I worked with a Canadian engineer here in Detroit about 30 years ago. He grew up in the wheat growing areas of western Canada. They used an enclosed wagon to go to town. It was so cold that the wagon had its own heater to burn wood (I think coal too). He was in the Canadian Air Force in ww2 in England. He was a really smart guy with an incredible memory. He told me many interesting stories about Canada and England.
It's amazing to think how the houses, the schools, the cars, the tractors, the machinery, all cost people their lives in time and money, and are now abandoned...
Thank you for making this. I am fascinated by abandoned towns in the prairies. These old houses that had children running around barefoot, mothers cooking over wood fired stoves, men coming in for lunch from working. I cant describe the feeling it gives me.
You're going back way over 100 years with thoughts like that. Just because people were rural doesn't mean they're living in abject poverty ffs. Some of the wealthiest people you will meet are farmers...maybe not back then, but these days.....
@@minkorrh dumbest reply I’ve ever seen. The scenario I described was the daily life of my father as a child. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t over 100 years ago. Plenty of central albertans in the 50s lived that way. The way you blast stupidity with such confidence might be sign of a malignant tumour. Go get checked out.
That is exactly the imaging running through my mind. Where have all the children gone… the smells of fresh break… chicken dinners…. Vibrancy and hope. Oddly sad and lonely, yet intriguing and warm. I love these historic throw back videos.
It really makes you feel like you're livin' on a ball. I took a guitar building course 30 years ago in a small town in Saskatchewan, and it has since become a town full of artisans. Because you can buy a house for $60,000, and put a kiln in the back yard if you want to. People have time to explore their creativity, not distracted by lots of other people, and things.
We use to have our 4-H meetings at the old community hall in Robsart and that riding arena behind those swings is where we would ride. That was only 20 years ago.
That was fascinating: you have a good eye for framing a picture. The emptiness of the flatlands twixt Winnipeg and the Rockies was tangible throughout. Over 50+ yrs ago and as a penniless bum from Britain and fresh from a winter trawling for fish out of Reykjavik, and hitchhiking my way across Canada in '64 looking to find a fishing boat out of Vancouver, a work crew from a Manitoba grain company picked me up, and I ended up for a couple of months working, shingling the company's grain elevators in Alberta S of Calgary down to the U.S. border. It was interesting in the sense that you didn't want to fall off, and like deep sea fishing where you were fully engaged in not drowning, there was a wee bit of danger too: If you slipped there was only a rope to grab if you were quick enough. I don't think Health and Safety had quite the power back then it has today.
Great video-- I thoroughly enjoyed it. I downloaded it to show my 92 year old neighbor (he does not have internet access), hence the download. He will enjoy this video as he once lived and farmed in Sask. many years ago as youngster. I bet he will recognize a lot of the towns in this video.
I've lived in SK my whole life and can't understand how people don't find it beautiful, From Leader to Moosomin, Estevan to La Ronge its an amazing province. Growing up around Moose Jaw, Briercrest, Avonlea and Leader was the best childhood I could have ever asked for, thanks for the video, more places to shoot up next spring!
You see beauty, but others see a baren landscape devoid of trees! Flowers etc,except for Northern Saskatchewan, trees lakes ,something to look at and appreciate! The praires are like seeing your Breafast pancake everyday!I So if you see a pancake as beutiful,we'll,you need to broaden your horizons,go see the mountains, get off the pancake 😅!!! Well there is some beauty out there,but you have yo get used to staring at open fields, and a few animals.
@@davidrussell8795that’s what I love about Saskatchewan. The northern lakes and forests all the way down to the open grasslands. It’s my home and always will be.
I'm lucky enough to live in Sask and visit many old ghost towns while trompsing around the back roads. Just bought a piece of history myself: The Nolan School House that earlier this year was at the intersection of Hwy 4 North and the hamlet of Hamlin Rd. Moved it three miles down the road to my property. Glad I got to save a bit of history :)
Nice video..i've been in Saskatchewan in 1981. I was picked up from the Regina airport by my Canadian uncle who married my Dutch aunt just after Workd War 2. I my memory we came trough Assinaboi(?) were we did some shoppings and went on to Rockglen(n?) were they lived. I enjoyed Saskatchewan in the summer and worked on several farms(most milking cows) while the farmers were harvesting the crops. Cornelis Morees, The Netherlands🇨🇦🇳🇱
Things have changed a lot since then. Most grain elevators are now gone. Thanks for watching, pretty exciting you are from The Netherlands and watching!
Chris, thanks for another ride along. Great to see, and sad at the same time, the general area where my Mom's side of the family is from. It's amazing to think how nature takes its toll and slowly returns things to their original state. If the walls in all these areas could speak of the brave souls/pioneers/families who made their lives in such places before "moving on". 😢
Did you forget Govenlock? There is only a sign and one building the last time I was there, maybe 1992? My dad and I had sold oats and hay to lodge creek ranch. My neighbor (see TH-cam: Riverview Ranch) sold hay to another place down there and I delivered it
As a young geologist with SaskOil Corporation in the early 1970's I well sat many oil wells in this area. One would get use to people talking about you at the local cafes and wondering what the drilling rig will find on someone's land. Winters were brutal as there was usually no snow and strong blustery winds. As a geologist the area surrounding the Cypress Hills is mind boggling and with landform-expressions like the Ravenscrag Valley tells of the mighty affects of continental glaciation. I truly enjoyed this video and my days in this part of the province. One must not miss the restaurant in Eastend (Jack's; we use to drive for hours to eat at this establishment) and the T-Rex Museum!! What I do not miss is the grasshoppers!
Excellent road-trip video of some interesting towns and landscapes. I'm from Montana, so some of these scenes look pretty familiar. Hope to see more of your work here.
Thanks Chris, looks like farming towns all over the western world. There are plenty of abandoned or semi-abandoned towns in Australia too, sadly. It has happened as farms got bigger and people moved into cities.
Thanks so much. My grandparents met in Star City in southern Saskatchewan...both new immigrants, Grandpa from the states and grandma from Norway. My dad was born in star city on Easter Sunday in 1939. They met at a dance hall. It is nice to see my roots in Canadian history.
I know only of a Star City in the north-central area of Saskatchewan near Melfort., off highway 3, along highway 681. Amazing that your grandparents from so far apart met in small-town Saskatchewan. Maybe at a school dance?
I was born & raised in Saskatchewan. East of Regina. I joined the Royal Bank in 1961 and started in Aneroid , SK. Last I was through over 10 years ago it was a ghost town but the old bank building was on main st as was the old hotel, to bad you hadn’t filmed them. I recall so many of those towns, Kincaide, Vanguard , Gravelberg and so many more. So many fond memories of playing hockey along that line. Also had relatives at Robsart spent many good times there.
Wow! Thanks for the tour! I am from the Cowichan Valley, born and raised. I really got to get out there and cruise around and look for 1932 Ford car body parts and pieces. And enjoy the scenery of course! Thanks eh!
This is amazing! We moved to Medicine Hat last year and we have been exploring since we got here. I'll be driving us several of these locations in the next few weeks. Thank you for sharing this with us.
I toured that area a few years ago now. I'm from BC where mountains are the norm around here so being in southern Saskatchewan is like being on another planet for me. I really enjoyed it. I need to go back I think....
As someone who grew up in this exact area, trust me it goes both ways 😅. I get excited any time I see a decently-sized hill or a patch of trees. Driving through BC is absolutely mind-blowing.
Meanwhile, its the other way around for me. I'm so used to the flat prairies that after a few days in the B.C area I start longing for the prairie views again. Idk, I just find being surrounded by mountains on all sides a bit suffocating. But granted that I've seen nothing but flat lands for my whole life, it makes sense why its hard to adjust to a complete change in environment.
It does make me sad to see some of these towns like this. I knew these places back in the 1960's. As a teenager, life was so good in southern Saskatchewan.
Thanks for adding your great video. I lived in a few of these towns through the 1950's and 60's . Admiral , Frontier and Shaunavon . It made for a great upbringing with good friends . It is sad to see a lot of towns returned to nature . Once were busy towns . It brings back lots of memories for me.
3:34 Looks like a McCormick Deering 1530 by IH. If it is it was modernized to rubber tires. International Harvester was an awesome builder of everything from a Scout to a Cub cadet to big rigs pulling across country.
My dad, Rev. Kenneth Robins, was raised on a farm outside Ponteix. When we were children (early 50's) dad and mom brought us to his old home. And my father who was an ordained minister held meetings in the church in Aneroid every night for a whole week. My sister, brother and I were the "special music" at each of the church services. Many years later, I returned to Aneroid with my cousin to attend the funeral service of her father, Gerald Robins. My dad spoke at his funeral service in that church.
Just depressing and my whole family were basically from Waldron. After the war/ the railways disappeared/ the grain elevators were disused, and the whole place went back to what it once was. Wild grass is for buffalo and native Indian bands from hundreds of years ago. Your videos are great, for sure, but it saddens me when I used to visit the area. My grandparents were railway men from the turn of the century/ and homesteading.
False History Ever heard of Tartaria? A video essay on you tube title There are no Forests on flat Earth English dubbed version before @Spacebusters & John Levi & Michelle Gibson channels
We had a cowboy poetry gathering in Taber Alberta last spring. One of our board members suggested we do a benefit for a young bronc rider from Consul, who got his neck broken in a rodeo wreck at Brooks over the Christmas season. Cowboy poets, western story tellers and western musicians from all over the west, a wood carver and a children/youth author from New Hampshire and local businesses all sent merchandise to be auctioned off for the benefit for Sandy the cowboy from Consul
Wow!!! So many photogenic places to visit, I would need another suitcase full of colour slide and black and white film to capture all these cool towns. Greetings from the U.K.
...I might add that I travelled through that particular part of Saskatchewan back in the late 70's and fell in love with it. I always promised myself I would return there when I retired...I'm months away from retirement...so time to fulfill my promise. 🙂
Wow! Great video! These little towns slowly die and just fade away. My dad grew up in Weldon, Sask. It was created just after the turn of the century and in its heyday had numerous restaurants, two pool halls, multiple stores, several implement dealers, two schools, and five grain elevators. My uncle ran one of two service stations. All that's left now is some residences, a post office and two decaying elevators.
This was wild to watch. I grew up on a ranch near Ravenscraig, went to school in Eastend, played football in Shaunavon, won the rodeos in McCord, Wood Mountain, and Val Marie, played hockey and volley ball in counsol, its weird seeing how much has changed in 12 years. Wood Mountain used to have an awesome bar that played live music and let me drink at 14 (lol its Saskatchewan). Ravenscraig was owned entirely by one family minus a couple plots of land. Dollard population has been the same. Great video 👍🏼
I have been to most of the towns you have showed on this very great video. Some how I missed Robsart and Scotdale and Limeric. I enjoyed just travelling along exploring. Since our daughter moved to Moosjaw last year we made a few more trips south to the Big Muddy and Castle Butte. Our two favourite places on the video which we have been to are Caddilac and Eastend. Eastend has a great dinosaur museum , you did not mention that, and Caddilac has all the streets named after old cars, and a wonderful still in use school. Hope you have some new videos coming out.
I was born here in Cadillac. Ponteix was just down the road and also Willow Bunch nearby. There was a large French settlement along the road in various little villages. This was what we Canadians called the "baldass prairie".
@@merccrewlcab2385 Chemainus is such a beautiful place. If I had to choose between Chemainus or Cadillac I'm afraid that I would have to say goodbye to the birthplace and head for Chemainus. What does he do with the two places? With homelessness and the real estate market it's hard to know which way to jump. Enjoy the coast, both of you.
@@suefrench8721 Thanks again for the reply. Doug stores old car, tractor parts and other cool old keepsakes in one of the places and lives part time in the other. I enjoy the beauty of our island but not how busy and greedy it is these days. Really debating on moving out to Alberta Sask. Do you know of any 1932 Ford cars, bodies or pieces out your way? Haha
I lived in Sask (PA & Regina) for 18 years (60's & 70's) and had never even heard of Ravenascrag valley! Looks beautiful, reminds me of the Quapelle valley area
Robsart is where my wife's dad was raised; born on his grandparent's farm. My 5 year old son and I were with the last family members farming in the area. Aunt Rose and Uncle Frank were driving slowly through the old town telling stories about the old days. A small house had yellow curtains blowing through a slightly open window. We stopped. Looking through the window the place looked like someone had stepped out for a moment. We entered carefully, looking with respect at this two room shack that had been the home of a man named Manfred Smith. Uncle Frank said Manfred had felt unwell, went to the hospital and never returned home. The wood stove was ready to be lit, a handmade table cloth adorned the small table. A shaving kit sat on a shelf. The man had no family. A box of old photos was in the bedroom beside the bed. My son was amazed that someone lived in the little house. We left everything as is.
My grandparents had a farm north of Crichton until they retired to Swift Current and and an aunt & uncle who farmed north of Admiral. I miss them so much.
Lol. good response to my comment! Both times lunch was on the tail gate of my truck. When you travel in that country you bring your own provender and spare gas. I wanted to avoid Shaunavan and Eastend and stick to the south roads. I have done the Dempster highway and there is always gas at three places. South west Sask is pretty thin for gas on a weekend and in that regard is more remote. The nearest is Milk River AB
Great footage. The one thing that immediately stuck out to me in these towns was that there is no grafiti. One of the USA’s traits is to deface anything when possible. A demographic rundown would probably explain this. Thank you.
@@abrahamdozer6273 I think in Canada the culture is generally more reserved and respectful and not quite so self promoting. A nosegay from south of the border.
My Mom, Gisèle Beaudoin, was the one of the daughters of Arthur and Clara, who answered the call of Abbé Louis-Pierre Gravel,for whom Gravelbourg is named, to move from Québec to homestead in Saskathcewan circa 1911 shortly after their wedding. Mom told us about seeing dust storms blackening the sky sweeping away so much top-soil that fence-posts were left swaying in the wind. And locusts. Such was life in the 1930,S Dust Bowl. After his eldest son died of blood poisoning, a cut whilst haying, he gave up, moving his daughters and young sons to Québec. Thus uprooted, my Mom , age 14, was to miss her home for the rest of her life. Such is life.
I've had the chance to explore a couple of those towns in the video. Robsart, Fir Mountain, Wood Mountain and love being down there in the summer. My family is from LaFleche and Woodrow
@@attrell Your videos are showing parts of western Canada and USA, that are so rarely talked about, or shown to the world. It's an under-appreciated service that you're doing, but I appreciate it, because these places are home.
Good day to you Chris' Again another epic trail across SK and those old cars and churches look amazing' Most of the churches there seem to have the same quality built theme and shape along with white paint also, This video is thrilling to watch and really enjoyed the walk around" So photogenic and serene... Take care Chris to yourself and your family and look forward to all the videos you post and many thanks for your time doing these....Best 73s from the uk 😊❤
I lived in Wood Mountain from 1991-1994. I was a teacher in the school the last three years before it closed. At that time the hotel was still in business, and the church in town was still used occasionally. The old curling rink was used for storage, but a restaurant was in business at one end of the curling rink.
My first home was Wood Mountain (mid-50's). It was a thriving little community back then. We visited 4 yrs ago. My father was the RCMP officer at that time and his detachment office as well as our home were still there across from the school.
It's hard to believe these places must have been full of hope, newly settled barely over a century ago. These prairie towns are more significant than other places because those times must be so close from today that early settlers were still alive during my infant years. I thought rural Ontario was fun, boy was I wrong.
Thanks myol mate….I enjoyed the tour very much 😊👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👍 So much place…so much land…wilderness…a huge blue sky….Canada is…like a giant planet on its own 😲😲😲 It makes the UK look like a miniature toy model 😄😉🇨🇦
Dude, it is a miniature toy model that punched way over its weight and spent a few hundred years trashing inhabitants all over the world. Right here in Canada we have the experience of the Acadians. Look it up. Your countrymen.
Consul was a godsend when I was driving the Red Coat Trail from Alberta into Saskatchewan - that last swath of it unpaved, and my fuel light on. The GPS just indicated I was in the middle of nowhere, so when paved road returned it was Consul. I recall there being a great cafe & bakery there, too. As for Robsart when I visited there were more deer in the street than people. I did see a couple of residents, who waved. That car was in the same garage several years ago.
@@attrell I stopped at the marker on the road that read "Welcome to Saskatchewan". It was an unpaved road, and you couldn't see anything in any direction beyond wide open space. Couldn't help but chuckle.
Have you been out to that weird museum/old "town" that old guy made near whitewood SK? -old George's place? I've fantasized about doing a slightly spooky quiet slow (non narrated) video of that place in the evening - fall maybe. creepy but beautiful place.
Great vid Chris! My family farmed for more than a hundred years. 10 min away from Limerick. I still have fond memories of the original house my grandfather built out there.
Hi Chris. Thanks for the video tour of a part of my home province. The colour at that time of year may look bleak to some, but to me it is the colour of the season to come.
I worked pipeline construction early 80s Burstal to Val Marie and Swift Current to Momarte. I stayed in Maple Creek, Moosejaw, Regina. Drove through in 96. Miss Cypress hills, Fort Walsh, Shaunivan, Frenchman River valley. Retired and looking to visit again.
As a storm chaser I’ve passed by many of these towns without knowing any history of them, or taking time to explore sadly. But I’m planning on definitely going to see some now.
When I see a bright early springtime view of rural Saskatchewan, with just a bit of snow still on the ground, I'm reminded of that wonderful fresh smell of rich fertile soil, just after it has thawed for the first time of the year. There's nothing like it. I just don't get that in Vancouver.
Ya I live in Illinois too and I’ve been to Saskatchewan and your right the small farm towns on the plaines and prairies in North America are emptying out.
The grain elevator was built long ago. The people saw it was large on the horizon. They decided to build a town by the grain elevator. They called the town Wood Mountain. I guess.
Great shoots! Thanks. Also could you please note when you are getting off the highway, either turning left or right or making a loop around the center square or something; was a bit disorientated but loved your narrative and pics.
Yes the church still is used. The curling rink is open in the winter. We held my dads funeral in woodmountain and used the community service. I had many cousins go to school there in the 90s
Did you know you sound a little like David Suzuki?! Also, awe Beaver Lumber. That wasn't so long ago and brings back childhood memories going with my dad.
The death of rural life. And it's not only in North America.....there are large parts of Europe going the same way, especially here in Spain. Abandoned villages and towns are everywhere as young people move to the cities......"sad" doesn't even begin to describe it. Great video, BTW, and nice camera work.....
Saskatchewan has an area of 694,000sq.km and 1.2 million people in 2023 Spain has 506,000 sq.km and 48 million people. Very much more isolated regions in Saskatchewan. Typical of Canadian distances.
Hi i was born in assinabioa sask in 1953. My parents farmed in palmer no longer there ( just outside of gravelbourg sk. My mom was born in lisieaux sk. ( ghost town now) just north of rockglen sk. My parents moved to halkirk AB just west of Castor AB where my moms parents moved shortly before we did. Both were farms. It is sad to see these places abandoned and i am glad you are recording what is left.
@@attrell my mom's dad my grandfather build the church in St. Victor. He also did all the finishing work inside. My grandmother was buried in the cemetery there and there was an angel monument over her grave. It was there in 1991 when I went back to my roots ( first time since I was baby.) My mom was a tel3phone operator in Palmer and since I was a baby she feed me while working. I believe she got fired because she was busy feeding me and didn't "work the board " speedily. My parents were married in church in Lisieux but it burnt down shortly after. I have many many relatives is this area especially in Rockglen. Last names of Lamontagne Perfontaine Fraser. My aunt married a gentleman from Willow Bunch.
Hi, I was born in Assinaboia in 1954. My grandparents ranched outside of Lisieux. We lived in Lisieux for a couple of years, then moved to Calgary. My mom says, life got better. My father had steady work. I still visit remaining relatives in the area, although a few years now. Always loved the area, and the people. I now live on Vancouver Island, but miss the beauty of the Prairies.
@@adeleg444 i was born on sept 24 1953. I visited Assinaboia in early 1990 and looked for original hospital but it was demolished. But i saw the plaque. My mom was a lamontagne and her mom was a Prefontaine. Both families were originally from Elie/ St Eustace MB.
Love this area. Travel it often. Even got to help out with the tourist train in Eastend. The locomotives there which are f7 and F9 are my favorite locomotives. Great video, thanks.
Great day for a drive to the small villages, towns, and ghost towns. My dad grew up on a farm near Truax. It has probably been 50+ years since I was out there (I was just a little kid). The 'house' was already gone by then, so I would have no idea where to look for the farm. We have a grainy, old b&w photo of the two-room farmhouse. I know how bad our winters are, but being born and raised in the provincial capital, I have no idea how miserable life was. I only heard a few stories. It seemed that no one wanted to talk about that. This is the first of your videos I have watched, but I have already subscribed and look forward to seeing more drives through my home province!
I don't think you could find a handful of people who are tough enough to homestead that country today. Gives me shivers to think of that area on a January day.
I grew up in Shaunavon . My understanding of why there are towns every 10 miles or so is thats how far they could lay rail line in one day . If you look you'll see mostly about 10 miles betwe towns some stihere some not
You should check out Alsask, Saskatchewan sometime. Little former village on the Ab, SK border that once hosted a military base for the norad defence system that got shut down in the 80s leading to it's rapid decline. The population is down to about 100 people, and has all kinds of old military buildings that have since been abandoned or repurposed to explore.
Another set for you - the ABC trail .. Ardath, Bounty and Conquest, SK . Ardath used to have post office, grocery store and other amenities, now there are only a few residents. Bounty had all the services and an annual fair that no one dared to miss. Conquest had a grocery and a hardware store, cafe, dentist’s office, GM dealership, 3 mechanic’s garages, 3 (4?)grain elevators, elementary school and was the home of the best men’s fastball and hockey teams - sports drove this village and its July1st sports day saw the town grow from 250 people to several thousand. It’s still inhabited but most of the businesses and such have changed or left.
Thanks for the video....great 'tour'. For those who go to Val Marie, check out Grasslands National Park. There are some great hikes in the area and as well, an Ecotour drive in the Park itself.
Very nice video. One side of my family left southern Saskatchewan in the mid 30s and the other left mortlack in the late 50s both for BC. One day looking forward to a tour like this myself
I worked with a Canadian engineer here in Detroit about 30 years ago. He grew up in the wheat growing areas of western Canada. They used an enclosed wagon to go to town. It was so cold that the wagon had its own heater to burn wood (I think coal too). He was in the Canadian Air Force in ww2 in England. He was a really smart guy with an incredible memory. He told me many interesting stories about Canada and England.
1:40
It's amazing to think how the houses, the schools, the cars, the tractors, the machinery, all cost people their lives in time and money, and are now abandoned...
That's why they call it earthly things. Some people worked their whole live just to afford only one of those things.
Yes, the passage of time has a way of being unpleasant
Thank you for making this. I am fascinated by abandoned towns in the prairies. These old houses that had children running around barefoot, mothers cooking over wood fired stoves, men coming in for lunch from working. I cant describe the feeling it gives me.
Glad you enjoyed it
You're going back way over 100 years with thoughts like that. Just because people were rural doesn't mean they're living in abject poverty ffs. Some of the wealthiest people you will meet are farmers...maybe not back then, but these days.....
@@minkorrh dumbest reply I’ve ever seen. The scenario I described was the daily life of my father as a child. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t over 100 years ago. Plenty of central albertans in the 50s lived that way. The way you blast stupidity with such confidence might be sign of a malignant tumour. Go get checked out.
That is exactly the imaging running through my mind. Where have all the children gone… the smells of fresh break… chicken dinners…. Vibrancy and hope. Oddly sad and lonely, yet intriguing and warm. I love these historic throw back videos.
It really makes you feel like you're livin' on a ball. I took a guitar building course 30 years ago in a small town in Saskatchewan, and it has since become a town full of artisans. Because you can buy a house for $60,000, and put a kiln in the back yard if you want to. People have time to explore their creativity, not distracted by lots of other people, and things.
"Small town Saskatchewan" is quite vague. Just say the place.
@@TheMrCC21 pick one buddy. You can be free to walk around naked. Winter sucks though.
Sounds like a wonderful place. Don't say the name; you'll be inundated with so many new neighbors that your magical place will change forever!
The homeless people should be relocated here
A friend of mine went to that school in around 2000. He currently lives in Mortlach Sk
We use to have our 4-H meetings at the old community hall in Robsart and that riding arena behind those swings is where we would ride. That was only 20 years ago.
Wow I was there my first time in 2003
Some of the most desolate, almost lonely places I can imagine. Beautiful relics.
Really interesting trip through these Sask. Ghost Towns however, it leaves an ache in the pit of my stomach!
That was fascinating: you have a good eye for framing a picture. The emptiness of the flatlands twixt Winnipeg and the Rockies was tangible throughout. Over 50+ yrs ago and as a penniless bum from Britain and fresh from a winter trawling for fish out of Reykjavik, and hitchhiking my way across Canada in '64 looking to find a fishing boat out of Vancouver, a work crew from a Manitoba grain company picked me up, and I ended up for a couple of months working, shingling the company's grain elevators in Alberta S of Calgary down to the U.S. border. It was interesting in the sense that you didn't want to fall off, and like deep sea fishing where you were fully engaged in not drowning, there was a wee bit of danger too: If you slipped there was only a rope to grab if you were quick enough. I don't think Health and Safety had quite the power back then it has today.
Safety was not a huge concern that is for sure, I believe that!
I find these small Saskatchewan towns so peaceful. My dad grew up just north of there. In a small town called Gouldtown on a farm. Rest in Peace Dad.
I been there!
Great video-- I thoroughly enjoyed it. I downloaded it to show my 92 year old neighbor (he does not have internet access), hence the download. He will enjoy this video as he once lived and farmed in Sask. many years ago as youngster. I bet he will recognize a lot of the towns in this video.
I hope he enjoys it!
I've lived in SK my whole life and can't understand how people don't find it beautiful, From Leader to Moosomin, Estevan to La Ronge its an amazing province. Growing up around Moose Jaw, Briercrest, Avonlea and Leader was the best childhood I could have ever asked for, thanks for the video, more places to shoot up next spring!
Thank you!!
You see beauty, but others see a baren landscape devoid of trees! Flowers etc,except for Northern Saskatchewan, trees lakes ,something to look at and appreciate!
The praires are like seeing your Breafast pancake everyday!I
So if you see a pancake as beutiful,we'll,you need to broaden your horizons,go see the mountains, get off the pancake 😅!!!
Well there is some beauty out there,but you have yo get used to staring at open fields, and a few animals.
R.I.P SASKATCHEWAN!
I absolutely love Saskatchewan. It’s my home and always will be.
@@davidrussell8795that’s what I love about Saskatchewan. The northern lakes and forests all the way down to the open grasslands. It’s my home and always will be.
I'm lucky enough to live in Sask and visit many old ghost towns while trompsing around the back roads. Just bought a piece of history myself: The Nolan School House that earlier this year was at the intersection of Hwy 4 North and the hamlet of Hamlin Rd. Moved it three miles down the road to my property. Glad I got to save a bit of history :)
wow! amazing!
Nice video..i've been in Saskatchewan in 1981.
I was picked up from the Regina airport by my Canadian uncle who married my Dutch aunt just after Workd War 2.
I my memory we came trough Assinaboi(?) were we did some shoppings and went on to Rockglen(n?) were they lived.
I enjoyed Saskatchewan in the summer and worked on several farms(most milking cows) while the farmers were harvesting the crops.
Cornelis Morees,
The Netherlands🇨🇦🇳🇱
Things have changed a lot since then. Most grain elevators are now gone. Thanks for watching, pretty exciting you are from The Netherlands and watching!
Chris, thanks for another ride along. Great to see, and sad at the same time, the general area where my Mom's side of the family is from. It's amazing to think how nature takes its toll and slowly returns things to their original state. If the walls in all these areas could speak of the brave souls/pioneers/families who made their lives in such places before "moving on". 😢
Way back in teh day I got so many stories, I wish I had written them down!
@@attrell No kidding. You might have been able to write a book that could have sold well; at least locally.
Did you forget Govenlock? There is only a sign and one building the last time I was there, maybe 1992? My dad and I had sold oats and hay to lodge creek ranch. My neighbor (see TH-cam: Riverview Ranch) sold hay to another place down there and I delivered it
As a young geologist with SaskOil Corporation in the early 1970's I well sat many oil wells in this area. One would get use to people talking about you at the local cafes and wondering what the drilling rig will find on someone's land. Winters were brutal as there was usually no snow and strong blustery winds. As a geologist the area surrounding the Cypress Hills is mind boggling and with landform-expressions like the Ravenscrag Valley tells of the mighty affects of continental glaciation. I truly enjoyed this video and my days in this part of the province. One must not miss the restaurant in Eastend (Jack's; we use to drive for hours to eat at this establishment) and the T-Rex Museum!! What I do not miss is the grasshoppers!
Grasshoppers are bad this year!
Excellent road-trip video of some interesting towns and landscapes. I'm from Montana, so some of these scenes look pretty familiar. Hope to see more of your work here.
I used to live in Sidney. Montana is my fav state!
Thanks Chris, looks like farming towns all over the western world. There are plenty of abandoned or semi-abandoned towns in Australia too, sadly. It has happened as farms got bigger and people moved into cities.
More than enough vacant farm land in Canada to feed the world!
Some folks are moving back to small towns now here
False History real history @ Spacebusters Comets and Cataclysyms series @ John Levi & Michell Gibsonn channels. Ever heard of Tartaria?
@@spectrumofrealityexcept Justin won't let yall have enough fertilizer for something like that to much climate change lol
Thanks so much. My grandparents met in Star City in southern Saskatchewan...both new immigrants, Grandpa from the states and grandma from Norway. My dad was born in star city on Easter Sunday in 1939. They met at a dance hall. It is nice to see my roots in Canadian history.
Thanks for posting, glad you enjoyed the video!
I know only of a Star City in the north-central area of Saskatchewan near Melfort., off highway 3, along highway 681. Amazing that your grandparents from so far apart met in small-town Saskatchewan. Maybe at a school dance?
Well my grandmother only had grade one back in the early 1900s so I doubt it was a school dance but it was a dance lol
My aunt and uncle lived in Star City 1940s to 1970s and I visited there as a child. My aunt taught school there to a couple of generations.
Who cares…
I was born & raised in Saskatchewan. East of Regina. I joined the Royal Bank in 1961 and started in Aneroid , SK. Last I was through over 10 years ago it was a ghost town but the old bank building was on main st as was the old hotel, to bad you hadn’t filmed them. I recall so many of those towns, Kincaide, Vanguard , Gravelberg and so many more. So many fond memories of playing hockey along that line. Also had relatives at Robsart spent many good times there.
My best friend growing up was from Aneroid, my wife is from Vanguard, we went to school in Kincaid and my dad is from Gravelbourg 😁
@@pugnacious6290I was born inVanguard
Wow! Thanks for the tour! I am from the Cowichan Valley, born and raised. I really got to get out there and cruise around and look for 1932 Ford car body parts and pieces. And enjoy the scenery of course! Thanks eh!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the ride! Loved the tour. Makes one appreciate the ones who came and paved the way before us.
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is amazing! We moved to Medicine Hat last year and we have been exploring since we got here. I'll be driving us several of these locations in the next few weeks. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Have a fun trip!
I toured that area a few years ago now. I'm from BC where mountains are the norm around here so being in southern Saskatchewan is like being on another planet for me. I really enjoyed it. I need to go back I think....
I am glad you enjoyed your trip!!
me too! born and raised on the bc coast, the ocean of rolling grass on the prairies was a revelation. cant wait to go back!
As someone who grew up in this exact area, trust me it goes both ways 😅. I get excited any time I see a decently-sized hill or a patch of trees. Driving through BC is absolutely mind-blowing.
Meanwhile, its the other way around for me. I'm so used to the flat prairies that after a few days in the B.C area I start longing for the prairie views again. Idk, I just find being surrounded by mountains on all sides a bit suffocating. But granted that I've seen nothing but flat lands for my whole life, it makes sense why its hard to adjust to a complete change in environment.
As someone with roots in SK, my eyes are filled with tears . RIP Mildred SK
My roots are in Dauphin, Manitoba. But my eyes have also filled with tears.
It does make me sad to see some of these towns like this. I knew these places back in the 1960's. As a teenager, life was so good in southern Saskatchewan.
I agree.
Saskatchewan produced a lot of NHL players back in the day. Learned how to skate and play shinny hockey on sloughs before they hit the big time.
Thanks for adding your great video. I lived in a few of these towns through the 1950's and 60's . Admiral , Frontier and Shaunavon . It made for a great upbringing with good friends . It is sad to see a lot of towns returned to nature . Once were busy towns . It brings back lots of memories for me.
Glad you enjoyed it
3:34 Looks like a McCormick Deering 1530 by IH. If it is it was modernized to rubber tires. International Harvester was an awesome builder of everything from a Scout to a Cub cadet to big rigs pulling across country.
Thanks for that!
My dad, Rev. Kenneth Robins, was raised on a farm outside Ponteix. When we were children (early 50's) dad and mom brought us to his old home. And my father who was an ordained minister held meetings in the church in Aneroid every night for a whole week. My sister, brother and I were the "special music" at each of the church services. Many years later, I returned to Aneroid with my cousin to attend the funeral service of her father, Gerald Robins. My dad spoke at his funeral service in that church.
Very nice town, Aneroid is much smaller now
@@attrellI understand, as only a fellow PK could.
Just depressing and my whole family were basically from Waldron.
After the war/ the railways disappeared/ the grain elevators were disused, and the whole place went back to what it once was. Wild grass is for buffalo and native Indian bands from hundreds of years ago.
Your videos are great, for sure, but it saddens me when I used to visit the area.
My grandparents were railway men from the turn of the century/ and homesteading.
It is kind of sad, especially when you read the local history book and see photos from the towns heydays!
False History Ever heard of Tartaria? A video essay on you tube title There are no Forests on flat Earth English dubbed version before @Spacebusters & John Levi & Michelle Gibson channels
We had a cowboy poetry gathering in Taber Alberta last spring. One of our board members suggested we do a benefit for a young bronc rider from Consul, who got his neck broken in a rodeo wreck at Brooks over the Christmas season. Cowboy poets, western story tellers and western musicians from all over the west, a wood carver and a children/youth author from New Hampshire and local businesses all sent merchandise to be auctioned off for the benefit for Sandy the cowboy from Consul
Wow!!! So many photogenic places to visit, I would need another suitcase full of colour slide and black and white film to capture all these cool towns. Greetings from the U.K.
Cool video. I love old, abandoned places, especially churches.
...I might add that I travelled through that particular part of Saskatchewan back in the late 70's and fell in love with it. I always promised myself I would return there when I retired...I'm months away from retirement...so time to fulfill my promise. 🙂
Kind of thinking about that myself.
Happy retirement!!
@@ItsNotMeItsYou007do it guys! It’s so worth it! She’s a harsh but beautiful land.
10:54 Spent way to much time here when I was young. Hey Steve H and Don H. I miss this place. Great video Chris.
Wow! Great video! These little towns slowly die and just fade away. My dad grew up in Weldon, Sask. It was created just after the turn of the century and in its heyday had numerous restaurants, two pool halls, multiple stores, several implement dealers, two schools, and five grain elevators. My uncle ran one of two service stations. All that's left now is some residences, a post office and two decaying elevators.
Kind of sad how some towns just faded away like that.
Derek Ace sent me here. Good stuff!!! Will watch more!
Oh wow, he does amazing work. Thank you!
This was wild to watch. I grew up on a ranch near Ravenscraig, went to school in Eastend, played football in Shaunavon, won the rodeos in McCord, Wood Mountain, and Val Marie, played hockey and volley ball in counsol, its weird seeing how much has changed in 12 years. Wood Mountain used to have an awesome bar that played live music and let me drink at 14 (lol its Saskatchewan). Ravenscraig was owned entirely by one family minus a couple plots of land. Dollard population has been the same. Great video 👍🏼
Thanks! Yes it has changed a lot since I moved to Shaunavon in 2006
Thanks for the tour! Looks like a lot of great movie sets.
They are!
Awesome video thank you for sharing!!
Thanks for watching!
I have been to most of the towns you have showed on this very great video. Some how I missed Robsart and Scotdale and Limeric. I enjoyed just travelling along exploring. Since our daughter moved to Moosjaw last year we made a few more trips south to the Big Muddy and Castle Butte. Our two favourite places on the video which we have been to are Caddilac and Eastend. Eastend has a great dinosaur museum , you did not mention that, and Caddilac has all the streets named after old cars, and a wonderful still in use school.
Hope you have some new videos coming out.
THank you! I hope the train service in Eastend is able to get up and running this year!
That was cool to see and you got it right on. Never been there but with your channel I did. Thanks
Awesome, thank you!
I was born here in Cadillac. Ponteix was just down the road and also Willow Bunch nearby. There was a large French settlement along the road in various little villages. This was what we Canadians called the "baldass prairie".
A friend here in the Cowichan Valley (Chemainus) owns a house and a church in Cadillac.
@@merccrewlcab2385 Chemainus is such a beautiful place. If I had to choose between Chemainus or Cadillac I'm afraid that I would have to say goodbye to the birthplace and head for Chemainus. What does he do with the two places? With homelessness and the real estate market it's hard to know which way to jump. Enjoy the coast, both of you.
@@suefrench8721 Thanks again for the reply. Doug stores old car, tractor parts and other cool old keepsakes in one of the places and lives part time in the other.
I enjoy the beauty of our island but not how busy and greedy it is these days. Really debating on moving out to Alberta Sask.
Do you know of any 1932 Ford cars, bodies or pieces out your way? Haha
I have done both of these roads twice. hope to do it again. there is no one else around. many thanks for this video
Thanks for watching!
I lived in Sask (PA & Regina) for 18 years (60's & 70's) and had never even heard of Ravenascrag valley! Looks beautiful, reminds me of the Quapelle valley area
I hope the passenger rail service will be up and ready for that trip next spring!
Robsart is where my wife's dad was raised; born on his grandparent's farm. My 5 year old son and I were with the last family members farming in the area. Aunt Rose and Uncle Frank were driving slowly through the old town telling stories about the old days. A small house had yellow curtains blowing through a slightly open window. We stopped. Looking through the window the place looked like someone had stepped out for a moment. We entered carefully, looking with respect at this two room shack that had been the home of a man named Manfred Smith. Uncle Frank said Manfred had felt unwell, went to the hospital and never returned home. The wood stove was ready to be lit, a handmade table cloth adorned the small table. A shaving kit sat on a shelf. The man had no family. A box of old photos was in the bedroom beside the bed.
My son was amazed that someone lived in the little house. We left everything as is.
Respect.
My grandparents had a farm north of Crichton until they retired to Swift Current and and an aunt & uncle who farmed north of Admiral. I miss them so much.
I think you are the first person I ever come across who knew about Crichton
@@attrell Thanks. My mom would tell me stories about how Crichton used to be and going to school there when she was little.
this was an impressive view into a part of Canada I have never been but always wanted to go. Thank you.
I hope you get to visit!
Great video ......not a placeI would have thought of visiting but reconsidering
I'm glad you included Orkney. I stop for lunch there
Must have been a long long time ago!
Lol. good response to my comment! Both times lunch was on the tail gate of my truck. When you travel in that country you bring your own provender and spare gas. I wanted to avoid Shaunavan and Eastend and stick to the south roads. I have done the Dempster highway and there is always gas at three places. South west Sask is pretty thin for gas on a weekend and in that regard is more remote. The nearest is Milk River AB
Great footage. The one thing that immediately stuck out to me in these towns was that there is no grafiti. One of the USA’s traits is to deface anything when possible. A demographic rundown would probably explain this. Thank you.
There isn't many people who live in these areas, that might be why.
I hadn't noticed, but yes, no graffiti! How refreshing! Alas it's a worldwide phenomenon.
Canadian culture is generally a bit different and for the most part, the urban areas are much cleaner and safer in Canada, too.
@@abrahamdozer6273 I think in Canada the culture is generally more reserved and respectful and not quite so self promoting. A nosegay from south of the border.
@@devoniangardens2974 Are you really a grown man?
My Mom, Gisèle Beaudoin, was the one of the daughters of Arthur and Clara, who answered the call of Abbé Louis-Pierre Gravel,for whom Gravelbourg is named, to move from Québec to homestead in Saskathcewan circa 1911 shortly after their wedding. Mom told us about seeing dust storms blackening the sky sweeping away so much top-soil that fence-posts were left swaying in the wind. And locusts. Such was life in the 1930,S Dust Bowl. After his eldest son died of blood poisoning, a cut whilst haying, he gave up, moving his daughters and young sons to Québec. Thus uprooted, my Mom , age 14, was to miss her home for the rest of her life. Such is life.
Still 30% Francophone in Gravelbourg with associated cultural services according to Wikipedia. Definitely not a ghost town here
TOo bad she had to move, it was really bad in that area of Saskatchewan
Great scenery. Really enjoyed the grain elevator during the thunderstorm. That is something worth spending time doing.
It's a really nice area!
I've had the chance to explore a couple of those towns in the video. Robsart, Fir Mountain, Wood Mountain and love being down there in the summer. My family is from LaFleche and Woodrow
I like LaFleche, charming town
Thanks for your channel. I'm glad that TH-cam is finally giving some good recs.
WOW thank you!
@@attrell Your videos are showing parts of western Canada and USA, that are so rarely talked about, or shown to the world. It's an under-appreciated service that you're doing, but I appreciate it, because these places are home.
Good day to you Chris' Again another epic trail across SK and those old cars and churches look amazing' Most of the churches there seem to have the same quality built theme and shape along with white paint also, This video is thrilling to watch and really enjoyed the walk around" So photogenic and serene... Take care Chris to yourself and your family and look forward to all the videos you post and many thanks for your time doing these....Best 73s from the uk 😊❤
Thank you so much!
Just found your channel loving it ❤ please keep these videos coming so interesting to watch ….
Thank you!
Dollard was founded by the father of novelist Gabrielle Roy. It was originally called Valroy, valley of the Roys but renamed,
I did not know that. thank you!
I lived in Wood Mountain from 1991-1994. I was a teacher in the school the last three years before it closed. At that time the hotel was still in business, and the church in town was still used occasionally. The old curling rink was used for storage, but a restaurant was in business at one end of the curling rink.
Wow that Church is in very very bad shape now
Thank you so much! You have very interesting videos! I really enjoyed exploring Saskatchewan. I've never been there, but I had a great tour with you!
Thank you!
My first home was Wood Mountain (mid-50's). It was a thriving little community back then. We visited 4 yrs ago. My father was the RCMP officer at that time and his detachment office as well as our home were still there across from the school.
That is one of my fav towns!
So quiet you can fall asleep standing in place. Very enjoyable trip, thanks for the ride. It is sad that the people left, wonder were they all went.
Glad you enjoyed it! They went to bigger towns and cities.
It's hard to believe these places must have been full of hope, newly settled barely over a century ago. These prairie towns are more significant than other places because those times must be so close from today that early settlers were still alive during my infant years. I thought rural Ontario was fun, boy was I wrong.
Masefield is the prettiest ghost town i have visited. The nature and the old buildings to together so nice.
Thanks myol mate….I enjoyed the tour very much 😊👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👍 So much place…so much land…wilderness…a huge blue sky….Canada is…like a giant planet on its own 😲😲😲 It makes the UK look like a miniature toy model 😄😉🇨🇦
THank you! Yeah you can see storms 300 kms away from here.
Dude, it is a miniature toy model that punched way over its weight and spent a few hundred years trashing inhabitants all over the world. Right here in Canada we have the experience of the Acadians. Look it up. Your countrymen.
Consul was a godsend when I was driving the Red Coat Trail from Alberta into Saskatchewan - that last swath of it unpaved, and my fuel light on. The GPS just indicated I was in the middle of nowhere, so when paved road returned it was Consul. I recall there being a great cafe & bakery there, too. As for Robsart when I visited there were more deer in the street than people. I did see a couple of residents, who waved. That car was in the same garage several years ago.
Oh yes that road after consul. I wisht hey would pave it at least to US border :)
@@attrell I stopped at the marker on the road that read "Welcome to Saskatchewan". It was an unpaved road, and you couldn't see anything in any direction beyond wide open space. Couldn't help but chuckle.
wow, it has been years since i have been to climax where my sister lived at one time
thanks for a tour Chris, alot of this brings back memories 👍🏼🎶🎶⛩🦉
Glad you enjoyed it!
wow magical I could watch this for hours :) *BUT* gotta get some work done lol thanx and keep up the great work! love my prairies.
Thanks for the visit
Have you been out to that weird museum/old "town" that old guy made near whitewood SK? -old George's place? I've fantasized about doing a slightly spooky quiet slow (non narrated) video of that place in the evening - fall maybe. creepy but beautiful place.
Great vid Chris! My family farmed for more than a hundred years. 10 min away from Limerick. I still have fond memories of the original house my grandfather built out there.
Thank you!
Hi Chris. Thanks for the video tour of a part of my home province. The colour at that time of year may look bleak to some, but to me it is the colour of the season to come.
Thanks for watching!
I worked pipeline construction early 80s Burstal to Val Marie and Swift Current to Momarte. I stayed in Maple Creek, Moosejaw, Regina. Drove through in 96. Miss Cypress hills, Fort Walsh, Shaunivan, Frenchman River valley. Retired and looking to visit again.
Wow neat, everything is very different now. Few grain elevators.
You should do a video on the communities between Kindersley and Unity and don't forget Tramping Lake. That is where my mom and step dad are from,
Great idea! Next time I am out there.
As a storm chaser I’ve passed by many of these towns without knowing any history of them, or taking time to explore sadly. But I’m planning on definitely going to see some now.
Hope you get some great storms!
When I see a bright early springtime view of rural Saskatchewan, with just a bit of snow still on the ground, I'm reminded of that wonderful fresh smell of rich fertile soil, just after it has thawed for the first time of the year. There's nothing like it. I just don't get that in Vancouver.
Thanks for this! Im definitely going to take a drive down this way soon.
It's a fun trip, hope you get to make it!
To-day is June 9, 2024. I'll be touring all these towns this summer. Thanks for the video. I'm from Moose Jaw, SK.
Very very cool! I was hoping you would stop by Dog River & see what Brett & Hank were up to! Heh..Heh
Woolerton.................I spit on you....
Ha ha!
So cool and beautiful, and sad. This is happening in rural Illinois USA.
Yes it is kind of sad.
Ya I live in Illinois too and I’ve been to Saskatchewan and your right the small farm towns on the plaines and prairies in North America are emptying out.
@@harrytpkall per plan…..
That’s Canada not USA
@@Gfysimpletonsда😢. Это и в России происходит😢
The grain elevator was built long ago. The people saw it was large on the horizon. They decided to build a town by the grain elevator. They called the town Wood Mountain. I guess.
Great shoots! Thanks. Also could you please note when you are getting off the highway, either turning left or right or making a loop around the center square or something; was a bit disorientated but loved your narrative and pics.
Thanks, will do!
Yes the church still is used. The curling rink is open in the winter. We held my dads funeral in woodmountain and used the community service. I had many cousins go to school there in the 90s
Did you know you sound a little like David Suzuki?!
Also, awe Beaver Lumber. That wasn't so long ago and brings back childhood memories going with my dad.
Like the CPR, the Grand Trunk place names (all of them) come from measurements. They were using the Haversine Formula.
The death of rural life. And it's not only in North America.....there are large parts of Europe going the same way, especially here in Spain. Abandoned villages and towns are everywhere as young people move to the cities......"sad" doesn't even begin to describe it. Great video, BTW, and nice camera work.....
Thank you!
Saskatchewan has an area of 694,000sq.km and 1.2 million people in 2023
Spain has 506,000 sq.km and 48 million people.
Very much more isolated regions in Saskatchewan. Typical of Canadian distances.
I grew up in a very small town on the prairies. I was a great place to be as a child . So much is gone now sadly.
great vid, makes me homesick , next time you are in the area , maybe check our Bateman, its about 5 miles north west of Gravelburgh
I'll do that. Was there in 2004 and saw the crumbling school
my family homestead is between Gravelburg and bateman , maybe a half mile closer to bateman , my aunt still owns the place@@attrell
Curling rinks ‘used to be popular’ in rural Saskatchewan! News flash, they still are!
Not as popular as they were in 1950.
My hubby had relatives living in Ravenscrag Sask. He use to visit them on their farm when he was a kid in the 70's
Neat area!
My first summer camp “boyfriend” was from Robsart, that was back in 1988.
Hi i was born in assinabioa sask in 1953. My parents farmed in palmer no longer there ( just outside of gravelbourg sk. My mom was born in lisieaux sk. ( ghost town now) just north of rockglen sk. My parents moved to halkirk AB just west of Castor AB where my moms parents moved shortly before we did. Both were farms. It is sad to see these places abandoned and i am glad you are recording what is left.
Thank you! I been to that town, it is making a comeback. Really nice spot!
@@attrell my mom's dad my grandfather build the church in St. Victor. He also did all the finishing work inside. My grandmother was buried in the cemetery there and there was an angel monument over her grave. It was there in 1991 when I went back to my roots ( first time since I was baby.) My mom was a tel3phone operator in Palmer and since I was a baby she feed me while working. I believe she got fired because she was busy feeding me and didn't "work the board " speedily. My parents were married in church in Lisieux but it burnt down shortly after. I have many many relatives is this area especially in Rockglen. Last names of Lamontagne Perfontaine Fraser. My aunt married a gentleman from Willow Bunch.
Hi, I was born in Assinaboia in 1954. My grandparents ranched outside of Lisieux. We lived in Lisieux for a couple of years, then moved to Calgary. My mom says, life got better. My father had steady work. I still visit remaining relatives in the area, although a few years now. Always loved the area, and the people. I now live on Vancouver Island, but miss the beauty of the Prairies.
@@adeleg444 i was born on sept 24 1953. I visited Assinaboia in early 1990 and looked for original hospital but it was demolished. But i saw the plaque. My mom was a lamontagne and her mom was a Prefontaine. Both families were originally from Elie/ St Eustace MB.
@@adeleg444 2/ both my grandparents use to farm just outside of Lisieux. It originally was called Joeville after my great grandfather.
Love this area. Travel it often. Even got to help out with the tourist train in Eastend. The locomotives there which are f7 and F9 are my favorite locomotives. Great video, thanks.
I can't wait until that train is running!
@@attrell You should see the inside of that gas station where that old truck is parked. It is like a 50s diner! So cool!
Great day for a drive to the small villages, towns, and ghost towns. My dad grew up on a farm near Truax. It has probably been 50+ years since I was out there (I was just a little kid). The 'house' was already gone by then, so I would have no idea where to look for the farm. We have a grainy, old b&w photo of the two-room farmhouse. I know how bad our winters are, but being born and raised in the provincial capital, I have no idea how miserable life was. I only heard a few stories. It seemed that no one wanted to talk about that. This is the first of your videos I have watched, but I have already subscribed and look forward to seeing more drives through my home province!
Thanks for joining!
My family comes from Rockglen that my great grandfather helped settle and my other grandparents had a store in woodmountain amd killdeer!
I saw the old store in Kildeer before it was torn down
I don't think you could find a handful of people who are tough enough to homestead that country today. Gives me shivers to think of that area on a January day.
I grew up on a farm in this area, about 20 minutes from Aneroid, shown in this video. Can confirm it gets cold as hell in the winter.
I grew up in Shaunavon . My understanding of why there are towns every 10 miles or so is thats how far they could lay rail line in one day . If you look you'll see mostly about 10 miles betwe towns some stihere some not
Yes they all seem to be 13kms from each other.
You should check out Alsask, Saskatchewan sometime. Little former village on the Ab, SK border that once hosted a military base for the norad defence system that got shut down in the 80s leading to it's rapid decline. The population is down to about 100 people, and has all kinds of old military buildings that have since been abandoned or repurposed to explore.
That is a great idea! Thank you!
Another set for you - the ABC trail .. Ardath, Bounty and Conquest, SK . Ardath used to have post office, grocery store and other amenities, now there are only a few residents. Bounty had all the services and an annual fair that no one dared to miss. Conquest had a grocery and a hardware store, cafe, dentist’s office, GM dealership, 3 mechanic’s garages, 3 (4?)grain elevators, elementary school and was the home of the best men’s fastball and hockey teams - sports drove this village and its July1st sports day saw the town grow from 250 people to several thousand. It’s still inhabited but most of the businesses and such have changed or left.
I love that area! In 2008 I was allowed to camp inside the Ardath social hall. Found the old bank vault in the trees.
My house is in this video! Great video, Chris!
Thank you!!!
Good music, nice pictures, sad stories !
Many thanks
Thanks for the video....great 'tour'. For those who go to Val Marie, check out Grasslands National Park. There are some great hikes in the area and as well, an Ecotour drive in the Park itself.
70 Mile Butte is amazing!
This is a great video and I hope you continue to document other abandoned places in Canada. I subbed!.
Thank you! Will do!
Lot of these little towns must be real fun once the rain or snow those dirt street must turn into mud bogs over winter.
Spring melt can be terrible!
Very nice video. One side of my family left southern Saskatchewan in the mid 30s and the other left mortlack in the late 50s both for BC. One day looking forward to a tour like this myself
I hope you get to, it is rather nice part of Saskatchewan!