EASY EATS
6 SIMPLE SPRING RECIPES
TERRY EVANS ST. ALBERT DJ SOUNDS OFF
JODY SWANSON POTTERY PERSONALITY
CHEERS!
ENDEAVOUR BREWING REDEFINES BEER CULTURE
HOW SAFE IS THE 2SLGBTQ+ COMMUNITY?
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T8N MAGAZINE
VOLUME 12 ISSUE 1 March 2025
PUBLISHER EDITOR
Rob Lightfoot Gene Kosowan
DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
Isaac White
PHOTOGRAPHY
Gloria Ge-Weald, Paula E. Kirman, Stephanie Cragg, MusÉe HÉritage Museum
Adobe Stock: JuanM, ekampos, Pexels: Barcelos Fotos, Alexander Grey, and Pavel Danilyuk
CONTRIBUTORS
Gene Kosowan, Tom Murray, Gloria Ge-Weald, Stephanie Cragg, and Paula E. Kirman
OFFICE MANAGER
Janice Lightfoot
CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES
Adobe Stock: Sacred Art, Vlad and Olegganko Pixel: Pixabay and MichaelMorse
ISSN 2368-707X (PRINT)
ISSN 2368-7088 (ONLINE)
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Contents
Conversations
City
5 VULNERABLE MINORITY
Despite St. Albert’s support for 2SLGBTQ+ youth, opposition elsewhere amps up
Culture
12 FROM
STRESS TO SUCCESS
How pottery helped Jody Swanson discover a whole new perspective on life
Living
14
FOOD & GATHERINGS
SAVOURY AND SIMPLE
Speedy stovetop recipes for spring
20 THE 8S
TAKE IT OUT BACK
Unique items to brighten your backyard
22 MEET YOU THERE FRIENDSHIPS ON TAP Endeavour Brewing blends suds with socializing
25 THEN & NOW MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Credit these entrepreneurs for paving St. Albert’s path to prosperity
Spotlight
27 CLASSIC ROCK JOCK
Why K-97’s Terry Evans prefers to live in St. Albert
Downtime
30 PRETZEL LOGIC
A new twist to T8N’s regular tally contest
Rob Lightfoot
AS A LONGTIME RESIDENT OF ST. ALBERT
,
I can attest that this city is one of the best places in which to live in Canada, a sentiment shared by the Globe and Mail. Last November, the daily placed the city at No. 31 in a Top 100 list, a rating still too low for my liking.
Naturally, the economy and living standards figured highly in that assessment, but it goes without saying that another amenity to consider is St. Albert’s inclusive attitude towards minorities. That includes the 2SLGBTQ+ community, which despite this city’s support, may become more vulnerable to restrictive provincial legislation, increasing hate crimes, and more frequent angry protests. On page 5, we examine what the gay and transgender sector is likely to face.
Terry Evans might be Edmonton’s classic rock voice, but St. Albert has been the radio personality’s preferred residence for years. Find out why on page 27. And St. Albert wouldn’t be a prominent municipality had a bunch of entrepreneurs not gambled on its potential. Discover who these enterprising folks were on page 25.
We’ll also check out the works of local potter Jody Swanson (page 12), explore the social beer culture of Endeavour Brewing (page 22), provide six easy and tasty recipes that jibe with the spring season (page 14), and offer some suggestions on how to spruce up your yard (page 20).
We hope you enjoy the contents of this edition. It’s also our way of showing the rest of Canada why this city is really No. 1! t8n
On the Cover
Compared to most Alberta municipalities, St. Albert ranks highly as a safe place for 2SLGBTQ+ citizens. But that security might face jeopardy via a series of provincial government restrictions and a hostile wave of bigotry aimed squarely at the gay and transgender community.
Railroad retrospective off track Letter edited for
space
I am a railroad kid, as well as a farmer, among other things, including some six years writing and taking photos for the long-since gone Westlock Hub and 32 years with the Westlock News, covering many different topics, largely agriculture during that time.
So, it was with interest that I read the article (“Tracking Progress”) by Gene Kosowan in the December 2024 issue of t8n. Generally, not a bad article, but I wanted to point out a couple
It should have been noted that the photos included in the article were taken at the Alberta Railway Museum.
And on page 26, under the 1930s-1950s section, writer Kosowan certainly did not do his research very carefully. He writes about the train disaster of 1959 at Carbondale station. Again, something I am familiar with, as I was 16 when that took place. The southbound morning passenger train, powered by a steam engine, ran headlong into a northbound freight train that was still on the main line.
Kosowan’s article indicates the station was destroyed, which is correct and one person killed, which is only partly correct. The fireman on the steam locomotive was crushed between the engine and the tender, probably in his attempt to escape at the last moment. The tank car behind the diesel engines on the freight train, which was stopped next to the railway station, raptured and burst into flames, spreading quickly to engulf the station.
The station agent, his wife, and their young son, tried to escape behind the station, but got caught in the flames before they could crawl past the railway fence. So, the death toll was actually four, with some on the passenger train injured in the sudden stop of the collision, and minor injuries to the engineers and crews on the two trains, with the exception of the fireman who was killed.
Anyway, as a former writer myself, I always felt, and still feel, it is important to get facts correct, and to give photo credits, such as I have indicated.
Les Dunford | Clyde, Alberta
Photo Caption: Paula E. Kirman
Vulnerable Minority
Vulnerable Minority
BY: GENE KOSOWAN
Despite St. Albert’s support for 2SLGBTQ+ youth, opposition elsewhere amps up
St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron believes that her city prides itself as a welcoming and inclusive municipality towards its 2SLGBTQ+ contingent, its youth in particular. She’s received an earful from other mayors across Alberta having to deal with their own citizens railing against everything from COVID restrictions to gay and transgender issues, and is relieved that such incidents are rare within her jurisdiction.
Photo
Caption: Adobe Stockekampos
“We don’t see a lot of the same hatred towards groups like LGBTQ in St. Albert,” Heron said. “It was interesting to see what was going on around the province, and hear my mayor friends lament about them going through a hard time. But in St. Albert, we didn’t have any of that.”
Heron credits several initiatives supported by the city for such an environment, from unfurling the 2SLGBTQ+ flag during Pride Month to providing an online listing of resources and safe spaces. Although a funding crunch shuttered the local Outloud gay and transgendered resource centre last June, volunteers and businesses continue to maintain the rainbow crosswalk in front of St. Albert Place, a project spearheaded by the organization.
But Heron is more concerned about what’s taking place beyond the city’s boundaries. “Outside of St. Albert, I am very fearful,” she said.
Wave of hostility
That trepidation seems warranted considering an escalating wave of hostility targeting the 2SLGBTQ+ minority. Hate crimes aimed at gay and transgendered people have tripled over the past five years in Canada. Protests condemning sexual identity materials in schools have multiplied. Symbols of queer acceptance in the mainstream—from crosswalks to flags—have regularly been subject to scorn and vandalism. And not to be dismissed is anxiety that recent U.S. policies rescinding protections of gay and transgender rights will waft northward.
Similarly, a series of policies introduced in January, 2024 by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith places 2SLGBTQ+ youth in the government’s crosshairs. Once passed into law, the regulations would outlaw top and bottom surgeries for youths under 19 and puberty blockers and hormone therapy treatments to minors younger than 15. The rules would also ban children 14 and under from adopting new names and pronouns without parental consent and forbid transgendered women from competing in women’s sporting events.
“The changes we’re introducing are founded on compassion and science, both of which are vital for the development of youth throughout a time that can be difficult and confusing,” said Premier Smith about the proposals during a media conference.
Punching down
The policies, which at this writing have yet to become law, prompted St. Albert NDP MLA Marie Renaud to question provincial government priorities. “At a time when Alberta is struggling with affordability and just making ends meet, [the UCP] chose to use a good chunk of their legislative agenda time to punch down on LGBTQ youth.”
The forthcoming UCP directives also enticed far-right factions to take some shots of their own. Tweeted David Parker, leader of radical lobbyists Take Back Alberta, “Teachers of Alberta, you no longer have permission to indoctrinate our children into your ideology.”
“There are many parents that are pleased right now, in part because of Danielle Smith’s comments about parental rights and healthy boundaries,” said activist Benita Pedersen—who’s successfully campaigned to have towns like Westlock and Barrhead remove gay and transgender symbols from public view—on the Lavigne Show podcast.
“With these new policies, a Canadian premier has essentially told the seemingly unstoppable transgender movement to stop in its tracks and leave Alberta kids alone,” declared Jeff Gunnarson, president of pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition.
Life or death
“There are some obvious risks that come along with the legislation that has been proposed,” said Star Goldring, the Rural Fyrefly in Schools Program Coordinator at the University of Alberta-based Fyrefly Institute for Gender & Sexual Diversity. The transgendered researcher particularly took issue with Smith’s stance on surgeries for minors, given that Alberta Health Services reported only eight chest surgeries were performed to address gender dysphoria in youths in 2022-23. Bottom surgeries for minors have long been forbidden nationally in accordance with World Professional Association for Transgender Health standards.
Goldring is more concerned that the policy would eliminate parental and physician decisions regarding gender-affirming care. “It sets a precedent where government officials can override medical authority,” they said, believing the legislation opens doors for the UCP to target women’s health care and reproductive rights. “If we are agreeing to situations where politicians can say that they know better than medical
professionals, we are saying that we are condoning a move where a political party can remove the need for health care in any environment.”
Goldring pointed out that legislation banning medical assistance for transgendered citizens in various states in the U.S. have produced tragic results, including a staggering 72 percent increase in suicide rates among trans youth in Tennessee. “That to me is very alarming,” Goldring added. “We know that this is a life or death issue.”
Human rights violation
Since news broke regarding the government’s transgender policies, Renaud’s office has had to endure a deluge of angry and even hateful anti-2SLGBTQ+ responses. But what really got to her was a great deal of sobering feedback from distraught schoolchildren. “The saddest things are when I hear from students,” she said. “I’ve received letters from whole classes of students talking about their peers and their friends that they’re worried about. Those letters stick with you, so I’m concerned.”
Goldring believes regulations calling for teachers to inform parents about student pronoun choices would flout the idea of schools as a safe place for kids to explore their identities. “When you understand that the risk is that kids are going to get kicked out of their houses, potentially have no place to live, lose the social support of families, all those kinds of things, you’re putting teachers in a position of forcing that upon children,” they said, citing a Homeward Trust stat that 40 percent of Edmonton’s homeless are queer. “It’s a real violation of their human rights.”
Photo Caption: Pexels
Photo
Caption: PexelsPavel Danilyuk
Goldring is also concerned about another policy requiring parents to provide explicit consent for their children to attend human sexuality and gender identity classes, replacing a simpler opt-out procedure. Given that the alteration would likely result in fewer students taking such classes, Goldring believes the change hurts the youth at large.
“We know that where we do not have access to information on gender and sexual diversity and sexual health, which is part of this, that we put kids at risk,” they said. “And that’s not just 2LGBTQ+ kids, that’s all kids becoming greater risk for STIs, unwanted pregnancies, all of those kinds of things.”
Inclusive community
Restrictive legislation aside, St. Albert has managed to so far avoid a rash of headlines concerning violence against the marginalized contingent. Although Statistics Canada reported in 2023 that hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation jumped by 69 percent across the country over the previous year—triple the tally from 2019—the city seems to have escaped all that, despite a few exceptions.
In January, police were investigating a trio of demonstrators with racially-charged placards that Renaud said on social media were “disturbing” and “hateful,” although none of them targeted gay and transgender citizens. However, in 2023, police were looking for individuals who distributed anti-2LGBTQ+ literature at schoolyards.
Heron recalled a number of incidents involving motorists leaving skid marks on the St. Anne Street rainbow crosswalk, one of which resulted in a fine against a perpetrator in 2023. On each occasion, volunteers quickly repainted over those invasive treads, an act Heron believes is testament to the city’s open-hearted spirit.
“St Albert continues to strive to be that welcoming, inclusive community,” she said. “I think if there are residents out there that are fearful for their safety, then council and myself are always open to conversation to see what we can do to help.”
NOTES: David Parker of Take Back Alberta could not be reached for comment. Benita Pedersen did not respond to requests for an interview. Jeff Gunnarson of the Campaign Life Coalition declined to be interviewed. t8n
22 Locations
30 years of business
195 Educators
1350 children in our programs
70% of Educators have been with
From stress to success
BY: TOM MURRAY | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAULA E. KIRMAN
IT WAS IN the mid ‘90s when Jody Swanson realized that she needed a hobby.
“At the time I was going to the University of Alberta for a psychology degree, and I was doing some of my practicums up north,” says the St. Albert-based Métis artisan, who creates original indigenous pottery, leatherwork and beadwork under the aegis of Red Hot Pots. “I was working up north on and off Bigstone Cree Nation, and it was just very stressful because I was having to assist in doing evaluations on whether children should stay with their families.”
For Swanson, this was doubly traumatic, not only for echoing the historic dispossession of indigenous peoples, but because these were her people. The pressure built up to such a degree that eventually the faculty dean took her aside and gave her a word of advice. Rather than dwelling on her work after hours, she suggested that Swanson find something for stress management.
How pottery helped Jody Swanson discover a whole new perspective on life
The examples given were yoga and pottery, and Swanson still laughs at the thought of doing the former. Instead she investigated and found a 12-week pottery course at the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension. Swanson describes it as love at first sight, and when summer came around, she joined a pottery club in Athabasca. Suddenly she had a passion, and like many passionate people before her, she threw herself wholeheartedly into the craft.
As Swanson notes, the appeal lay as much in metaphor as it does in the actual molding of pottery.
“It’s the dirt, it’s earth,” she says. “You’re taking something from the earth and you’re molding it and creating it with your hands, and then you’re using a little bit of fire to it for a chemical change into something that’s solid that will last a very long time. We’re born from the earth, and then we go back to the earth, and pottery is like that, our whole human existence on this planet is like that.”
The stress-reducing hobby began to really take shape as a side career in the 2000s, especially when Swanson became more involved with the Métis nation of Alberta. She applied for and received a Métis indigenous entrepreneurial grant to start up her own studio, and reached out to other indigenous artists and indigenous business people to collaborate. Local and international recognition came later in that decade, with pieces being shown at the Alberta Craft Gallery.
Swanson’s reputation grew. Given that she worked with Alberta clay, it was almost inevitable that the Alberta legislature would approach her for custom commission pieces to be given to visiting dignitaries. The federal government has also asked for some of Swanson’s work, as has the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.
“It’s red pottery that has my hand-carved signature in them,” she says. “There’s a whole series with documents that go with them, and pictures of me being all muddy and dirty and stuff. You know, the typical things that you think of when you’re thinking of a potter.”
Swanson is deeply connected to her heritage through her art. She grew up in Baptiste Lake near Athabasca, in a 2,400 square-foot cabin built by her dad out of old telephone poles. Her time near the lake still resonates with her. As she says a number of times, water is life, and she tries to incorporate water features in her work. Nature is also ever present, whether through use of berries, branches, or bark.
“I like to use bright colors,” she says. “The Métis are known as the flower beadwork people, and we like to use bright turquoise and yellows, pinks and reds, oranges and greens. I’ll put that same kind of color scheme into the pottery. For example, I have a few lines where I use dot art to replicate the look of beads of beadwork onto the clay. Those are really popular. I can’t even keep them in stock, and they are usually sold before I can even get them photographed.”
Swanson, who works a day job as a risk and insurance advisor for the City of St. Albert, has other skills as well. She does traditional indigenous beading and makes moccasins, mukluks and gloves, purses and medicine pouches. As she notes, we all have skills, and it’s important to learn and share them, because what else is there in life besides what are you going to do in that space between when you’re born and when you die?
“You have to make art,” she says.
“But you also have to put good spirit in it, and you have to be in a good spirit mind in order to make art, because everything has spirit and everything has energy in it. Everything is made of molecules, whether it’s a gas, a liquid or a solid. And all of these things have a nucleus that has energy, and you can’t create the energy, and you can’t destroy the energy, but you can transform the energy into different things. Don’t ever make anything when you’re in a bad mood, sad or angry, because then that energy will be transferred into that piece. So that’s probably the most important thing.”t8n
Savoury and simple
Speedy stovetop recipes for spring
BY: GLORIA GE-WEALD | PHOTOGRAPHY: GLORIA GE-WEALD
AS THE SUN starts to stay up longer in the day and the spring equinox reminds us of the incoming lush greens, food can still give comfort in brushing the last frosts away. It also inspires an appetite for quick and light dishes, as we renew ourselves like budding sprouts, being reminded of the approaching summer days. To put it less poetically, our northern March is a strange limbo between wanting cold weather comforts and budding optimism for warmer weather to come. It inspires all sorts of gastronomic ebbs and flows, with one overarching theme: less time cooped up in the kitchen!
Cashew Alfredo Sauce Over Pasta
Here’s a rich dish without the heavy feeling that can come with dairy for some people but comforting all the same. Ready in the length of time it takes to cook the pasta, it’s possible to make not only with a high-powered blender, but a regular ol’ one, too. Though with a standard blender I would recommend grinding the cashews first instead of adding everything in simultaneously.
1.5 c. raw cashews
1.5 c. filtered water
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic (about 1 heaping tbsp. minced)
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Fill a sea salted pot of water on to boil.
Sauté the onions in a pan.
When they are browning and almost done, add in the garlic and sauté for another minute.
Grind the cashews in a blender then use a spatula to move the cashew away from the side.
Add in the filtered water and all the remaining ingredients, including the onion and garlic.
By now the pasta should be in the pot of boiling water. Remember to stir the pot intermittently.
Pour the sauce from the blender back into the pan and heat on low until the pasta is done cooking, then pour over the served pasta.
Spicy Honey Marinade with Chicken Thighs
Various renditions of this recipe (it’s easy going with whatever spices are on hand) have made it to specials, potlucks and dinner parties and it’s always a winner. This recipe also works very well as an oven dish. It also pairs well with asparagus.
1/2 c. honey
2 tbsp. coconut oil
1 tsp. chili flakes
1 jalapeño
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp. sea salt
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Mince the jalapeño and garlic.
Melt the coconut oil in a pan on medium then add all ingredients aside from the chicken thighs.
Stir it and bring it to a gentle simmer for a few minutes before setting aside.
Lightly coat the chicken thighs in the honey marinade then place them in an oiled pan on medium-high.
Once browned, flip over, turn pan to medium and spoon the spicy honey mix onto the thighs.
Garnish the dish with the remaining marinade to taste.
You might have leftovers which are best stored refrigerated in a glass container.
Grated Carrot
Pancakes
Depending on the culture, these may also be called fritters, latkes, or carrot hash browns. Unsweetened apple sauce pairs well but the caramel-flavoured carrots can hold up on their own, too.
2 c. carrots (about 2 carrots)
1 tbsp. finely chopped red onion
2 eggs
¼ + 1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. coconut flour
1/4 tsp. coconut sugar
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
This batter has a lot of liquid from the carrots so it’s important to use your hands to form the pancakes so you can gently squeeze the excess liquid out while forming them.
There should be roughly 1 tbsp. of batter in each pancake.
Fry for 8-10 minutes on med-low heat then flip.
The low heat will allow the carrots to caramelize instead of burn. Flip and fry until both sides are golden then place them on a paper towel to cool.
These are delicate at first, so handle with care!
Lamb Tacos Verde
This recipe calls for mixing half the chopped cilantro directly into the sautéing ground lamb, though it may be worth it to know the palette of those you are cooking for before adding it in to the pan! Some people have a gene that makes cilantro taste like freshly brushed toothpaste mouth. If that is the case there is always the other half of raw, chopped cilantro to add to taste, alongside the avocado, green onion, and either yogurt or sour cream.
1lb. ground lamb
2 cloves garlic
1/2 red onion
1 serrano pepper
1 avocado
1 sprig green onion
1/3 c. chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
coconut or avocado oil for cooking
10 taco shells
sea salt and pepper to taste
yogurt or sour cream to taste
olive oil for drizzle
Finely chop the serrano, onion, garlic, green onion and cilantro.
Heat the pan on medium, add oil and the ground lamb.
Once the lamb is broken up, add half the cilantro, green onion, serrano and all of the onion and garlic.
Add the garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper to taste. (Preferably quite a bit!) While the lamb finishes cooking, add the remaining chopped ingredients to a plate to be used as topping once the lamb is in the taco shells. Top with yogurt. Hot sauce is welcome, too!
Savoury French Toast with Mushrooms and Dill
Tied together with cheese melted atop, not only is this unbelievably quick to make, it is also so satisfying! Talk about breakfast for dinner! Or, dinner for breakfast, rather? This recipe is presented as one serving, but it doubles well.
3 slices of whole grain bread
2 large eggs
6-9 thin slices of cheese of choice
1 small clove of garlic
1/2 small onion (about 1 heaping tbsp.)
1.5 c. raw sliced mushrooms
2 sprigs of dill
2 dashes of paprika
dash of garlic powder
3-4 tbsp. coconut oil for cooking
sea salt & pepper to taste
Crack eggs into a flat-bottomed bowl and gently whisk with a fork.
Finely chop the onion and add it to the eggs immediately, followed by the paprika, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper.
Turn the burner to medium-high and once hot, add the sliced mushrooms then mince the dill and clove of garlic while remembering to stir the mushrooms occasionally.
Add the bread to the batter and let them soak while the mushrooms brown.
When they’re golden brown, add the garlic and dill and sauté for another minute before setting them aside in another dish.
Lower the burner temperature to medium, then add a little more oil to the pan followed by the battered bread.
In the couple minutes before needing to flip over the bread, slice the cheese.
After flipping the bread add the cheese on the toasts, frying for a few more minutes until the cheese slices are melted.
When serving, add the mushroom sauté on top.
Olive Oil Tuna Salad
The key to this recipe is the quality of the olive oil, given recent controversy surrounding the fraudulent trade of the product. Make sure you buy from a traceable source which is stored in a glass bottle. I’d been planning on sharing my tried and true tuna salad sandwich recipe, but came across an article on how Matthew McConaughey has a Sunday ritual of making himself a Tuna salad, and it is a zany one. Far less complex than his, this recipe is essentially my original sandwich mix, olive oil and all, but adds in inspired sautéed corn and avocado, and uses a fork instead of bread.
2 cans flaked tuna
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 c. frozen corn
1 c chopped avocado
2 tbsp. finely chopped onion
3 tbsp. chopped pickle
1 tsp. chopped jalapeño
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. black pepper
sea salt to taste
5 dashes of cayenne pepper
coconut oil for sautéing corn
salad greens
Sauté the corn in a pan, adding sea salt and black pepper to taste.
If you are using frozen diced avocado, add this in as well.
If you are using fresh avocado add it in to the pan after the corn is cooked, just enough to heat it.
Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl then add in the warmed corn and avocado.
If you want to try and eat it all yourself, add the greens directly into the mixing bowl.
Otherwise, this easily serves two; in that case, place some greens into two bowls and divvy the tuna salad on top.
Take it out back
Unique items to brighten your backyard
BY: STEPHANIE CRAGG PHOTOGRAPHY: STEPHANIE CRAGG
OUR SEASON OF actually enjoying our backyards is sadly short. Often, by the time we get around to pulling together our outdoor spaces, we nix the idea because we realize that there’s not a lot of warm weather left. But with early panning and prepping, we can make every one of those days count! This year, readiness for grilling outdoors with flavoured wood, enjoying whimsical solar lights or swinging in a hammock chair can be achieved in time for that sunnier period.
Fancy up that foundation
Synlawn 5’ x 7’ outdoor green synthetic grass rug ($199.99)
Oldcastle 12” x 12” hexagon concrete slab ($4.49 each) or 12” x 6” slab ($2.39 each)
RONA+ St. Albert, 955 St. Albert Tr.
Get your wows with a wonder wall
Oldcastle Caribou concrete wall block ($10.99 each)
RONA+ St. Albert, 955 St. Albert Tr.
Fire up that grill
Furtado Farms Cookwood smoking wood logs ($44.99) and chunks ($26.99)
Backyard Grills, 20 Muir Dr. (inside TELUS store)
Amp up the ambience
Regal solar lights ($41.99
The Bookstore on Perron, 7 Perron St.
Let it be gnome
Garden gnomes ($32.50-$50)
Seasons Gift Shop, 8665 McKenney Ave.
Holster that hose Garden hose pipe stand ($79.99)
Salisbury at Enjoy, 101 Riel Dr.
Add something hip(po)
Concrete hippo ($39.99)
Charmed Floral Design Inc., 108-23 Atkins Dr.
Take a load off Hammock chair ($119.99)
Salisbury at Enjoy, 101 Riel Dr.
Friendships on tap
Endeavour Brewing blends suds with socializing
BY: TOM MURRAY | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAULA E. KIRMAN
FOR MATTHEW ATKINS, co-owner of St. Albert’s Endeavour Brewing, beer is about community.
“Europe has that culture, right?” says Atkins, who opened Endeavour back in 2018 with his wife Georgia. “You go to a German beer hall, you sit at a long table, and you just start having a conversation with people. You sit at the bar and you know the bartender’s life story in like five minutes.”
You go to a German beer hall, you sit at a long table, and you just start having a conversation with people. Beer customers want to socialize.
- Matthew Atkins
In a time when we’ve splintered into smaller and smaller pods barely aware of each other’s existence, it’s almost a revolutionary act to get to know the person next to you. But Atkins is quite sincere about this, just as sincere as he is about making quality beer. After all, if you’re going to sit around and exchange stories with someone you met five minutes ago, the drinks better be compellingly good.
This is, of course, why the craft beer industry has grown in Alberta, and one of the reasons why Atkins left his life in the corporate world to concentrate on what was once just a hobby. The eureka moment for Atkins came about when he was awaiting the latest round of layoffs at his job. When he saw co-workers and bosses that he held in high regard let go, he decided to get ahead of it.
“I started Endeavour that day,” he says. “It was like, ‘Okay, let’s get working on the business plan and figure it out.’”
Beyond opening the taproom and brewery in Campbell Business Park, Atkins and his wife concentrated on beer making. As Atkins himself says, he likes his beer to taste like beer, and while he’ll happily experiment he does like to come back to that traditional taste. You can still find the same initial offerings of ales, pilsners, lagers and IPAs at Endeavour, though the two have also expanded into other types of tipple.
In fact, Endeavour won a bronze medal for their Lost Flip Flop Saison in the farmhouse ale category at the 2024 Alberta Beer Awards in October. They also picked up a gold for the double IPA Awning Attack, as well a gold at the Canada Beer Cup for its sixth anniversary English IPA. Impressive wins for a brewery more concerned with fostering community than gathering hardware.
“That’s the part that we love the most,” Atkins insists. “We love watching customers make friends with other customers and then it becomes a big social event. It was like that at the very beginning. All these people would come and sit at the bar and talk to us, and then within six months they’re sitting at tables with other customers and getting to know each other. Endeavor is the sort of place where you know 70 percent of your returning customers, and how many places are like that?”
In this day and age offering everyone a seat at the table is something of a political act, and the Atkins take the idea of community very seriously. Since starting Endeavour they’ve been using the brewery as a hub, offering drag queen bingo nights, beer and yoga, even pairing beer and fly tying. There’s the alwayspopular trivia night every second Tuesday, an often-crammed event that now has a waiting list for tables.
During the early days of the pandemic the Atkins took to heart a lesson, and that was to diversify. While many other breweries decided to explore the usual options of spirits or soda, the Atkins opted for coffee. As Atkins himself says, he’s not patient enough to wait 12 years for a whiskey to finish maturing in its cask, but he is patient enough to wait a short amount of time for a perfectly brewed cup of joe.
“Coffee has always been our second love,” Atkins notes. “A lot of people are the same, they love both beer and coffee. Somehow, they just go together. We started figuring that out, and then we kind of got the opportunity to take over the bay beside us through our great landlord.”
Opening around August of 2022, Endeavour Coffee Roasters made use of a refurbished West German roaster and began offering single roast coffees originating from Brazil, the Honduras, Peru, and Guatemala. While they’re still working to get a separate online presence, Endeavour’s coffee is making an impact in the community, showing up at a few restaurants and shops around town. The Venn diagram between coffee fans and beer lovers might cross over in terms of quality, but Atkins finds that their coffee clientele is somewhat different from their beer followers.
“Beer customers want to socialize,” he notes with a laugh, “whereas the coffee customers often just want to sit there and work on the computers. They don’t want you to bug them. So that was a little bit of change for me to get used to.” t8n
Movers and Shakers
Credit these entrepreneurs for paving St.
Albert’s path to prosperity
BY: GENE KOSOWAN | PHOTOGRAPHY: MUSÉE HÉRITAGE MUSEUM
IT’S HARD TO fathom how a community can grow without a handful of enterprising individuals getting behind the wheel and putting the pedal to the metal. St. Albert is no exception, as the city’s past is dotted by daring entrepreneurs who either took over existing establishments or created new industries altogether. No doubt they profited from those ventures, but St. Albert also benefited by garnering a reputation as one of the most prosperous in Canada, a distinction that still stands today. Here’s a look at just a few of these personalities.
Lucien Boudreau
Often called the “Little Napoleon of St. Albert” for his short stature and reportedly strong leadership abilities in his post-entrepreneurial life, Boudreau first made a name for himself in real estate. He later teamed up with his brother-in-law Ernest Renaud to purchase the Astoria Hotel, a short-lived venture that ended when the building succumbed to fire in 1911. Boudreau gravitated towards politics, starting as a town councillor before serving as a Liberal MLA for four terms.
David Chevigny
Arriving in St. Albert from Quebec with his brother Louis in 1880, Chevigny wasted no time making a name for himself
in his adopted territory. Starting as a sawmill operator, he demonstrated he had other talents when he took part in a community land survey project, constructing Bishop Vital Grandin’s home, and rebuilding what is now the Perron Street Bridge. With Louis, Chevigny also built and opened the first St. Albert Hotel in 1886, an establishment that was a major landmark until it succumbed to a fire 12 years later.
William Cust
A quarter-century before the wheat boom boosted this country’s global economic fortunes, one farmer in the St. Albert area was already well ahead of the game. According to the Edmonton Bulletin in 1875, Irish immigrant William Cust was the first person to grow wheat commercially in Alberta. He did it on 113 hectares of land he owned with his wife, and it would take four ox- and horse-driven teams to annually harvest all that wheat. For his part, Cust at one time could single-handedly sow 25 bushels of crop per day.
Musée Héritage Museum: William Cust
Herbert E. Dawson
If there was anyone who personified how forward-thinking commerce could drive a municipality to prominence, it was Herbert E. Dawson who apparently had the right stuff for such a task. He made his name as proprietor of a general store with an extensive inventory that made it the go-to shopping destination in town. The one-time mayor was also decades ahead of his time when he oversaw the construction of the Dawson Block, arguably the first “mall” in the region. Unfortunately, fire destroyed the structure in 1928.
Cheri Hebert
Together with fellow entrepreneur Fleuri Perron, Cheri Hebert co-owned several businesses in the town, including a general store and even operated a paddlewheel boat that offered outings on the Sturgeon River, taking passengers as far as Big Lake. He also became St. Albert’s first mayor in 1904, serving on council for three years.
Lois Hole
Granted, the botanical pursuits were entirely a family operation, Lois Hole particularly distinguished herself by writing several successful gardening books and eventually becoming Lt. Gov. of Alberta. It all started when Lois and husband Ted started a market garden operation on their 81-hectare farm. The venture proved to be so lucrative that in 1979, the couple and their sons Bill and Jim incorporated the business into Hole’s Greenhouses & Gardens Ltd.,
which became one of the most successful gardening retailers in western Canada. Hole died in 2005, less than two years after Ted had passed on, but the business remained fruitful, even after relocating to the Enjoy Centre in 2011 and being sold to TEC Property Inc. in 2020.
Aldoma Labelle
A pioneer who first settled in St. Albert in 1916, Aldoma Labelle is recognized for adding a bit of flavour to Perron Street with his family-run butcher shop, Labelle’s Meat Market, which he established in 1922 and operated for 30 years. He also had a brief career as a town councillor.
Joseph Leonard
Joseph Lafranchise
One of the earliest figures in regional media was Joseph Lafranchise, who with wife Rosanna gave the community the St. Albert Star, a bilingual newspaper that launched in 1912, but folded two years later. Lafranchise found more stability running the St. Albert post office for 30 years, starting in 1915.
When St. Albert transitioned from a missionary-run community to a village late in the 19th century, one entrepreneur who profited from the crossover was blacksmith Joseph Leonard. Starting with a smithy that he bought in 1894, Leonard expanded his interests later that year by taking over the post office from the clergy. Three years later, he added a telephone exchange to his list of acquisitions. But Leonard really hit his stride in real estate, where he benefited from purchasing plots of land, then selling houses he also built on those premises.
Fleuri Perron
In the early 1900s, one of the biggest economic drivers of St. Albert, when it was transitioning from village to town status, was the Perron Brickyard, which at one time had 20 workers on its payroll. Under the direction of its proprietor Fleuri Perron, the brickyard was also the area’s first commercial industry until it ceased operations in 1932. Perron also owned a hotel and a butcher shop, ran an excursion boat on the Sturgeon River, and co-owned a general store with Cheri Hebert, the town’s first mayor. Perron later succeeded Hebert as mayor for a one-year term. t8n
Classic rock jock
Why K-97’s Terry Evans prefers to live in St. Albert
BY: PAULA E. KIRMAN | PHOTOGRAGHY: PAULA E. KIRMAN
FEW VOICES IN local radio are as familiar as that of Terry Evans, a weekday morning fixture on K-97, hosting a popular show with sidekick Pete Potipcoe, while spinning hits by legendary acts from AC/DC to ZZ Top.
But his duties have often included remote gigs, such as the time Evans broadcast live his skydiving stunt that landed him in Edmonton’s John Ducey Park (now Telus Field) baseball stadium with the game ball. He has also walked on hot coals on the same field at a game hosted by the now-defunct Edmonton Trappers. He’s also raced stock cars, performed marathon stints on-air, and lived in a trailer until the food he collected for Edmonton’s Food Bank took up so much room, that the mounting mass pushed him out of the space.
Evans literally garnered additional exposure via a nude photo spread in a 1993 feature in the Edmonton Sun, a feat he repeated nearly two decades later in a racy K-97 billboard ad. “Of all the crazy things, I guess people might think appearing nude on an outdoor billboard advertising campaign might also be considered ‘outrageous,’” said Evans.
Evans might be one of FM radio’s most recognizable voices in Edmonton, but it’s in St. Albert where the veteran disc jockey calls home. Hailing from Creston B.C. where he nabbed his first radio gig as a teen, Evans worked in Lethbridge before scoring a slot at K-97 in Edmonton in 1986. He says he and his family had since lived in every corner of the city and acreages near Devon, Sherwood Park and Gibbons, until they found their ideal lifestyle match in St. Albert.
“We’ve lived in all different areas of St. Albert with and without our kids as well. We love it here. The friendships we have with the people here are probably the biggest reason,” Evans said.
“Being a part of the community, especially when our kids were school-aged, was a big part of our focus through the 2010s. That aspect is still exciting and fulfilling and staying physically active in St. Albert is very fun. It’s great to walk or bike around neighbourhoods to see the growth of the city and the pride people have in living here. We also love supporting local businesses in hopes that they thrive here. It’s always exciting to see a new business pop up.”
St. Albert may have provided the ideal setting for Evans and his wife to raise their two children, it may have also played some part in keeping the deejay grounded. Despite being well-known as a radio personality, Evans stresses the need to be relatable in order to connect with his audience. “I’m a pretty regular guy who says what’s on his mind quite often before I think about how it’s coming out of my mouth,” he says. “I have real emotions, good and bad, where people can listen to me and not always agree, but at least appreciate a sense of a genuine human being as opposed to a big phony.”
Keeping it real is likely one reason why Evans still prospers on the airwaves after nearly five decades behind the mic. Save for a five-year stint at rival broadcaster The Bear and a brief entrepreneurial venture in the trucking industry, most of that time has been with K-97. Through it all, he’s weathered everything from rollercoaster ratings and media consolidation to format and personnel changes. But as radio faces bigger challenges these days, much of
I'm a pretty regular guy who says what's on my mind quite often before I think about how it's coming out of my mouth.
- Terry Evans
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it from online social media and streaming services, Evans believes the medium will remain relevant.
“People will always come back to the radio,” he said.
“It’s free. It’s immediate. It’s companionship. It’s a source of information, especially in an emergency. Even if you’ve never met the person, it’s a familiar friend if the person on the radio is doing it right. And if you turn it on before you leave the house, you will know whether or not you need to take a coat or a different route to your destination.”
And with more musical genres jockeying to grab audience attention, Evans believes the classic rock he plays on K-97 has a durable enough heritage to survive, even though most of the people who created much of that material have either died or are in their twilight years.
“The people who grew up with it share it with younger generations because it truly is the best music that was ever made,” Evans noted. “The music made from 1965 to 1985 will forever be remembered as the most influential. The people making the music in those years were influenced by the pioneers like Elvis, Little Richard and others. They influenced The Beatles, The Stones, and Led Zeppelin who in turn influenced everything that came after that.”
And Evans, who turned 60 in December, has no intention of leaving the booth in K-97’s West Edmonton Mall offices anytime soon.
“After 45 years in radio, I suppose I don’t need binoculars to see ‘Retirement’ anymore, but as long as people continue to listen to my show on K-97, and it remains one of the top morning shows in the market, there’s no reason to hang up the headphones just yet.” t8n
Pretzel Logic
A new twist to T8N’s regular tally contest
When pretzels first greeted European consumers some 500 years ago, their shape was lauded as symbolizing good luck, prosperity and spiritual fulfillment. More religious folks hailed the pretzel’s appearance as emblematic of The Holy Trinity.
For the rest of us, they’re tasty treats, warranting their inclusion in this month’s contest. Simply guess how many pretzels are in this box, write down the answer on this page, whip out your smartphone to click an image of it, then post it on either Facebook or X (tagging #t8n, of course) or direct message us instead.
The person who guesses the right amount or gets closest to the correct total wins. If there is a tie, we will randomly draw from those lucky candidates. The prize is available only to St. Albert residents.
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