My first impression of Cochrane was from the cab of a Canadian Pacific Railway engine. My uncle was an engineer was on the run from Calgary to Banff and had a stopover at Cochrane for the brickyard. It was on one of these expeditions that I stayed in the engine and watched the fireman stoking up the boilers. It was thrilling to watch the amount of wood being consumed by the huge engine. I couldn’t have been more than 7 or 8 years old, but ever since, trains have always had a fascination for me. This trip was followed by a trip into Banff to stay in the bunkhouse right at the old Canadian Pacific Railway station. I remember a profusion of red, yellow and orange Iceland poppies and geraniums that were on the station grounds. The air in Banff was spectacular, cool and embracing. It was not until July 1950 that I had an opportunity to revisit Cochrane. I had graduated from Western Canada High School in June, attended my high school prom with a handsome young man that I had met in April on a blind date. He was from Vancouver and I was excited to have a new boyfriend. Enter Gordon Moir. He had recently acquired a car. It was a 1929 touring Ford and a friend had driven it from Vancouver over the old roads through the Kicking Horse Pass to Calgary.
It made it with no major problems. It had a canvas top and roll down curtains. The horn made a wonderful ‘Oogah, Oogah” sound. We had decided to take a trip to Banff and of course we had to go through Cochrane. The old road was very steep and more than one car had ended up in the churchyard at the bottom of the hill. However, the 1929 Touring Ford did well and we spent a couple of hours in Cochrane before motoring off to Banff for the day.
Coming home promised to be somewhat different as we worried whether or not the old green Ford would make it up the Big Hill. We hit the bottom of the hill with some trepidation and slowly but surely we made it to the top. On the way up we passed several cars that hadn’t been so fortunate. One had a flat tire and a couple had overheated and steam was pouring out of the radiators. We were married in January 1951 and were blessed with four children, 2 girls and 2 boys, Debbie, 1952, Bonnie, 1953, Lindsay, 1955 and Bruce, 1956. Gordon was employed by the City of Calgary and in 1958 he was offered a position with the City of Lethbridge as Parks and Recreation director. It was a great time in our life and we enjoyed Lethbridge very much. In 1970 we returned to Calgary and shortly thereafter entered the Real Estate business. In 1970 we started Moir Realty Ltd, and never looked back.
Our first major investment was the building of Tudor Mews on the corner of Shaganappi and Crowchild Trail N.W. This was a 70 unit condominium project, one of the first in Calgary.
Shortly thereafter Gordon decided that Cochrane was the up and coming place and we bought the land on the triangular shaped piece of property as you entered Cochrane and applied for a building permit to build Cochrane Valley Shopping Centre. It was not easy getting a development permit as the current mayor, Caroline Godfrey was adamant that Cochrane should stay small town and the town did not need a shopping centre. Ray and Dave Whittle, and Dr. Ziegenhagel were also investors in the Cochrane Shopping Centre. The major tenants were the Royal Bank and the IGA.
After the completion of the Shopping Centre in 1976 Gordon decided that Cochrane really needed a new restaurant and along with his friend Bill McConnick of Calgary they put the Kissin Kuzzin restaurant together. It was an instant success and had a specialty of apple smoked ribs and hot apple pie dessert with cinnamon ice cream and our own rum sauce. These were very popular items. The restaurant was on the second floor of the Cochrane Valley Shopping Centre.
The next venture in Cochrane was the purchase and development of the Glenbow subdivision. This provided Cochrane with reasonably priced homes in a well- developed neighbourhood. It was during the late 1970’s that we purchased a piece of land on the comer of Highway 1A and Glendale Road. It was the original Washington homestead. We built our own home on this land and have been very happy for 28 years. During this time we have made many close friends. Cochrane is a vibrant community that offers many amenities. It is a perfect location for all residents that want the ambi- ence of a small town with peace and quiet, fantastic mountain scenery, fresh air, excellent schools and easy access to Calgary and major highways.
