom he was patience personified, but if a man angered him, all hell broke loose. On acertain occasion, one of the men was sweet on the current hired girl; it was dinner time and Cook teasingly made some derogatory remark about the girl’s cooking – a heavy cup flew across the table and broke just above Cook’s right eye, – there was a sound of overturning chairs and in seconds a terrified girl was screaming, “Mr. Fraser, Mr. Fraser, come quick, he’s killing my Billy!” With a few well chosen words, the boss quashed Cook, at the same time telling the cupwielding Billy to get his horse and get out fast. Later that day the girl was seen, pitchfork in hand, searching for Cook. She left the next day.

“The Boss”, as he was generally known on the ranch, was Game Warden and Fire Guardian for many years. Fires started by lightning were the most spectacular, turning the forest to the west of the ranch into a raging inferno. In those early days, there were of course no telephones, but somehow every man in the country turned up with wet sacks and salt. A fireguard was promptly ploughed, and eventually the fire was put out. Only then, did weary, red-eyed men and horses (smelling of smoke, with singed hair and eyebrows) head for home. The patient horses stood a short distance from the fire, lines trailing; they too should be remembered.

Fire in the hay meadows was an ever present threat, due to sparks from passing trains and careless humans, endangering the essential winter feed for the stock.

In 1908 Mr. Fraser bought his first car, a McLaughlin Buick. Its weight was tremendous and it had an affinity for mudholes; once stuck, only a very strong team could pull it out, but it was a joy in the dry season to whip into Calgary and back (at 20 mph); a gallon whiskey jar filled with water was carried at all times for the thirsty radiator. If one came home in the dark, the acetylene lamps were lighted with a match. As this was the only car on the Jumping Pound, several optimistic mothers-to-be made use of it to reach Cochrane and Doctor Park, in the nick of time. On one occasion the family drove to Banff. The roads, though dry, were appallingly rough – they had eleven punctures! When eventually they reached Banff, it was 8 p.m. and the gates were closed. In those days no cars were allowed into the town after dark. Their lights would frighten the horses!

Feeding the haying gang posed quite a problem in those non-refrigerator days and to augment the eternal corned beef, which was kept in a barrel of brine in the corner of the cook tent, one sheep a week was killed. Mr. Fraser ran 100 head of Suffolk sheep for this special purpose; he did all the butchering himself and buyers were on hand every fall for the hides.

By 1913 the motor car was becoming increasingly popular, and horses for the family chariot, the democrat, were definitely on the way out, while heavy horses were still in demand. In consequence of this change, the Suffolk Punch stallions were replaced by an imported Clydesdale, “Bog Davey. “

The year 1912 saw the beginning of the now famous Calgary Stampede, and it was decided to import Texas Longhorns as a crowd chiller. Wintering these animals posed a problem and eventually they turned up at the XC, where they added a spectacular feature to the landscape.

Many distinguished visitors stayed at the XC, in those early days when game and fish were plentiful and there were coyote hunts and pigeon shoots.

In the months preceding the first World War, a new type of visitor appeared; the place was alive with geologists, the most noteworthy of whom was Cunningham-Craig, a wily Scot. At that time there was an oil boom in Calgary, to out-boom all oil booms, and according to Cunningham-Craig, the Jumping Pound, and especially the XC, was sitting on top of a sea of oil. We were all going to be millionaires! Mr. Fraser, Mr. Pirmez the Belgian Consul, George Rolls and one or two others formed a company called Petrol Limited, with head office in Belgium. This was July 1914. In August the bubble burst, Belgium was invaded by Germany. We were at war.

In 1916 the XC was sold through a transaction effected by Finney-Wade. The family moved to Vancouver Island, but finding himself unable to settle down there, Mr. Fraser returned to Alberta, where he bought the U bar Cat Pirmez Creek, (now Highland Stock Farm, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Donald Matthews, their son, Rob, his wife and their family). By 1920 he found himself really ready for retirement and, after a trip to Scotland, the family once again headed for Vancouver Island, where they purchased “Culraven,” near Sidney. Here they kept a cow and a couple of horses. Tennis and golf pleasured his leisure time, especially tennis, as he had been an outstanding player in his youth.

Mr. Fraser died in 1930, aged 62 years; his wife followed him in 1963. The XC Ranch is now owned and operated by Frank Copithorne and his three sons, Richard, Ken, and Tom and their families.

Deep Dive

The Cochrane Train Station

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page 40 More Big Hill Country 2009

 The Cochrane Train Station, being one of the first buildings erected in Cochrane is worthy of being mentioned. Located on the south side of the railway tracks, it was a 30 foot by 16 foot building. Included in the building were a waiting room, telegraph office, freight shed and living quarters for the station agent.

In the late 1880’s a new station was built on the north side of the railway line. The living quarters were upstairs over the main office and waiting room.

Mr. Johnstone was the station agent when James Quigley was the section foreman in the 1890’s. Francis Towers had been the section foreman when the railway was built. Mr. Pope was station agent from around 1900’s to 1912, replaced by F.L. Gainer. Mr. Pope was fond of bird hunting and raised hunting dogs as a hobby. There is a street in Cochrane named after him. He and his wife retired to Vancouver.

The Cochrane Station was an important stop between Calgary and Field, British Columbia and all trains stopped in Cochrane except some of the passenger trains and the silk trains. The Station was open 24 hours a day. Residents from Cochrane could catch the train into Calgary and return the same day and the Calgary residents could come out to Cochrane and return the same day. It was especially busy in the early days when the Cochrane races were on.

In the early 1920’s the Station was renovated with larger living quarters provided for the station agent and their families. The Gainer family lived there for a number of years as well as other agents in later years. The Thomas family were the last family to live there.

Cochrane Train Station
Cochrane Train Station
Darcy Scott sends this memory. TBT.... This is my grandfather Lloyd Desjardine putting the last bag of mail to be delivered by train from Cochrane to Calgary after this all the mail was delivered via truck ! Shout out to the Hall family for the pic!!

Over the years many interesting people stopped at the railway station including the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip and when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth toured Canada in 1939, their train slowed down when going through Cochrane so that people could see them as they stood out on the platform of the rear car.

When the CPR railway engines were converted from steam to diesel the station ceased to be a 24 hour stop. It was closed and demolished in 1968, however the grain elevator was still standing and used as a seed, feed and fertilizer supply facility.

The Section House was built in the late 1880’s and was home for many section foreman and many families lived there. The house was partly destroyed by fire and the remaining lumber was given to a family in Calgary.

The CPR Water Tank was sold to Mount Saint Francis and moved to the Retreat for water storage. Dan McBain was the pumpman from 1904 to 1908. He lost his life in a drowning accident. Jim Maguire was pump man for over 30 years.

There was always a large pile of cinders beside the water tank and for years these cinders were used for filling in the sidewalks in Cochrane.

The grain elevator was first built by United Grain Growers who later sold it to Parish and Heimbecker. It burned down suddenly in the night in the 1980s

Deep Dive

Nan Boothby Memorial Library

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pg 57 More Big Hill Country 2009

At a meeting of the Cochrane Home and School Association on October 3, 1950 it was decided to sponsor a library in Cochrane.

Nan Boothby and Vola McPherson were chosen to organize the new library and they chose Amy Callaway and Grace Oldfield as assistants. Vola took a librarian ‘s course and these four women became the staff.

The Town of Cochrane offered them a room, in the basement of the Community Hall and the town supplied the lights and fuel. The Home and School Association and the local town people donated books.

The Cochrane Association Public Library was opened at a Tea on November 24, 1950.

All work then and for many years to come was done on a volunteer basis. It was often very cold in the little basement room and it had no windows. The Official Library Board was fanned in January 1951 and consisted of the following members; Mr. AJ. Allen, Chairman, Mrs. G. Oldfield, Secretary, Mrs. AJ. Allen, Treasurer, Mrs. V. McPherson, Librarian, Mrs. A. Callaway, Miss Jean Callaway, Mrs. Nan Boothby, Mr. E.S. Tatro, Mr. Gish, Mr. Fleenor, Mrs. Austin, Mr. G. Broatch.

Fees were set at one dollar per year for adults, children attending school paid fifty cents per year and those not attending school paid one dollar per year. By the end of 1951 there were fifty-five adult members and seventy-four children.

In January 1952, Vola McPherson resigned and Nan Boothby became the Librarian. In June 1959, the Home and School Association relinquished sponsorship of the library.

As a community library, it was now dependent on donations and a very small provincial grant and in 1975 the library moved into another room in the basement of the Town Hall. It was a lot warmer in this room but still the room was too small for very many books or people.

In 1980, the library took a great step forward. It became a municipal library, thus receiving funding from the town as well as a larger provincial grant. It also acquired a new home. The Town and the Province gave the library funds to purchase the recently vacated St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Major renovations were done and the result was a beautiful new library. The name was also changed to Nan Boothby Memorial Library in honour of the woman who did so much to nurse the library through its first twelve years. She served as a Board Member, Assistant Librarian and from 1952 until her death in 1962 as Head Librarian. Nan was a self-educated person and a hard worker in the Community. She was married to John Boothby and they had two sons, Bill and Bruce.

Over the years there have been many people who have given much time and energy as board members and library workers. Through the years the Library Board and Friends of the Library have held many different fund raising events to help. Support was supplied by the Cochrane Legion, St. Andrew’s Church, Ladies Group and Sunday School, Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star, Catholic Women’s League, Light Horse Association, Home and School Association to mention a few. Various groups in Cochrane held many fundraisers and donations were received by many interested individuals. Shell Oil, Jumping Pound presented the Encyclopedia Britannica and the yearbook every year to the library.

After a number of years a brand new larger building was built on Railway Street and slowly has expanded it’s collection. The library offers many programs as well as book launches, storytelling, programs for small children and even computers.

From a small little cold room in the Community Hall in Cochrane the Town now has a beautiful building offering many library services for the citizens of Cochrane and the surrounding area.

In 2007, the Nan Boothby Library has expanded again by joining the Marigold Library System which now allows its users to access any book or information that they may need.

Deep Dive

Rhodes Family

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pg 671  More Big Hill Country 2009

Herbert Rhodes was born in Knottingley, Yorkshire, England on November 5th, 1887, the son of Thompson and Hannah (Pickersgill) Rhodes.

He came to Cochrane in 1908 with his cousin Tom Fozzard. They knew Sykes Taylor who had already settled here and stayed with him. Herbert worked with Sykes for a year before homesteading the W Sec 18 Twp 25 Rge 5 W5M. He called his homestead the “Dog Tail Ranch” because of its shape. It was one quarter mile wide by one mile long . It is now known as Rhodes Hill, in Jumping Pound.

Herbert built the original part of his house 12 feet x 16 feet in 1909 of lumber, obtained from a local sawmill and when he was joined by hjs brother Tom in 1910, they added another 16 feet on to the end of the original cabin as his father Thompson and four more brothers, John , William, Joseph, Charles and a sister had arrived from England. Thompson’s wife Hannah had passed away in England so the family decided to come to Canada.

The Rhodes Brothers based their operations from Herbert’s Homestead and they worked in the Jumping Pound, Brushy Ridge and Springbank area for many years. Later they bought the Brown and Austin homesteads, W Sec 14 Twp 25 Rge 5 W5M.

Joseph only stayed three months and then returned to England and joined the Army in the Coldstream Guards on August 4, 1914 when WW I broke out.

Herbert joined the 89th Battalion CEF in Calgary and later transferred to the 7th Battalion Canadian Infantry. He served in France where he was killed in Action in the famed Battle of Vimy Ridge on November 29th, 1916. Herbert is buried along with his buddies in the Zouve Valley Cemetery, France.

Before Herbert left to join the army and to go overseas he gave his land to his younger brother Charles, a Charles was the only brother that didn’t drink.

Tom Rhodes dissolved the partnership in 1921 and moved to British Columbia. William and John sold their part of the farm to Charles in 1934 and also moved to British Columbia. Emma had only stayed a short time in Cochrane and then she moved to British Columbia. Thompson Rhodes passed away in 1933 and is buried in the Cochrane Cemetery.

Charlie is the back right figure. In the front is Sykes Robinson and John Robinson. The back of the photo is labelled 1922.

Meanwhile Charles had worked for Sykes Taylor, the Munros in Springbank and Richard Copithorne. He was an extremely accomplished butcher and did most of the butchering of meat for many of the neighbours in the district. His great pride was the clean scrape job he did on the pigs he butchered. Another talent he had was barbering and he spent many Sunday afternoons cutting hair for the neighbours.

Charles married Laura Taylor in 1930 on the worst day of the winter. It snowed a foot and a half that day. Following their marriage they built another addition on to the original house on Rhodes Hill, where they lived. Like everyone else in the depression years of the 1930’s they milked cows, shipped cream and grew a very large vegetable garden. Even though the work was hard they were a very happy pair and both sang along as they worked.

In 1932, a son Herbert “Herb” Charles was born to Charles and Laura. Herb grew up working with his mother and father and at six years old he attended Clemens Hill School down the hill and across the Jumping Pound Creek from their home. When Herb was ten years old his mother passed away in 1942. He and his father managed alone, Herb continuing his schooling, and Charles continued in the dairying business until 1946 when due to severe arthritis he had to quit. In 1946, Charles purchased an Angus bull and switched from dairying to raising beef cattle.

Herb finished school and drove a school bus as well as helping his father with the duties of raising cattle, haying, fencing and all the other jobs that ranching demands. In 1965, Herb married Lillian Gathercole from the Lochend district. Lil’s father had been a station agent and so the family moved a lot before they settled in Lochend. Lil’s mother was a nurse and Lil had 10 siblings. Following in her mother’s footsteps with a nursing career, Lil trained as a Registered Nursing Aide in Calgary and worked for many years at the Calgary General Hospital. She worked in the Operating and Recovery Room and loved her work. She was extremely good at it.

Herb and Lil built a new home on Rhodes Hill and Charles lived with them until he passed away in 1973. They raised Angus and Charlois cattle and as well Herb drove the Jumping Pound/Brushy Ridge School Bus Route to Cochrane. This route was the most difficult route in the school division and has often been used for training bus drivers. The topography of the land, condition of the roads and number of large vehicles to the gas plant plus a great distance between stops added to the problems. Herb loved kids and was always concerned for their safety so he had strict rules on the bus. Although some of the older girls found it not too stylish to bundle up in the cold weather, Herb always made sure they had extra warm jackets, boots, mitts and scarves stashed in the upper compartment of the bus in case they got stuck in a snow drift. Parents always knew when the bus was due and if it did not arrive on time they were on the phone down the line to try and locate where the last kids had been dropped off. It was then up to the nearest Dad on the route to get his tractor out and go and help Herb get his bus through. This method worked well for everyone and once radios were available Lil answered many a call from parents and help was dispatched immediately to get the kids safely home. Herb had a system and it worked!

The Rockyview School Division honoured Herb for more than 35 years of safe driving the School Bus. The parents of the children never worried that their kids were safe as long as Herb was at the wheel even when the radio announced that the school was closed due to bad roads and our kids had already been picked up and were well on their way. Many times our kids were the only rural kids at the school along with the town kids that walked due to the weather.

Herb and Lil had two children, a daughter Laura Grace and a son Darryl Herbert. Both children graduated from Cochrane High School.

Laura married Cliff Erasmus and they have one son Lucas. Laura and Cliff built a house on Rhodes Hill in Jumping Pound and Lucas attends school in Cochrane. Darryl is married to Jennifer and lives in Calgary.

Deep Dive

Cochrane Foodmaster Over 100 Years in Business

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Cochrane Foodmaster Over 100 Years in Business by Ian Brooker

At its closing in the early 1990s, Cochrane Foodmaster had operated, under various names, continuously for over 100 years. Its closing is a sad reflection of the effects of our modern world, with its big box stores, supermarkets and easy commuting.

The store’s roots can be traced back to the original Thomas Cochrane family, who came to the area in 1886. They operated a sawmill about three miles west of the present town. In 1887, a town site was laid out at that location, and the name Mitford was chosen. In 1888, several buildings were built, including a general store by Mr. Cochrane.

The store was operated by Alexander Martin for the Cochranes, as Tom was busy with other ventures including building a toll bridge over the Bow River. The charge was five cents for an individual and 10 cents for a team of horses and wagon. The Cochranes also built a brickyard which supplied bricks to the small but growing local market.

In 1894 Mr. Martin joined with his brother-in-law and bought the store from Tom Cochrane. They called it Martin and Foleys General Store. After a couple of years they moved the business to Cochrane. In 1900 they sold to C.W. Fisher who had purchased the building on the north west corner of what became First and Main Street. The building had been a trading store owned by James Johnstone and Tom Quigley. He tore down the building and put up a large building which housed several businesses including a hardware store, newspaper office, shoe repair shop and, as the telephone system came in around 1906, the local telephone exchange. Mr. Fisher moved the Martin and Foleys store into his building and it operated at that location for the next 90 years.

When it became known that Alberta was to become a province, Mr. Fisher also set up the local Liberal Party headquarters in his building and ran for the local seat. He won in 1906 and became Speaker of the House. He remained speaker until he became sick during the flu epidemic and passed away in 1919.

Mr. Bill Andison worked as a butcher for the Fishers during this time. In 1925, he purchased an interest in the store, and it became Fisher and Andison. In 1928, the building burned. The business was moved to the curling rink temporarily while the store was rebuilt, although the building was somewhat smaller than before. At this time it became solely owned by the Andison family and became Andisons General Store, owned by Bill and his wife Agnes.

Bill and Agnes retired in 1955, but the business stayed in the family, as their daughter Alice and her husband, “R.E.” Moore continued to operate it. The store continued to be a true “general store”, carrying groceries, meat, clothing and agricultural products, and RE. became the local “Indian (sic) Agent”, and was responsible for native accounts for food and supplies. Their treaty cheques came directly to the store, so he gave credit to them until payday. He also often took items such as headdresses, rifles, saddles, etc., to hold as temporary payment for supplies. When we purchased the store in the late 1970s, a large number of these items had never been picked up and were still stored in the basement. Some had been there for many years. In the early 1980s, R.E. decided to clean out the basement and returned all these items to the families of the original owners, many of whom had passed on years before.

In about 1966, R.E. and Alice split the store and sold the grocery and meat business to the Keller family. The dry goods section was sold to Wes and Marion Nelson, and once again became called Andisons Store. The meat and grocery business under the Kellers became M & K Foodmaster, (for Moore & Keller). The two businesses operated side by side from then on. R.E. and Alice continued to own the building.

In 1976 we purchased the business from the Kellers and changed the name to Cochrane Foodmaster.

RE. still owned the real estate, and we rented from them. In about 1983, R.E. purchased the building to the west of us, and we knocked out a section of wall and expanded Foodmaster to include a coffee shop. This gave our store the unique distinction of being Cochrane’s first “shopping mall”, as you could now park and enter at the rear of the coffee shop, walk through into the store and continue on into Andisons Store without going outside. At that time the Post Office was right across the street, and everyone picked up their mail there. Customers could come downtown, shop, meet a friend, and pick up their mail. We still carried many accounts for the natives from Morley, so we were truly the community’s “meeting place”.

Our main claim to fame was our meat department. We kept most of the local family freezers filled and did a large business custom cutting local rancher’s beef for them and processing wild game. We had two delivery vans, and supplied oil camps with their groceries and meats as far away as Nordegg. At our peak we employed 34 people.

In 1985 we sold the store to Frank Krause of Red Deer and I moved to Christina Lake, B.C. The store went through several owners over the next few years, and finally closed forever in the early 1990’s.

The building has undergone several renovations since then, and is now the location of HQ Coffee Co., Old and Crafty and Pots and Peppers.

Deep Dive

Andrew Garson

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by Flora Garson pg 231 Big Hill Country 1977

Andrew (Andy) and his brother John came to Canada from the Orkney Islands in 1902. They worked in the mines at Ymir, British Columbia, almost a year before coming to Cochrane. In 1903 Andy homesteaded the NW¼ 12-27-5-5 and Jack Garson homesteaded the NE¼ of the same section. Jack sold his homestead to David Breen and in 1910 Duncan Kerfoot bought the half section. The NE¼ of 14 in that township had been homesteaded by Tom Oddie and the SE¼ homesteaded by Hughie Stein, who built a shack there. This half section, known as the Stein Place, was bought by Andy Garson. Mr. Oddie purchased the N½ and the SE¼ of section 23 from the C.P.R. In 1910 Andy bought out Oddie and, later on, sold the Oddie place and the Stein place to Bumpy Rhodes. He then bought Section 13 in that township from the C.P.R. He also bought Boney Thompson’s homestead and sold it to Gordon Hinde.

For a while Andy rented the MacKay place in Grand Valley and put up hay, which he baled using a horse-operated baler.  Forbes Skinner and Frank McKenna worked for him, and they hauled the hay to Cochrane in three wagons, making two trips one day and one trip the next.

Garson McEachen Announcement

Andy liked to tell jokes on himself. He told that one day while he was at the MacKay place, he was driving a bronc and standing up in the wagon when his dog started barking at the horses. Fearing that the dog would scare the bronc, Andy snapped a line at the dog. The dog seized the line in his teeth and jerked Andy off the wagon.

For many years he dealt in heavy horses, shipping a great many to British Columbia, and some to every other province in Canada except Manitoba. He always recognized one of his Quarter Circle G horses wherever he saw it, even years after it was sold.

One of the most colourful characters in Grand Valley was Ewen MacKay. Jack Garson was getting a ride from town with him, in a hayrack, when MacKay spotted Donald Morrison driving home ahead of him. “I’ll catch him and take a hind wheel off him! ” he cried, and he whipped up his horses. But Morrison saw him coming and drove as fast as his horses could take him. MacKay was gaining on his prey when Carson’s hat blew off. “Stop, stop! ” yelled Garson, but MacKay would not stop. So Garson grabbed MacKay’s hat and threw it off. Then MacKay had to stop, allowing Morrison to gain the safety of his own barnyard, where he gave them the raspberry as they drove by.

Jack Garson took a carload of horses and wagons to the Peace River country and decided to stay there.

In 1924 Andy married Flora McEachen and went to live in Cochrane. Later they resided in Calgary, where Andy died January 15, 1969. On February 2, 1963, Andy Garson wrote the following: ” My brother Jack left the Orkney Islands in 1890 and went to the States, to Portland, Oregon. From Oregon he went to the Klondike over the Trail of ’98. He was there about a year and he came back to B.C. and he was there until 1901. He came back to Scotland and he and I left for Canada right after the New Year, in January 1902, and we came to B.C. and worked in the quartz mine until April 1903. Then we came to Cochrane and took up homesteads.”

Deep Dive

Reg and Edna Munro

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pg 623 More Big Hill Country 2009

Reg and I were both born and raised in the Springbank area. My parents, Mattie Robinson and William Cullen celebrated 100 years. Reg’s parents, Johnnie Munro and Grace Henning, had their centennial in 1994. Grace lived to 98 years and passed away in 2006. We lived on land adjacent to the airport. Johnnie’s parents Martha Hamilton and William Munro both had homesteads. My Grandparents, Lily McPherson and Joseph Robinson homesteaded in Elbow Valley.

I rode three and a half miles on my horse Paddy to Elbow River School until the school burnt down when I was in grade six. From grade seven to eleven I went to Springbank and then high school at Crescent Heights in Calgary. We went to Springbank School on the first school bus; the old bus was a wooden van with no windows on the sides and two benches on each side.

Mr. Allen (teacher) was the driver and didn’t mind making anybody walk if they misbehaved. Reg remembers boxing matches in the boys’ cloakroom at noons and recesses.

In 1966 we purchased the old Mortimer Place from Alan McMahon. Our two children, Diane and Dean, changed school from Springbank to Westbrook and later to Cochrane High. Diane went to University of Calgary and took education. She married Don Demetrick from St. Paul, Alberta. She has been teaching native children at Blue Quills and Saddle Lake for twenty-five years. Diane and Don have two children Laura and Cameron. Laura married Grant Smith from Bentley, Alberta and they have one little boy, Wacey. They own a hydrovac truck used in oil well businesses and pipelines. Cameron is at U of A taking education, 3rd year. Diane has spent many summers helping with the haying. She has seen a lot of country abroad: Australia, China, Hawaii, Alaska, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Mediterranean, and Turkey.

Dean bought a remote ranch at Quesnel, British Columbia. He was married to Joy Veselic from Cochrane and is now married to Roseanne Exshaw. Dean has two girls, Sayla and Jenny and one boy Jake. Sayla and her husband, Dean Renker, have two girls, Holly and Hanna. Sayla is in nursing. They live at Quesnel, a few miles from Dean. Jenny lives in Cochrane and has one boy, Tristan Ash. She is manager of a retail store in Cochrane. Jake is in the electrical trade in Quesnel.

We have had a commercial herd of Simmental cattle for the past 52 years and in 2008 won an award for breeder of the year. I have helped Reg with most things: baling, and stacking hay, delivering calves, fencing and whatever. Our place is called Spring Coulee and our brand is H inverted U on the Right Rib. We are cutting down on our cowherd.

We love to have our five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren visit and spend time with us. We went on a cruise to Alaska with family and neighbours in 2007, something we will always remember.

Reg and I are celebrating our 59th anniversary this year. We have seen many changes, some good and some not

Deep Dive

Mickle Family

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pg 732 Big Hill Country 1977

 Wheeler Mickle was born in Ontario in 1840 and came West in the spring of 1862, via St. Paul and the Red River. At Fort Garry he joined a party of men, and travelled the hazardous overland trail to the Cariboo gold fields in British Columbia. Some were disappointed in their search for gold. Wheeler Mickle decided to do packing on the Cariboo Road.

At first mule trains and horses were used; later camels were brought in. The camels rustled their own food and were capable of carrying heavy loads, but they terrified the horses and mules that were being used.

After packing on the Cariboo Road, Wheeler drove stage for Barnard, a stage line company. The stage travelled the Cariboo Road. This was a rugged road and has been called the eighth wonder of the world. In places the road was supported on pilings or great masonry constructions, and in many places it was cut through solid rock. The level of the road varied from the edge of the Fraser River to dizzying heights, and the curves were so sharp that the lead horses were often out of the driver’s sight.

Wheeler married Lucinda Julia Thomson of Colchester, British Columbia, in October 1870. He took up land in the Nicola Valley of British Columbia. There, their four children, Lennox, Charles, Eddy and Tina were born. In 1881 he came back to what is now Alberta, where he freighted between Fort Walsh and Calgary for the North West Mounted Police. He settled in Calgary and built one of the first dwelling houses there. About the time that the town began to grow, he built a stable and entered into the feed and dray business. When the Mission property facing Seventeenth Avenue was put on the market, he purchased a site and built there. 

Mickle Marriage Certificate

At the outbreak of the Riel Rebellion (sic) in the spring of 1885, Wheeler Mickle, who was known to be an excellent teamster, was hired by General Strange. The Force of General Strange was made up of the 65th Battalion of the Mount Royal Rifles of Montreal, the Winnipeg Light Infantry, a detachment of Mounted Police under Major Steele, cowboy scouts and teamsters.

At Frenchman’s Butte they fought Big Bear’s forces and scattered them so that the prisoners were able to escape. On July 2nd, a small detachment of Mounted Police captured Chief Big Bear, thus ending the war.

 In the fall of 1885 Wheeler went to Manitoba, and the following spring he shipped a carload of cows West. He took up land on the Cochrane lease where, later, the Springbank Post Office was established.

Wheeler and his wife operated the Post Office and a store for a number of years. The Mickles sold out their business at Springbank and took up homestead land in what is known as Mission Valley, north of the Elbow River. His homestead was NW¼ 4-24-4-5.

Letter from Wheeler to Jue - Content advisory

Wheeler Mickle gave Springbank its name. He was a very strong person and his day used to start about four a.m. It has been told that he used to go up to the bush for firewood when he lived in Springbank, and the ranchers living along the trail would hear the noise of the wagon or sleighs going by at four a.m. In the winter he would cut his load of wood and load it up and be back home before dark. 

He retired to Cochrane in 1913 and it was not unusual to see Wheeler walking home from the river at six a.m. with a catch of fish. Wheeler passed away in 1918. 

Tina married Watt Potts. Lennox was killed in a shooting accident at Springbank. Eddy was crippled and lived with his parents at Springbank. In later years he moved up north. Charlie Mickle spent most of his life in the Cochrane area.

Deep Dive

Grayson Family

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by Stuart Grayson pg 232 Big Hill Country

My father, Charles Grayson was born July 1, 1870, at Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, immigrating with his family to Canada as a child. The family moved steadily westward, homesteading in the Qu ‘Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan, in 1886. They remained there for twenty years, then returned to Virden, Manitoba, where Charles’ parents spent their final years.

Charles did not stop in Saskatchewan; he continued working his way westward, finally arriving at the Cowan ranch in the Big Hill Springs area in 1886. He was sixteen years old. Here he obtained employment as a ranch hand. He left Cowans to work for C. W. Fisher and later worked at the Union Bank as Ranch and Homestead Inspector, and in still later years as Imperial Oil Agent for Cochrane. He was also a Justice of the Peace and Police Magistrate for a while.

Dad married Blanche Bruce, daughter of Donald and Jane Bruce, in Cochrane in 1902. They had three children, Bruce Gordon, born 1903, Dorothy Maud, born 1905, and Leslie Stuart, born 1907. Mother passed away in November 1907; I was nine months old. Dad later married Mrs. Margaret White, widow of Daniel C. White, of Cochrane. Margaret passed away at Lethbridge in 1961; Dad had predeceased her in 1950.

Gordon worked for the Royal Bank of Canada, for Montelbelli Brothers at Bluffton, Alberta, and for many years in the implement business at Lacombe and Wetaskiwin. He passed away in Wetaskiwin in 1966, leaving his wife Dorothy and two children, Evelyn and James.

Dorothy, a school teacher, married Gordon Lock, of Calgary. She passed away in 1956, leaving one daughter, Joan.

I, Stuart, taught school for a short time, then joined the Alberta Provincial Police in 1930, transferring to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1932, and served with them (including a period of over six years Overseas with the Canadian Army during World War Two, while on leave of absence from the Force – Pt. Lt. Col.)

 I was stationed for a further period of three years in London, England, as Liason Officer for the Force, which included acting as Canadian Representative to Interpol. It afforded me wide opportunities for travel throughout Europe. My last six years of service were spent as Superintendent of the Calgary Subdivision of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, retiring in 1965 with a maximum service of thirty-five and a half years. In 1936 I married Magdalena Platzer of Silverwood, Alberta. She was a teacher and also served Overseas with the Women’s Auxiliary of the Royal Air Force. We have two children, Charles, with the Calgary Public Library and daughter, Gail, residing in Toronto.

Photo from CHAPS archives labeled Grayson

Deep Dive

Glendale Womens Institute

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by Gertie Hawkwood pg 173 More Big Hill Country 2009

 The Glendale Women’s Institute has been an active organization in the Glendale, Cochrane district for eighty-two years. It is the second oldest organization in the area after the King Solomon Lodge in Cochrane.

The Glendale School district was a mixed farming area with young families scattered through it. With no phones or cars, women were often very isolated.

Some of the ladies had heard of the Women’s Institute organized in 1897. A lady, Adelaide Hoodless, had lost a child to diphtheria and she thought if she had known more about sanitation and better ways of managing her home she could have saved her child. This movement soon spread across Canada with rural women learning about Agriculture Education, etc.

Women’s Institute’s are now throughout the world. Our motto is “For Home and Country”.

The first meeting was held at the home of Mrs. Thomas Wearmouth on March 31, 1925, for the purpose of forming a Women’s Institute, a branch of Alberta Women’s Institute. Dues were 50 cents a year. Eleven members joined then, and three more the next month.

Their main focus at that time was to supply the school with some necessities. Soon the school was the hub of social events, card parties and dances, everyone having a good time and meeting their neighbours. Money was raised for a piano and Christmas presents for the children in the district, ice cream and goodies for picnics at Bowness Park.

When fathers were busy on the land in the spring and at harvest time children went with Mothers to the meetings and all became good friends, some of which have lasted a lifetime.

Throughout the Depression and drought years of the 30’s, the W.I. carried on its activities. Then with WWII the ladies supplied care parcels for the boys overseas and made quilts for the Red Cross.

The 1950’s saw a change in the community. The country schools closed and the children went to Cochrane by bus. The ladies from Bearspaw and Westminster joined the Women’ Institute.

The Bearspaw Lion Club, chartered in 1953, provided the community with a hall. They have very generously let the Women’s Institute hold its meetings there. Showers were also held there for the young people getting married, and farewell parties, catering and other functions. Many good times!

Bearspaw School Courtesy Glenbow Archives

The Women’s Institute is an educational organization for both rural and urban women, just as it was 100 years ago. We have conveners for the many things we study: Health, Home Economics, Agriculture and now Environment is a priority.

Our membership has changed with many young women from the acreages joining and sharing their skills with us. Flower arranging, pottery and cake decoration are some that have brought new interest to our meetings.

Schools are no longer our priorities. We have reached out to help the Activettes in Cochrane, also many social agencies in Calgary that help needy women with clothing for themselves and their children

Our big focus for over fifty years has been raising money for the Canadian Cancer Society. Every year we also send about sixty buckets of cookies to the Tom Baker Centre for people waiting for their appointments.

The Women’s Institute and the Bearspaw Lions Club organized the first Bearspaw and District Country Fair in 1968 and the W.I. is part of the Fair presenting prizes for the handicraft and baking sections.

The Women’s Institute has been a great way for us to learn many new things as well as meeting a great many wonderful people in the community, and beyond.

Deep Dive

Cochrane Pony Club

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pg 164 More Big Hill Country 2009

The Cochrane Pony Club began in 1960 at the Simpson Ranch in Grand Valley. The children rode to the Ranch from as far away as Water Valley and Cochrane. They were taught equitation and jumping in an outdoor rink and jumps were erected in the ranch pastures for their cross-country course.

The instructors were Jack Simpson, Edie Rodie, Red Watson, Vivienne Ullery, Zolten Sztehlo and Ralph Rowe. There were about 20 members in that first club: Sally McDougall, Anne McKendrick, Jill Kerfoot, John and Barbara Simpson, John Scott’s boys, Sally Austin, Doug, Barb and Cathy Lawson, Lillian Bryant, Judith Broatch, Susan, Charles and Fiona Strachan, David Watson and the Gillarneau family. 

During this time, the parents of these children made a red, black and whjte flag which has been used by the club ever since. The kids in this club have done very well, some even competing internationally and many passing on the skills they learned to future generations.

The members of the first Cochrane Pony Club moved on to follow other pursuits and the Pony Club also moved its location to various places in the years following. They did some spring riding in the old Cochrane Curling Rink next to St. Andrews Church and in the late spring and summer they held their meets at Bruce and Dorothy Boothby’s ranch west of Cochrane.

They met weekly and for one week in July, the Pony Club Members had a camp with intensive instruction. This week of intensive learning, riding and caring for their horses ended with a special event for the parents and grandparents to come out and acknowledge their accomplishments. The children brought their sleeping bags and gear and slept in the granary, then each day according to the schedule one of the mothers brought lunch or dinner to Boothbys to feed them. This worked well, aside from Dorothy having to console and care for the odd homesick youngster after they were taken to Cochrane to the outdoor swimming pool for a swim (shower) and fun, all thoughts of home were forgotten and things settled in fine. 

The Pony Club was growing in numbers and they had Sarah Leete, Lillian Bryant and Anne Lacy as instructors. As well, Miles Smeeton, an ex-English cavalryman, had moved into the Cochrane area. He encouraged the kids, becoming involved with the club and his thoughts were that Pony Club was not just for equitation but for fun and competition. This being the case, he made lances out of sticks for the kids and taught them to tent peg by popping balloons instead of real tent pegs and lances. This led to the introduction of Prince Philip Games

These were great fun and anyone could participate as long as your horse was no taller than 14 hands (a pony). The kids had great fun making up their teams, competing with each other and also with other Pony Clubs throughout the Province. The one thing that Miles insisted upon, and it gave the Cochrane kids a bit of an advantage over some of the others, was that they had to learn to vault on their horse before they could join a team. They won many competitions because they were so well taught. Miles became the District Commissioner of the Cochrane Pony Club and always encouraged the participation of the children at the Natjonal and International Levels.

The Cochrane Pony Club members also participated in the events at the Ghost River Gymkhanas held at Beaupre and did well in their respective classes.

The Pony Club moved to Griffin land close to where the Spray Lake Recreation Centre is today. They met there for a season and then had to move again. Much discussion took place and in the mid 1970’s the club moved to the Buckley Ranch in Jumping Pound.

As this was a working cattle ranch some changes had to be made. Ian Watt asked Robert Coates to come down and design a course for elementary and “D” riders that could be upgraded easily to the higher levels. The course was located in a field across the valley from the main ranch buildings and so we had a natural grandstand on the hill near the barn where we could sit or stand and watch the riders as they tackled the great course that had been designed and built for them. Stalls were set up in the calving barn. Located west of the buildings was found a fairly flat spot that was big enough to use as a stadium for jumping. This spot was called ‘Maggie Meadow ” in honour of Mrs. Buckley as she was not a lover of horses but did look after feeding the riders and fixing the bumps. bruises and cuts that go along with the game

The next problem was a Dressage Ring which had to be flat. As the ranch is located on a side hill this proved a problem until Harvey Buckley took the men out to his feedlot and they measured the area between the cement feed bunks. Turned out it was the right size and with a little leveling with the tractor the Cochrane Pony Club had a great Dressage Ring between the feed bunks! It would not be easy for a run-a-way here!

The Pony Club met there for many years and also continued with their July Pony Club Camp. The horses were housed in the calving barn and the members slept in a large steel granary with a cement floor. It certainly was dry however it was also very noisy. The walls echoed and no one got to sleep very early because of the chatter. Many stories can be told of those nights.

The Pony Club mothers provided the meals, each bringing the food for each day and we were all able to eat in the house as they had a large kitchen table and a ping pong table set up in their covered patio. This patio was also handy for meetings and making projects that were needed throughout the years.

During this period of time there were not a lot of places for pony club members to compete against each other at the elementary and “D” level so Cochrane Pony Club decided to hold an Annual “D” Rally in August. This event became very popular and was well attended by many young riders from all over Alberta, for many years.

Cochrane Pony Club also competed in Tetrathalon and one of Cochrane’s members competed internationally in Australia. This activity consists of competing in riding, running, swimming and shooting. Competition was very fierce and we were very proud of our members through the years, who competed provincially, nationally and internationally. In 1979 the Cochrane Pony Club hosted the Alberta National Tetrathalon Championships at the Buckley Ranch. It was a beautiful day, a gorgeous location, tough competition and a lot of work for many volunteers, parents and pony clubbers.

Sometime in the 1980’s the Cochrane Pony Club moved up to Anne Lacy’s acreage north of Cochrane and met there for a few years.

The Cochrane Agricultural Society acquired land and built facilities for the Cochrane Pony Club. They now have a permanent home there and continue to learn, compete and represent Cochrane well as they have done continuously since their small start in 1960.

It takes a lot of volunteers and time in Pony Club but it is a great organization for children, their parents and the community as a whole to be able to participate in this International Organization.

Deep Dive

Ghost River Pony Club

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by Dorothy Edge More Big Hill Country pg 166 2009

 After the annual McDonald Picnic held on the Mount Royal Ranch in the Beaupre district ended in 1946, the late Agness Hammond, Ghost River Ranch, and late Helen McDonald, Mount Royal Ranch, neighbours, decided there really should be a local horse show and gymkhana in the area for children, so, in 1947, they set the wheels in motion and by August 29, 1948, the first show was held on the Ghost River Ranch, with lots of assistance from others. (See Page 307, Big Hill Country.) The following details were taken from submissions sent to me for inclusion to GRPC’s scrapbook of memoirs.

Note the pencilled-in H in Gymkhana

A large crowd was in attendance and competition was keen at the horse show and gymkhana staged at Ghost River Sunday under ideal weather conditions. Many Calgary horse owners shipped their ponies to the ranch for the event and judges Miss Joan Arnold and Ian S. Brown of Calgary experienced a busy afternoon. Two spills were recorded during the afternoon, but the riders escaped with nothing worse than bruises and a shaking up. Ken Macmillan’s horse spilled in the stock horse event and Jaye Bowlen came a cropper in one of the jumping events. Youngest competitor at the show was Carolyn Kerfoot from the Grand Valley district, the winner in the lead line pony class. A number of useful prizes and trophies were awarded to the winning contestants as follows: 

Winners Ghost River Pony Club Gymkhana 1948
Guy Gibson Challenge Trophy (sic)

The Ghost River pony show was not only a learning experience, but was also one of the few social opportunities available fifty years ago. For many of us in the surrounding valleys, the only two social events were the Ghost River Horse Show and the Morley Stampede. Dog Pound was for the adventurous among us. If the weather was rainy, we held our breath approaching the difficult spots in the poor roads. A spring running across the wagon trail near Grandma Ford’s in Jackass Canyon could be our undoing. If the old car slid down the incline, we were done and had missed out on seeing people and having fun. We needed Dave Bryant and his machinery then, but that came much later, with resultant good roads.

Getting to Beaupre Creek School in the summer was enjoyable. It was only a four-mile ride on horseback. Riding there during the winter of the school term, together with some years with as few as eight students and a very young or a very old teacher, was not always as pleasant. Thank goodness for the coal and wood stove.

In the beginning, clothing to show was just whatever we had. Often, western boots went into English saddle stirrups. ill-fitting jeans and a shirt made up the rest of the ensemble for growing competitors. Horses and tack were very important, however, parents did their best to provide a fine animal and serviceable saddle, both of which were used all year around to work the ranch. 

My brother, Jay, could get the most out of a jumper. Even our “kid’s pony,” Tiny, would cheerfully clear hurdles for him. Donna (Johnson) Butters described Tiny as a “good honest mare.” The greatest satisfaction for me came from winning the horse-judging contest at the first gymkhana, being I was too timid to attempt riding over jumps.

Pierre, my father, took his responsibilities as an officer of the Pony Club very seriously. His capabilities and conscientiousness were a wonderful and lasting example to his children and perhaps even to others. He would have been so pleased that the organization and all the good it stood for survived for fifty years and will not be forgotten by those who participated. There could be no finer legacy than the spirit of the Ghost River Pony Club.”

The Ghost River Pony Club’s 50th Anniversary and final show was held at the Beaupre community grounds August 16, 1998, in memory of Agness Hammond and Helen McDonald. Announcer Maureen Wills conveyed accolades in their memory. And she remembered Vivienne Ullery, who contested in her last show here at age 80. Two senior members in attendance, Marie Eyma and Jim Kerfoot, were recognized for their · outstanding contributions over the years. A special tribute was extended to Tilda Millar (Agness Hammond’s sister and Torchy Millar’s mother) for donating funds to ensure trophies and ribbons were extra special for the

final show, and to Griffin Valley Ranch for donating the Lead Line Class trophies. She then called on President Don Edge, who presented Chris Montague from the Cochrane Lions with a plaque thanking them for handling the concession booth for ‘umpteen’ years. .

Show organizers were President Donald Edge, Past President Linda Beddoes, Vice-President John Poynter, Secretary-treasurer Dorothy Edge, Publicity Kathy Wills and fellow directors Ann Hindes, Suzy Poynter, Cindy Renwick, Bob and Mary-Jane Pogue, Grant McNabb, Pat and Val Scholefield, Maureen Wills, Erik Butters, and Hamish Kerfoot. Our judges were Bud Wyatt, Western, and John Simpson, English. The later two grew up competing in thi how and were pleased to help and shared their memories with everyone. In

Everybody loved the GRPC horse show and gymkhana and a large crowd attended the 50th show. Sixty-eight contestants entered. Donna (Johnson) Butters was a keen competitor in 1948 and in 1998. Several four-generations of family members competed at this show over the years.

Everybody loved the GRPC horse show and gymkhana and a large crowd attended the 50th show. Sixty-eight contestants entered. Donna (Johnson) Butters was a keen competitor in 1948 and in 1998. Several four-generations of family members competed at this show over the years.

Gene Hanson related a story about what happened to them one time at an earlier gymkhana. In those days there was no concession booth and everybody brought a picnic lunch. His wife, Sally, was busy preparing a fairly elaborate tailgate lunch and placed a beautiful big ham on the tailgate and walked back to the cab of the truck to get something else. Upon returning, she spotted someone’s dog running across the field with the entire ham in its mouth.

 

The late Jack Poynter always looked after the hitching ring and was pretty sticky about unruly horses. One time when he was letting contestants into the show ring, little Marty Edge’s horse acted up and bucked around a bit. Noticing this, Jack needed to free the area of this unruly horse. The late Amy Begg, who handled the post entries that year, was thoroughly enjoying the rodeo and waving her arm saying, “Look, look at that kid ride his horse, just like his dad!” Jack, diligently doing his job with safety on his mind, didn’t quite condone it like Amy and the spectators. When Jack’s health was starting to fail, Don Edge apprenticed under him and ably continued Jack’s long-time tenure at the hitching ring using his own brand of wit.

Don and I hosted an apres gymkhana get-together with many friends and old-timers at our house. We were all having a great time reminiscing when we heard pounding on the roof and, lo’ and behold, it was one big hailstorm. Bob Pogue says it was, “Don and Dorothy’s half million-dollar party” because everyone’s vehicle received hail damage. It was quite a day! We decided we’d been blessed by all the Pony Club’s former organizers who had passed on before us, as they must have been looking down and held back the hailstorm until the 50th show ended.

The Club dissolved and residual funds were donated to the Cochrane Humane Society, and to the Cochrane and District Agricultural Society’s one-square-foot program to help build the new ‘community indoor riding arena’ at Cochrane, hence GRPC’s name is visible in the Hoof Print Gallery. To complete the finale, we branded GHOST RIVER PONY CLUB on a permanently preserved brick on the Historic Brand Wall at the Western Heritage Centre, now the Cochrane Town Office. 

Deep Dive

Cochrane High School

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by Gord Davies and Frank Hennessey pg 127 More Big Hill Country 2009

In 1962 the Board of Cochrane School District 142 decided to construct a High School. The present site was chosen and construction began on a six-room building. Along with two homes being built by Petrofina, it was the only other building on the hill. The initial plan was for a six-room school with no gym but it was later decided to have a gym constructed as well. The students helped in moving materials from the old brick school downtown during the Christmas holidays.

In 1966 Cochrane School District became a part of Rocky View School Division #41. Another change that took place at this time was the decision to close the high school in Westbrook and to bring the students into school in Cochrane.

A new wing was added in 1968 which included a library/classroom, biology lab, typing room, home economics room and shop facilities. Because construction was not finished for some time, shop and home economics classes were held in the old brick school. The students were bused back and forth. Between 1966 – 69, under the leadership of Principal Bill Brookes, a number of innovations were undertaken regarding the manner in which education was delivered to the students. The biggest change, and the most lasting, was the introduction of the semester system. At this time there were very few schools in the province using this system.

With growth taking place in the Cochrane area portables made an appearance (and continue to be used) and it was decided to build a west wing. This part of the school opened in 1970 and was built to support a second storey which was added later. During construction of this wing, because of a very strong chinook wind, the north wall blew down. It caused some to question the wisdom of building a second storey. At this time, the school housed both junior and senior high students. Very shortly after, Manachaban School was built and the junior high students went to this school.

In 1985, because the school did not meet building codes of the time the building was gutted. The beautiful stained wood ceilings were removed and the heating system was updated. As well as updating the old building, a new gymnasium science lab, and various other rooms were added. The original gymnasium was divided into a library and a music room which are still in use today. This new wing was opened to the students and staff in 1986. In 1990 a decision was made by Rocky View School Division #4 l to reorganize the grade divisions, creating a middle school and bringing grade nine students into the high school.

Despite the wall having been blown down on the west wing a second storey was added in 1992 and, for the most part, houses the mathematics department. In trying to keep up with the growth of the town, a new addition was added in 1996. The Lyceum, science labs and added classroom space was very welcome. The drama department now had a place to call home. It was at this time that the Snake Pit area was created when it was decided to make the original wing into the administrative area which houses staff and administrative offices.

The elements giving identity to Cochrane High, such as school colours, school motto and crest, and school name for the sports teams, came about over a period of time. The school crest and the motto “Carpe Diem” was created some time in the I950’s. Maroon and gold for school colours seems to have existed from the beginning of Cochrane High School. The choice of the cobra as the school mascot came about in the mid-1970’s. The school has always had a strong sports program, coupled with a broad education program which exists to this day.

Of course, the football images are current. The Cobra's achievements go back a long way to the class of 75 that won the first divisional title.
Mark Boothby
Director, CHAPS

Schools in Cochrane Cochrane School No. 141

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pg 127 More Big Hill Country 2009

In the late 1890’s James Quigley and Donald Bruce decided that a school was needed in the Hamlet of Cochrane. They had enough children between them of school age and there were some of the Hewitt children ready for school as well so application was made for a school and a one-room building was erected in the east end of Cochrane. The first teacher was Mr. George Bevan.

The school soon became too small so the school, formerly the saloon, from Mitford was moved to Cochrane and placed on the Grayson/Bruce property on what is presently Centre Avenue.

The building was placed facing north and south and became a school for small children around 1900. This building was later bought by the Masonic Lodge and is currently their home.

These two buildings appear to have served the hamlet until 1918 when a two-room Brick School was built on Main Street near the present Holy Spirit School. In 1926 a second storey with two more rooms was added to the Brick School and the little school was used as a gymnasium for the children. It is said that there were sets of boxing gloves hanging on the wall of this small gymnasium and many of the boys learned to box there.

This arrangement seemed to be fine for the population attending the Cochrane School until, as the population increased and roads were being built, it became necessary to have more room. In the late 1940’s or early 1950’s a white clapboard sided one room school was moved onto the property near the Brick School and this little school was used until about 1956. From 1957 to 1961 grades five and six were taught in the “white school” as it was called. It was later moved to the outdoor skating rink in Cochrane’s east end and was used for many years as the rink house.

1st St Cochrane including Brick school

It was during this time that the number of children in the town was increasing and one-room schools were starting to close so some of the parents of the children and other citizens in Cochrane facilitated the building of a new elementary school on the Main Street site. Many children had to go to Calgary for high school as it was not being taught in Cochane. These parents succeeded in getting a new school built to house all the students. At this time around 1955-1956, Mr. Grant was teaching grades nine and ten in the basement of the Community Hall. They used the upstairs for their gymnasium.

The new Cochrane Elementary School was built in 1957 and it housed grades one to four. It had six rooms and a gymnasium and grades five and six were housed in the little white school. Grades seven, eight and nine were in the old Brick School and during this time the Cochrane School Board and the parents were working on plans for a larger school. In 1958 there were 250 students in Grades one to twelve.

The new Cochrane High School opened for the 1962-63 season and it offered grades nine, ten, eleven and twelve. By 1968-1969 construction began on a new elementary school addition to join onto the Cochrane Elementary School. Construction was going along well on the new addition being added to the east end of the elementary school and the contractors had large propane tanks and their new construction area covered with tarps so that the cement would not freeze and work could continue through the colder months. One night a wind got up and blew the tarps onto the propane tanks and a large explosion took place. It did not damage the new building site but managed to move the old Brick School off its foundation. This then proved another problem, “Where do we put these students?”

The grade five and six classes were scheduled to move into the Brick School but that could not happen now as the old school had to be dismantled and removed from the site. These classes remained at Cochrane Elementary and in grade seven they were moved up to the High School. It was a scary thing to have to move up to that big school however they had a party at one of the homes where all the kids and a lot of parents gathered. Mr. Sly, a teacher from the High School came and they all got to know each other and support each other during this ‘BIG’ move to the new big school up on the hill. .

The new elementary school was completed and officially opened in 1968-1970 with a new name, Andrew Sibbald Elementary School. The school was named after Andrew Sibbald, the first school teacher in Alberta who had come to Morleyville. The school now had a Library, a Science Room, a large double room, new administration offices and new entrances. It looked after students from grades one to six until Manachaban Middle School was opened in 1972. The name Manachaban was also chosen in a contest open to everyone, students, town and surrounding area residents. Manachaban means hill of bows and arrows and is very fitting for that location.

Shortly after Andrew Sibbald School opened portable classrooms had to be added to the north side for Mrs. Eddie Edge and Mr. Gunn to teach Math. Bruce Davies, Vice Principal and John Edwards taught science, Miss Armstrong, music, Mrs. Nu, Ed Errol and Jim Jenkins, Principal had classrooms in the new wing. The old wing was redecorated and Mrs. Otteson, Mrs. McPherson, Miss Bennett, Mrs. Scott, Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Elliot enjoyed the teacher’s lounge, the library and all the other up-to-date facilities.

Many students passed through the doors of Andrew Sibbald Elementary School and the other Cochrane schools before it. More schools have been built as the town has grown adding Elizabeth Barrett, named after the first woman school teacher in Alberta who also came to Morleyville, an addition to Cochrane High School, Glenbow Elementary, Mitford School, Bow Valley High School and St. Timothy High School. Sadly, Andrew Sibbald School closed and was sold to the Catholic School System and is now Holy Spirit School. It is hoped that when a new school is built in Cochrane it will be named after Andrew Sibbald. As Andrew Sibbald taught in this area first it would be a great tribute to our history.

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