Sooke Agriculture Historium - Fair Exhibit

"Sooke Farmers Institute Exhibit, displayed in Victoria in 1910."

Very nice! It reminds me of a Thanksgiving display.

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Sooke Agriculture Historium - Hay Load

"Hay load on the farm of Herb Blythe in the Kemp Lake area in the 1940s."

Now that's a load of hay! I love the way the artist has captured the hay's soft texture.

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Sooke Agriculture Historium - Woodside Barn

This barn, built in 1932 at Woodside farm, is a landmark along West Coast Road. 

Photo taken in the '70s.

I love the fine details of the machinery in this scene. 

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Sooke Agriculture Historium - Jersey Cow

"A Jersey cow, vital to the farm in the 1920s, resided at the Milne farm."

Oh dear, everyone does look grim in this photo--except for Mr. Milne, who gives us just a hint of a smile. But the way Mrs. M. is holding that kitten, she surely isn't as fierce as she looks.

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Sooke Agriculture Historium - Woodside Farm

"Woodside farm, established in the 1860s by the Muir family,

has consistently remained agricultural."

I love the look of this spread. It reminds me of a Grandma Moses painting!

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Sooke Agriculture Historium - Mowing Oats

Mr. Wes Carscadden mowing oats on the Murray farm, 

located at Murry and Goodmere Roads in 1920.

Got to love the way this farmer is dressed in shirt and hat for his work... or maybe he was posing for the photo!

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Sook Agriculture Historium - Loggers

On our holiday last summer, we visited the town of Sooke, B.C. on Vancouver Island. Imagine my delight when we came across a whole slew of murals—the Sooke Agriculture Historium.

These reproductions of old photos are painted in sepia tones and set off with borders and photographic corners as if taken from an old photo album. They appear on a long L-shaped building and cover two walls of that building.

In the weeks ahead, we'll view them one at a time, along with the description (as written on the painted tag that accompanied each photo). Enjoy this trip to the past...

This first mural gives details about the project, the artists, and sponsors.

This is what the first wall of murals looks like from a distance.

Sooke Agriculture Historium - mural wall

"Loggers using springboards and crosscut saws felled these giant Douglas fir trees, by hand in 1900."

Those were some amazing trees they cut down back then, with considerable risk to life and limb, I would suppose!

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Happy 100th - Calgary Stampede!

These murals from the Calgary Stampede grounds helped celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede, July 6 - 15, 2012 (photos recently in from my Alberta correspondent / mural chaser, Ramona Heikel)

Murals from the Calgary Stampede grounds 2012 (Photo © 2012 by Roman Heikel)

(Photo © 2012 by Roman Heikel)

(Photo © 2012 by Roman Heikel)

(Photo © 2012 by Roman Heikel)

These murals were only a portion of the public art on display at the Calgary Stampede this year. The Stampede Public Art site features many other pieces. Clicking on the images on that page will, in most cases, whisk you to pages of large photos and descriptions of the mural or sculpture featured.

Other Calgary Stampede murals found on Flickr:

• Mural on Big Four Building

• Concrete Mural

Polo Match

"Sunday Afternoon at the Polo Match" by Stan Phelps, 1991 (Photo © 2007 by Ramona Heikel)

This is another mural in the High River Albert mural series. Below is the story of the mural as told in the Historic Murals Walking Tour brochure:

And that completes our abbreviated tour of the historic murals of High River. Thanks to Ramona Heikel for sending me the photos. And what fabulous murals they are! I have put a visit to High River on my bucket list so that I can view them for myself.

"Chuckwagon Races"

"Chuckwagon Races" by Paul Van Ginkel, 1993 - 1 (Photo © 2007 by Ramona Heikel)

"Chuckwagon Races" by Paul Van Ginkel, 1993 - 2 (Photo © 2007 by Ramona Heikel)

The first view of this mural gives us a feeling of its size.

When I look at the second, I have the urge to get out of the way of those galloping horses—a feeling achieved, I think, by the artist's perspective.

This is another mural in the High River Albert mural series. Below is the story of the mural as told in the Historic Murals Walking Tour brochure:

Cattle Drive

"Cattle Drive at the 'D' Ranch on Pekisko Creek" by Jack Rigaux, 1990
Photo © 2007 by Ramona Heikel

And a closer view.

This is another mural in the High River, Alberta mural series. Below is the story of the mural as told in the Historic Murals Walking Tour brochure:

"Fort Spitzee"

A friend sent some photos of the historic murals in High River, Alberta. I'll be posting those in the next few weeks.

"Fort Spitzee" painted by Terry Winter, 1992 (photo © 2007 by Ramona Heikel)

Today's photo is a High River street scene with just a teaser of a mural ("Fort Spitzee" by Terry Winter, 1992).  Wouldn't you just love to walk between the buildings and see the whole thing?

Notice the Hudson Bay coat worn by the person in the painting. Hudson Bay blankets (white with characteristic green, red, yellow and blue stripes) were one of the items the Indians got in trade for beaver pelts.

A brochure on the High River web site gives walking tour directions to view all the town's murals and tells the story of each one. Below is the story of the Fort Spitzee mural from that brochure. 

The Overlanders Sculpture - Kamloops B.C.

The beautiful bronze sculpture, "The Overlanders of 1862," was created in 2003 by Kamloops artists Garry Davies and Terry Norlander. The story of the piece is on the plaque below. I enjoyed photographing it from various angles.