Ranch pays tribute to Alberta' s history

Alberta’s rich history is the focus for this weekend’s activities at a popular Foothills historic site.

The Bar U Ranch National Historic Site is paying tribute to impactful events like the First World War and when pioneers first broke the ground for the centre’s opening weekend May 21 and 22.

Staff and volunteers will unveil the site’s new display Hometown Heroes, paying homage to men from the area who served in the First World War and had a connection with the Bar U Ranch.

“This would probably be the biggest event for the opening weekend,” said Mike McLean, Bar U acing site manager. “The big thing is we just want to increase the awareness to all Canadians, not only our natural heritage and rich history but all of the things that contributed to our history.

“We are really excited to see everybody come out and find out more about how these big life-changing events really affected our community.”

The exhibit will feature six individuals – Bob Armstrong, Bob Carry, Erland Hadow, Joe Johnston, Art Lowe and Fred Nash.

It will also feature historical weapons and uniforms from the First World War and other details of how the war impacted the region.

“There’s the story of horses in war, lots of men went from our community to serve in World War One and how agriculture changed,” he said. “After the First World War there was big change from horses to mechanization.”

Fitting in with the theme, the Strathcona Mounted Regiment from Edmonton will parade around the site and do cavalry drills in vintage costumes throughout the weekend, said McLean.

Foothills author Susan Raby-Dunne will talk about her book Bonfire - The Chestnut Gentleman, which tells stories of famous Canadian soldier John McCrae who fought in the First World War from his horse Bonfire’s point of view, and sign copies both days at 12:30 p.m. in the theatre.

Also in the theatre, Parks Canada historian Meg Stanley will talk about how the Bar U Ranch and agriculture was impacted by the First World War at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday.

“We are nearing Canada’s 150th anniversary and the government is inviting Canadians to experience Canada’s history on the road to 2017,” said McLean. “We are marking milestones that have been on that roadway and trying to come up with new innovative programs to reach more Canadians.”

For five hours on Sunday, teamsters from across Alberta will plough, harrow and plant malting barley on 25 acres of land the old-fashioned way in a joint venture between Turner Valley’s Eau Claire Distillery and the Alberta Carriage Supply.

“We’ve done it every year at the Bar U now for five years,” said David Farran, the distillery’s founder and president. “This will be the biggest we’ve ever had in terms of numbers of horse and teamsters.”

The event will bring more than 50 draft horses, including Suffolk Punches, Percherons and Belgians, and vintage-style farming equipment into the field from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The malt barley harvested in about three months will be made into a new whiskey, which will be launched next year, said Farran.

“For us as a small craft distillery it keeps us connected to the land,” he said.

Farran said this year is the first they have invited the public to watch the seeds go into the ground. Last year the public was invited to watch the harvest.

“We’ve always kept low key on our spring planting,” he said. “This year we thought it would be good for people to see, especially because there are so many horses and so much equipment.

“It’s a bit of an organizational challenge because you have so many horses in one field so they all have to be in harmony.”

Farran said it will be a display of some of the best teamsters in Alberta.

“Many of them will just be working on voice commands and they’ll be working hard pulling those plows,” she said.

With the opening weekend being a tribute to the history of Alberta, Farran said the display is a great way to preserve that history.

“We are in a generation where a lot of this knowledge on how it was done is disappearing,” he said. “Not only is the expertise disappearing but so is some of the equipment and horses.”

The Bar U Ranch National Historic Site is now open daily from 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.