History

Merry Christmas 2018 from CHAPS Cochrane

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CHAPS wishes everyone a joyful, peaceful, loving and Merry Christmas.

Our gift to you are some memories of Historic Cochrane from our new Youtube site.

Please Subscribe and Like our Youtube channel. Look for this button in Youtube.

CHAPS YourTube site for other videos

We’d like to see you at our Christmas celebration at the Museum December 17th, 7:00 PM.

Click here for more details

Rona B Shot Tower

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We’re starting of series of blogs based on the 2005 The Live Stories Programme: 100 Stories for 100 Years produced by Barry Thorson and Lone Wolf Theatre Company. CHAPS has had the source material in our archives for years. There are some really interesting stories of Cochrane that we want to share.

The first video is Ron Baker describing how Cochrane’s Rona B shot tower was built.

Ron was a trap shooter who began experimenting with creating his own shot. He came upon a special lead alloy and local shooters began asking him to supply lead shot.

The shot tower was a former oil derrick.  The buildings and equipment were home made or adapted from oil equipment. Ron felt his product was harder than any other produced in North America.

Lead bars were melted at the top of the tower, poured through a sieve and dropped to the base to be cooled in a vat of water. During its peak, Rona B used 3 to 4 tons of lead daily. The Tower stood 181 feet top to bottom.

The finished lead shot was used in Olympic shotgun shells and by Western Canadian shooters who made their own shells.

Rona B Lead Shot was started by 1959 by Ron Baker and his father C.W. Baker. We believe the tower was completed 1961-2 and was torn down in 2006.

Mark Boothby from files submitted by Garney Baker.

Rona B Shot Tower
Approximately where Bow Ridge Sports stands todaay

A bag of the shot produced at the tower. It  recently sold on the Internet along with 20 of the bags used.

I didn’t know anything about the topic of making shot so I looked a video up. I’d not seen any other shot towers in Canada. According to the video there were only 3 in England at that time.

Congratulations to the Glenbow for tracking down some History.

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This news from the Glenbow inspires me. We have so many photos in our archives with few or no details. I’m sure it’s within the collective memory of our members so we need to record it. This is one of our goals when we open our photo archives; to record peoples memories. Goto to our Activities page for more details on our Photo Archive event.

Here’s is the Glenbow story about recovering the people and circumstances from one of their photos. 

Jingle Dance Detectives

Activities Page

We need your opinion !!!

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 CHAPS is planning next years fundraisers. We need your help with that process. Please take 2 minutes and complete this survey.

We are looking at the number and timing of fundraisers, location, meals, content and cost. We are looking for our supporters opinions so please take a couple of minutes and help us out.

Survey

Train Station Miniature

Newsletter Email

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We have a monthly Newsletter emailed to our membership.

We’ve just added a Newsletter check box to our membership form. Just click yes to be added to our Newsletter.

Existing members have been added to the list. If you want to change this click the unsubscribe option on the bottom of each newsletter.

October Newsletter
Membership Page

Have you seen our Facebook page?

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We have some great photos and discussions going on our Facebook page. You don’t need Facebook you can see our live page by clicking the image or button.

Click here

New Media Page

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While we were out talking to people about support for the Fall Fund-Raiser Dinner we realized a need for a media page where certain logos, images and videos are available for download. Check it out.

Click here

The Population of Cochrane

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A BRIEF HISTORY
THE
POPULATION
OF
COCHRANE

1906 - 158

1911 - 395

1913 -300

1945 - 800

1969 - 900

1979 - 2308

1989 - 4541

1991 - 5195

Into the 21st Century

1996 - 5195

1999 - 10391

2001 -11798

2006 - 13760

2011 - 17580

2016 - 25853

2017 - 26320

Want to get involved with Research?

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What do you know about this building. Cochrane used to have barns outside many homes to store horses and wagons. Could this barn date from that era?

We’d also like to do further research on Mitford and a variety of other subjects. Interested?, get it touch.

We have other opportunities with membership and fundraising.

Get in Touch

Request for Donations for fall fundraiser Nov 17, 18

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We need your help.

CHAPS fall fundraiser is coming up Nov 17th at the Royal Canadian Legion. We are constructing 5 gift baskets that will go up for bidding. If you can provide a gift card or similar item please contact Lydia Graham at 403-932-2366 or lydia2@shaw.ca.

School Presentation

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This past Wednesday and Thursday 100 students from Grade 2 French immersion classes at Elizabeth Barrett visited the Cochrane Historical Museum. Greeted by Frank Hennessey students learned that the building is over 100 years old, was once the the Davies home and Cochrane’s first hospital.

Gordon Davies continued the presentation in French with Jade Lewis’s excellent history of the Cochrane Ranche Video.

Mike Taylor, Gordon Davies, Frank Hennessey

Annual General Meeting 2018

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We had 18 members attend September 19th. Committees gave an overview of what was accomplished this year. 

  • Museum- About the same numbers through as last year.  Will close September 30. 
  •  Grants – Several applied for,
    • Alberta Culture used for shelving, work tables, supplies for archiving, dividers and storage boxes. 
    • Town of Cochrane used to purchase transmitters and receivers for tours and meetings. 

  • Next Fundraising Dinner at Legion on Nov 17. 

  • New volunteers needed to help on the following committees

    • Grants,
    • Membership,
    • Fundraising

Election of officers 

  • Past President – Gordon Davies,
  • President – Larry Want, 
  • Vice- President – R. Tony Turner,
  • Secretary – Bernice Klotz,
  • Treasurer – Donna Morris, 
  • Directors at large – Rod Wallace, Mark Boothby, Frank Hennessey  

All voted in by acclamation.

This Year:

  • 20th Anniversary of CHAPS, June 2019 
  • 5th Anniversary of the museum, 
  • 110th Anniversary of the house. 
from CHAPS Archives

Looking for ideas to celebrate  ie: 

  • 110 house Birthday Party, 
  • Sell More Big Hill Country for $20.00 at the museum only. 
  • Have table at downtown market on Thursdays in summer. 
  • Enter Labour day parade,
  • Party cake for museum opening in June,  
  • Give More Big Hill Country to Grads with grant money.  

notes by Bernice Klotz

Toy Exhibit

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The Vintage Toys have been a fun display at the museum this summer. We’re going to keep the display again next year and try to tweek it a little and maybe add a few items.

As you’ve been a lender, you have agreed to lend your items until this fall. If you want to let us exhibit them again we need you to sign or initial a change on your forms.

If you’re attending the AGM on Wednesday could you please see Shannon Want to do this.

Thanks so much,

Gayle

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