Ask the Chief

By Lori Larsen

The Battle River Community Foundation awarded a $4,700 grant to Flagstaff County in partnership with the Iron Creek Museum in Lougheed for improvements to the Museum.

The grant is from income from a number of Funds that support projects and programs in the Lougheed area and Flagstaff County. The grant allowed the Museum to repair the roof of the Homesteader’s Cabin, expand electricity in Museum buildings and paint at the Museum site.

“We (Iron Creek Museum Society) will be spending the money on the Homesteader’s Cabin, which was built on the NW 1/4 12-45-11 W4 north of Lougheed,” explained Iron Creek Museum Society treasurer Janice Bishop.

“It is a very primitive, one-room home (about 8’ x 10’), with a large wood stove for cooking, heating water and heating the cabin.”

The cabin also has a corner cupboard for storing items, a small table, chair and metal bed.

“But that’s it, folks,” mused Bishop. “The bathroom facilities would have been outside.”

Eventually, the cabin was moved into Lougheed and set on a concrete slab and is beginning to show signs of aging and weathering.

“The roof is covered with rolled roofing and has many holes that have sprung leaks, which is rotting the wood underneath,” explained Bishop.

Unfortunately, as a result of the roof leaks, the floor of the cabin is also showing signs of rot in places.

“We need to replace the rolled roofing, wood underneath, parts of the floor, reshape the door which sticks badly, and replace some of the siding and a few other bits and pieces,” said Bishop, adding how grateful the Iron Creek Museum Society is for the grant.

“The cabin is a visual reminder of one of the types of dwellings that people lived in while turning the prairie into fields of grain and growing communities.”

Once the building is repaired, the Iron Creek Museum Society hopes to be able to rent the cabin out for a night or two.

“It may help people understand the courage

and fortitude it took to settle this part of the country,” remarked Bishop.

The Battle River Community Foundation exists to support organizations such as this in East Central Alberta, which benefit the local communities and have a positive impact on the future.

Grants from the Battle River Community Foundation are primarily made possible through the generosity of individual donors and organizations that have created endowment funds. The principals of these endowment funds are kept intact and the income is made available annually to support local projects and organizations.

Since it was founded in 1995, the Battle Riv-

er Community Foundation has granted over $7,550,000 to support charitable activities in the Battle River Region.

To learn more about the Iron Creek Museum, contact Janice Bishop, treasurer, at 780-386-2337.

To learn more about the Battle River Community Foundation, contact Dana Andreassen, executive director, at 780-679-0449.

Submitted

Top photo: Neil Lunty, left, Battle River Community Foundation director, presents a cheque to Janice Bishop, second from left, treasurer of the Museum, while volunteers, left to right, Ab Martin, Fay Davidson, Ed Davidson and Bev Martin look on standing in front of the Homesteader’s Cabin. Photo to right: Front view of the Homesteader’s Cabin.

WELLNESS HEALING

Murray Green, Camrose Booster

A new business, 5-HT Wellness Holistic Health and Healing, officially opened on October 21 at 5203-51 Avenue. From left to right are: employee Katherine Steier, City of Camrose Mayor (at time of photo) Norm Mayer, councillor and mayor-elect PJ Stasko, owner Jen Erickson, Dasani Pilot, Autumn Pilot, owner Chris Erickson and employee Karen Gabay, along with therapy dog Elrick.

A Ask the CHIEF

Dean LaGrange Chief of Police Camrose Police Service

Question:

What are the noise bylaws/restrictions within the City of Camrose?

Answer:

The City currently has a bylaw that restricts “nuisance” noise, which includes construction equipment, from the hours of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily. Some cities have weekend hours such as 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. for noise restrictions, however, Camrose has just the one set of hours of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

The fine for this bylaw is $150 (first offence), and the second offence is $300.

Have a question for the Chief? Email them to The Camrose Booster at news@camrosebooster.com.

Augustana Indigenous speaker series features short videos

By Lori Larsen

The University of Alberta Augustana Campus continues the Indigenous Speaker series, presented by Cargill, in partnership with Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life and the Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Performing Arts Centre. The series is offered to students, faculty, staff, alumni and the general public. This session features short video presentations based on the U of A web series, “Uncovered: Truths About Indian Residential Schools”.

The videos discuss different topics regarding residential schooling, including the current work being done to locate missing children and the impact and lasting trauma of residential schools.

The first episode features Dr. Matthew Wildcat, assistant professor of political science and native studies at the University of Alberta and member of the Ermineskin Cree Nation.

In the approximately 12-minute video, Wildcat relates his own history of Residential Schools through personal anecdotes and shares information specific to Canada’s history surrounding residential schools.

Join video series presenters Crystal Fraser, Kisha Supernant, Matthew Wildcat and Sharla Peltier in a reflection and panel discussion presented virtually on November 23 at 6 p.m.

For more information, visit the University of Alberta Augustana Campus website at www.ualberta. ca/augustana/services/ indigenous/indigenousspeaker-series/index.html.

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The automotive section of

Klatt restored a cool 1971 GMC truck

By Murray Green

Gord Klatt of Botha owns a 1971 GMC half ton truck.

“I found this truck on a site. I went down to Calgary to take a look at it. Everything looked good, so I thought it was worth restoring and it had just standard rust around the cab corners and wheels,” said Gord.

“I had two similar trucks when I was younger and it brought back some good memories. These trucks are made of iron and they handle nice on the road. I put the smaller mirrors on and I added a tach (tachometer). I also changed the steering wheel,” he added.

A tachometer is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute on a calibrated analogue dial.

For much of its early history in light trucks, GMC maintained a zone of separation from Chevrolet trucks. The brand grudgingly shared body shells, but sourced or developed different engines and drivetrain parts.

“The truck was originally white, even the interior. I painted it blue because I liked that colour better. I painted the motor and under the hood. On the side OLD BLUE

Murray Green, Camrose Booster

Gord Klatt of Botha picked a 1971 GMC truck to body-off restore. This tough truck looks good while working or entering car shows across the province. He spruced up the GMC by changing the original white colour to baby blue.

of the truck was a painted power steering to it. It has sign. I think the truck was the original motor and used up north for deliver- it doesn’t use very much ies,” shared Gord. oil. I had to replace the The truck had a 350 engine and an automatic transmission. “I added door because it was rusted right out. I undercoated the frame and cab to avoid future rust,” he explained. “I had the seats upholstered in Donalda and they did a beautiful job of matching the grain and colour.” He had wheels set aside Old Ride? to use on the truck, while he was restoring it. If you have a vintage ride“I ordered all new wood for the box floor. We had to (rebuilt or original) or even if you’re sand it down seven times in order to get it to fit just right. It was a lot of work, in the midst of a build: street, rat or restoration, but we got it done,” said Gord. we’d like to profile your project. “The truck had nice straight lines, so I didn’t Contact Murray Green, News Reporter have to straighten a lot of things, which is what I was looking for. The little Phone 780.672.3142 Email murrayg@camrosebooster.com things can easily be fixed. But I wanted the frame and body to have smooth lines to save some work,” Gord shared. “Even the tailgate was fairly straight. So I knew it wasn’t a farm truck. All of the glass was good in it.” Gord wanted to catalogue the various parts of the truck and has a binder of pictures recording every stage of his restoration. GM corporate, by 1971, had enacted badge engineering and consolidated the two brands (GMC and Chevrolet). Each had a few unique products and options list items, but essentially were the same trucks under the skin.

FUN FACTS

Several changes occurred in 1971. First came another new grille design (the “egg crate”) for Chevrolet trucks and black paint over portions of the GMC grille. Second, an additional trim package was introduced: the Cheyenne. On GMC models, this was referred to as the Sierra. These packages consisted mostly of comfort features–nicer interiors, more padding and insulation, carpet, chrome trim, upper and lower side molding and tailgate trim. In 1971, it was the first year for factory-installed AM/FM radios. The front brakes on all light-duty trucks were switched from drum brakes to disc brakes, resulting in much less brake fade under heavy use. Also, Chevrolet changed the 396 V8 emblem designation to 400 V8 1972 GMC Sierra Custom Camper. The 1972 models were virtually identical to 1971 models, with the only changes being that the rear view mirror was glued to the windshield instead of being bolted to top of the cab, and metal or vinyl-covered flat door panels were no longer available; all trim level door panels were molded plastic with integral armrests and woodgrain inserts on Cheyenne and Sierra trim levels. For restoration, it should also be noted that the door and window cranks were slightly longer due to the molded plastic door panels.