20

Swimming at the Lake
1948
Alberta Beach, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Alberta Beach & District Museum & Archives Society

21

We usually tried to be here in July when the native people would come for the annual pilgrimage to Lac Ste. Anne. They would pass through the beach with their horses and wagons loaded with the supplies they needed, like tents, poles, etc. They would camp in the ditches on the way. Some of these people came a long way so it would take most of the summer to get here. The oldest to the youngest always came along with the dogs and the family cow tied behind the wagon.

22

Teepee at Pilgrimage

Credits:
Alberta Beach & District Museum & Archives Society

23

Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage
1933
Alberta Beach, Alberta, Canada

24

Most of our time was spent in the water. It must have been raining and storming some of these times but I don't remember any of those days! When the wind blew we would go to the end of the walking pier and let the waves smash over us. What fun until we came home soaking wet. There was a wooden slide in the water which was great fun and we would spend a lot of time playing on the wooden swings in the camp grounds.

25

Main Beach - North From Pier
1954
Main Beach, Alberta Beach, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Alberta Beach & District Museum & Archives Society

26

CNoR Picnic Swings
1924-25
Alberta Beach, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Alberta Beach & District Museum & Archives Society

27

Another daily ritual was to go meet the bus. It came to the Beach everyday except Sunday at 6:00 pm. It brought the newspapers. They were then delivered around town by boys and girls on their bicycles. There was a special bus that came from Edmonton on Sundays and holidays. It came in the morning and returned to the city in the evening.

28

Bus at Alberta Beach
1943
Alberta Beach, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Alberta Beach & District Museum & Archives Society

29

There was a first aid hut on main street and it was manned by a registered nurse during July and August. Sometimes we would need to visit, due to injuries incurred while playing or due to other medical issues. The nurse lived right in the hut and was on call all the time. Next to the hut was the town office and the post office. There was a one room jail house at the back of the lane which was nearly always used on a Saturday night. Both this original jail and the first aid hut now sit in the Alberta Beach & District Museum & Archives Society's Heritage Village located behind the Alberta Beach Hotel.

30

There was no such thing as fire protection back then, just a bucket brigade. One time we had a chimney fire in our cottage. We yelled out the dorr for the neighbours to help and they came running with their buckets. We were fortunate that we had a town water pump right in front of our place so someone pumped continuously and passed the buckets down the line and into the house and one neighbour was able to climb onto the roof. The fire was eventually put out and only minimal repairs were needed to our roof.

There was big open field behind the Hotel. In the spring we would play in the creek by the hour. Come summer we would chase butterflies and catch frogs and grasshoppers. One summer we had our bicycles brought out by truck. That was a great time as we were able to explore more around the village. I remember eating saskatoons and raspberries right off the bushes. We never gave a thought about washing them back in those days.

31

Hotel - Ray and Gordon Meurin in Front (Owned 1939-1956)
Main Street, Alberta Beach, Alberta, Canada

32

One weekend, we returned to the lake to find our boat gone. We were informed that it broke away during a storm. Dad rented a boat from Dan Klinkhamer and found it in the reeds near where Val Quentin is now. A few years later the same thing happened again, only this time we were told that the boat drifted across the lake and our beloved boat was gone forever.

33

Dan Klinkhamer with One of His Boats
Alberta Beach, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Alberta Beach & District Museum & Archives Society