Posts with the Calgary tag

Barris Beat

What sustains Canada’s small towns

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
The Hive in Nanton – just one of many attractions created by local entrepreneurs.

Whenever I get the chance to visit other provinces, I find myself gravitating to smaller towns. Last week, I was travelling through southern Alberta on a public-speaking tour. One of the places where I’d been invited to speak was Nanton (population 2,000), about an hour’s drive south of Calgary.

While there, my host invited me to lunch at a new eatery in town called The Hive. It was part vendors’ shop and part truck-stop café. Inside I was introduced to owner/operator, Kristen Hall.

“Welcome to The Hive,” she said. “It’s what’s buzzing in town.”

I rolled my eyes and groaned.

“It’s always a good idea to start your visit with a laugh,” she said. “Enjoy your stay.” (more…)

Barris Beat

A skate of passage

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Grandfather and granddaughter celebrate "skate" of passage.
Grandfather and granddaughter celebrate "skate" of passage.

Our family enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime moment last weekend. It was one of those events that almost always happens in this country. You can bet on it each winter when snow falls, ponds freeze and community recreation centres shift to wintertime activities. This rite of passage began a few weeks ago – at Christmas – when it was agreed our granddaughter would take her first skate this winter.

“I’ve got the bob skates,” my daughter told me last week. “Let’s take in a pleasure skate at the arena.”

“I’ll be there,” I said.

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Barris Beat

From small town ideas

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
Lancaster in front of Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta.
Lancaster in front of Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta.

I had hardly oriented myself to the place. Wood smoke from the recent B.C. fires had left Nanton, Alberta – a small prairie town south of Calgary – in a palpable haze. Nevertheless, aviation enthusiast Karl Kjarsgaard, who lives and volunteers there, had something he wanted to show me. Inside the newly renamed Bomber Command Museum of Canada, he led me to a storage area above the workshop. He opened a cardboard box and pulled out a metal bar about 18 inches long.

“This aluminum ingot has Canadian blood in it,” he said. “There’s 1,400 pounds of melted down aluminum in this box… and some of it is about to become famous.”

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