1

The town of East Coulee was born during the construction of a railroad spur line that extended east of Drumheller. The men were housed in tents and life was tough and quite uncomfortable. Very soon, the men started building small houses, usually one room, from whatever materials they could find. There were very few trees available locally and lumber was expensive. The industrious and creative minds of the early settlers materials that were easily found using mud and straw to conctruct the walls and roof with only a small of wood for a frame. Some people were able to buy lumber and enjoyed the luxery of a solid home made from wood. The town started to take shape with people building houses where ever they pleased since there were no restrictions on where you could build. Many people chose to buld near the river for easy access to water but this was offset by the risk of flooding when the spring runoff was higher than normal.

Though there were already some coal mines operating in the area, it was only when the railroad came through that it became possible to mine large amounts of coal. This in turn meant hiring more miners increasing the need for access to more goods and building materials. Over a short period of time entrepeneurs moved in and set up stores of various kinds. There were places to buy food, essentials for the home, lumber and other goods. There was also a hotel which helped house the large number of single men that worked in the mines. The hotel was usualy the center of the social life for these men where they came by to mingle and have some drinks at the bar. This was a rough and tumble place where the disagreements often were settled with a fistfight ! The lively evenings were occasionally brightened with a dance at the local community hall. This gave the men a chance to kick up their heels and meet some of the young ladies from the local area. The town grew a little more each time a new mine opened.

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Building a Family
1 October 1935
East Coulee, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Unknown

3

Raising a family in the early days of East Coulee was a real challenge. There were none of the modern conveniences like runnign water or fridges or washing machinces. All of the chores around the house had to be done by the mother and this seemed to be a never ending task. The homes were built from whatever materials the father could afford. If possible, lumber was used which made a sturdy home but as there was no insulation, it could be very cold in the winter. The homes made of straw and mud were actually a little warmer as the mud and straw acted as insulation. In any case, there was always a big stove burning coal in the winter which created a great deal of heat. Without a furnace to move the air around there was often too much heat in the kitchen, where the stove is usually located, and not enough in the bedrooms.

The challenge of feeding the family was handled by the mother. She would grow a garden in the summer and store those foods that kept well over the winter. There was much to be done to keep the stomachs full and depending on the amount of work the father had there were times when there was not enough. In the second haf of the 1930's there was the Great Depression which meant there was not enough work which means not enough money to buy food and other items. The drought of the 1930's meant it was very hard for farmers to grow food and staple foods like flour and potatoes were ahrd to get. Anything like fruit was very rare and very expensive. This period of time was extremely difficult for families living in East Coulee and some people were starving during this time. Because of the strong sense of community, though, people who did have some food would share what they had.

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Budinski Home - First house in East Coulee
1 October 1929
East Coulee, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Unknown

5

Where did the children go to school ? At first, the farmers and ranchers used small buildings on their land as a school house. One of the families, the Grahams, hired the first teacher and brought her to the area so their children would have some education. The parents were very happy when the first school house in East Coulee was opened. Their children would have a chance to meet other kids and the teacher would have a better situation in which to do her job. The first scchool house was little more than a room on the second story of a boarding house. Not too long after, there was a one room bulding available that became the school house. With the very rapid growth in the town the provincial government decided to build a school in East Coulee.

This was opened in 1930 and boasted 4 rooms, a staff room, a coal fired boiler and a large school yard. The school building was aligned parallel to a north-south line. This would maximize the amount of heat generated from sunlight during the winter. To this day, the building still benefis from this design idea, an early adopter of "green thinking". All grades were taught in the school and six teachers were hired as well as a principle. The population of the school mushroomed and it was decided to build an addition of another 8 rooms (four upstairs and four in the basement). Most records indicate the school addition was finished in 1936 but there are some photographs, thought to date from the early 1940s, which show the old 4 room school. The records of the Department of Education do not help any shed light on this mystery. In any event, the addition was needed and the rooms in the basement allowed space for a library and a science lab. Eventually, all these room had to be used for classrooms to accommodate all the children in the area. The school had children from the town itself and the surrounding farms and ranches.

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Picture of the 4 room school
1 October 1942
East Coulee, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Unknown

7

Juhasz Family with new car
1 October 1942
East Coulee, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Unknown