Arieh here. We arrived in Calgary on Friday after 2 ½ days of crossing the southern Canadian Prairies. The first descriptive word that comes to mind about this last portion of the trip is “vast” (see picture). Canada is a big country and I think the Prairies prove it better than any other part of the country. In the south the unbrokeness of the terrain—its definitely not flat—is, at times, overwhelming in its scope. It truly is impressive.
The weather turned slightly cooler and cloudier as we drove westward on the Trans Canada Highway. The roads seemed emptier than north of Superior, and the sky was definitely unobstructed. We spend the first night in Indian Head, Sask. at a B & B run by a banker and a public school principal. For all you teachers and principals reading this, the principal supervised a school of 63 children from K – 12. As well she taught part-time in the high school. The next day we drove through the centre of Regina—many tree-lined streets in part of downtown, an impressive Legislature and grounds, and a very laid back attitude—and then on to Moose Jaw, Sask.
Moose Jaw is now known for a hot springs spa (didn’t see them), tunnels under the city and, for many years, the home of my mother’s family! The tunnels have become quite a tourist thing. They have two different tours—one showing the influence of bootlegging gangsters during Prohibition; the other demonstrating the lives of Chinese immigrants in the early part of the 20th Century. We participated in the latter. The tunnels seemed to have been created as a result of the underground spaces that housed the heating pipes for each building connected by holes in the walls. These holes and spaces were eventually expanded to become “secret” tunnels. The ticket office used to be the location of my uncle Roy Yacht’s newspaper and variety store, the Globe News.
Moose Jaw is also known for being 100 KM north of Assiniboia, the birthplace of yours truly! We drove there after the Moose Jaw tour, had lunch and spoke to a couple of old-timers in the restaurant. I found one person who actually remembered the Waldman Brothers Hardware store, started by my grandfather and run by 3 of his 5 sons—one being my father. We left Assiniboia (for Vancouver) when I was 5, but I correctly identified the building that used to be the store. It’s quite amazing what one retains from childhood.
Instead of returning to the Trans Canada at Moose Jaw we drove along the Prairie backroad highways. More vastness going through small towns that used to be populated by quite a few Jews. Most of them moved to the larger cities in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba back in the 1950s and 60s. We spent the night in a motel in Medicine Hat, Alberta as it was pouring rain and went on to Drumheller the next day (Friday). Drumheller is slightly N.E. of Calgary and has a fantastic dinosaur museum. Drumheller is located in the “Badlands” of Alberta (picture--not yet) and many of the artifacts are from the area itself.
We arrived in Calgary in time for Shabbat dinner with our good friends (who wish to remain anonymous) and zero degree temperatures that night. Needless to say, we did not sleep in the van, although Val wanted to do so. :) Sat. was a quiet day and Sunday was an eating, walking along the river, and visiting day. All quite enjoyable.
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