My tour of the Paskapoo Park Museum started with me approaching a young lady riding a lawn mower. When I presented my stamped ticket to her, Whitney, a young summer student, immediately changed roles from grounds keeper to tour guide. I have been to Rimbey many times but never took the time to learn about its history. Whitney did a first-rate job educating me.
For instance, when this central Alberta town officially became a community in 1902, it was named Kansas Ridge because many of the settlers living there were from Kansas. Due to a conflict with another community of the same name, the town’s name was changed in 1904 to Rimbey in honour of the three Rimbey brothers that originally settled the area.
Another interesting story that Whitney conveyed was how the Blindman River acquired its name. Whitney provided that in the mid-1700’s, explorer Anthony Henday and his Cree guides were travelling in the area during the winter and became snow blind due to the harsh reflection coming off the snow. So the story goes, the party sat on the banks of the river while recovering and the Cree named it Pas-ka-poo, which translates to blindman.
The Paskapoo Park Historical Museum & Smithson International Truck Exhibit can be found in the small town of Rimbey, located about 60 km’s northwest of Red Deer, AB. Over the years the park accumulated ten historical buildings and placed them on the ten acre site. These buildings are filled with artifacts chronicling life of days gone by in the Rimbey area.
One might argue that once you’ve seen one small town museum you’ve seen them all, that Rimbey’s 1908 church or the 1920 barber shop is no different from buildings found at other exhibits. So what’s the point of visiting more than one?
For me, I never get tired of imagining what life was like for the people that settled this country, the simple log dwellings they called home and the tools they used. And, every small community has its own unique history and personal accounts of the people that lived there.
Whitney told me of one man’s story as we toured the original homesteader cottage. It was a sad story. In 1932, Felix Edlund, a Swedish miner, started building what was to be his and his fiancées dream home, a small one bedroom cabin. Felix worked hard hewing and setting the logs and wanted everything to be perfect for his young bride to be. Unfortunately for Felix, his fiancée wasn’t a patient woman and left him because he was taking too long to finish the cabin. She not only left Felix, she left the area. Heartbroken, Felix abandoned the nearly completed project and left Rimbey. The unfinished cabin remained on its original site until the 1970’s when new owners of the land donated it to the museum. It was moved to the museum’s ten acre site where windows and a door were installed to complete the build.
My intention for travelling to Rimbey was to visit the Smithson International Truck museum. It was only after I arrived did I realize the extent of the museums historical displays. It was a pleasant surprise.
www.rimbey.com/visiting-rimbey/pas-ka-poo-park
For instance, when this central Alberta town officially became a community in 1902, it was named Kansas Ridge because many of the settlers living there were from Kansas. Due to a conflict with another community of the same name, the town’s name was changed in 1904 to Rimbey in honour of the three Rimbey brothers that originally settled the area.
Another interesting story that Whitney conveyed was how the Blindman River acquired its name. Whitney provided that in the mid-1700’s, explorer Anthony Henday and his Cree guides were travelling in the area during the winter and became snow blind due to the harsh reflection coming off the snow. So the story goes, the party sat on the banks of the river while recovering and the Cree named it Pas-ka-poo, which translates to blindman.
The Paskapoo Park Historical Museum & Smithson International Truck Exhibit can be found in the small town of Rimbey, located about 60 km’s northwest of Red Deer, AB. Over the years the park accumulated ten historical buildings and placed them on the ten acre site. These buildings are filled with artifacts chronicling life of days gone by in the Rimbey area.
One might argue that once you’ve seen one small town museum you’ve seen them all, that Rimbey’s 1908 church or the 1920 barber shop is no different from buildings found at other exhibits. So what’s the point of visiting more than one?
For me, I never get tired of imagining what life was like for the people that settled this country, the simple log dwellings they called home and the tools they used. And, every small community has its own unique history and personal accounts of the people that lived there.
Whitney told me of one man’s story as we toured the original homesteader cottage. It was a sad story. In 1932, Felix Edlund, a Swedish miner, started building what was to be his and his fiancées dream home, a small one bedroom cabin. Felix worked hard hewing and setting the logs and wanted everything to be perfect for his young bride to be. Unfortunately for Felix, his fiancée wasn’t a patient woman and left him because he was taking too long to finish the cabin. She not only left Felix, she left the area. Heartbroken, Felix abandoned the nearly completed project and left Rimbey. The unfinished cabin remained on its original site until the 1970’s when new owners of the land donated it to the museum. It was moved to the museum’s ten acre site where windows and a door were installed to complete the build.
My intention for travelling to Rimbey was to visit the Smithson International Truck museum. It was only after I arrived did I realize the extent of the museums historical displays. It was a pleasant surprise.
www.rimbey.com/visiting-rimbey/pas-ka-poo-park
