Modern Day Cowboys Mosey Along the Iron Horse Trail

Modern Day Cowboys Mosey Along the Iron Horse Trail

Michelle Pinon News Advertiser

On Canada Day a group of cowboys set out by horse and wagon to discover a part of Alberta’s Iron Horse Trail.

Wagon Master Harvey Bodnar, who resides at Cowboy Town near Ardmore, led the troupe of five men down the trail from his private residence and into the Town of Smoky Lake on July 8.

Joining Harvey were Ardmore area resident Ralph Hallwachs, Two Hills area resident Allen Zaparniuk, and Vegreville area residents, Andy Koch, John Semotiuk, and Dale Menzak.

“The reason I’m the Head Wagon Master is because I decided to do this trail. So they just nominated me,” said Harvey. Shortly after 10 am on July 1 they headed out in the rain. “Last night, (July 7), we got poured on big time. Other than that, the weather was fairly decent.

I know how the old-timers would have felt now when they came across. Because for us to come down the railroad tracks there were a lot of challenges and bad roads. We’ve been on wagon trips before, but none like this. Today we had to go up and down a big hill. Even though the horses are hardened up, it was slippery, but they made it.

We did as much as 20 miles a day, and as little as 10 miles a day. From where we started, Cowboy Town, is 199.9 miles to the final resting stop at the Smoky Lake Stampede Grounds. The highlight of the trip was going over the old train trestle on the north side of Moose Lake.

Andy Koch, who was involved with the planning of the wagon ride said it was pretty easy going for the most part. “It’s not like the Wild West you know. Being on the old railroad track was pretty good going. We didn’t have a lot of sloughs to go through. They were putting a waterline alongside it, and it was muddy and slippery, and they were sliding. We were sideways in some places. We had to bring them back in and line them up again.”

For the most part, they rested overnight in towns along the way. “In Vilna, we decided we’d go through town and we went by the old folks home and they were having supper, they were all waving out the window happier than hell. They’ll remember that now,” said Harvey with a chuckle. They also received a few complimentary pizzas from folks in Andrew and some baked treats on behalf of the Town of Smoky Lake.

Hank Holowaychuk, the Mayor of Smoky Lake, said it was neat they were reliving history in a very modern way. Several locals walked out on the sidewalks of the main street to see them ride through the community shortly before 5 pm.

Dale Menzak loves wagon rides and began participating in them after volunteering with Haying in the ‘30’s charitable group and working with Harvey. Dale says he loves the peace and quiet the trail has to offer and is a great way to get away from the noisy technologically driven business of the world. He also has many fond memories of wagon train excursions through the mountains during summertime.

All in all the troupe had a great time, and this trip will not only go down in the history books but be remembered and stored away in their minds and in their hearts for all time.