Further down the road,
(actually the post-railroad era) we talked to a lady who was
cooking over an open fire next to a miner's tent. She explained
that after a government incentive to move to Edmonton in 1904, so
many people responded that 
the lumber mill could not keep up with demand
for wood. Subsequently many people spent two to three years,
including winters, living in the straight sided tents. She had
been working in the park for several years and over time has
become quite an expert on open fire cooking, to the point that
she could produce the most delicate cream pies with nothing more
then firewood for heat. As we pushed on, we found that most of
the presenters worked more as security or point-of-sale cashiers
for the various merchandise then actually trying to create an
atmosphere of the life and times of the era presented. Still with
so much to choose from, there are literally dozens and dozens of
buildings to go through, the trip was quite worth the time. It
was a hard day's walk as the buildings are quite spread out,
however to leave anything out would have been a shame. 
We continued
further down the street and further back in history to a time
when Edmonton was as wild as the wild west of America. The late
1800s. Here we came across a cattle camp, complete with a working
fire and chuck wagon. Those wonderfully durable wagons which
served as kitchens for the trail blazing cowboys who moved the
cattle to market. The front of them were usually well filled with
all kinds of small drawers where everything from flowers to
vegetables was kept safely tucked away. The whole thing is made
of wood and it all kind of fits together in a clever sort of way
that makes most of it reachable from either side. A couple of old
fiddle players were hammering out a waltz and I couldn't resist,
as I swung Laura up 
and around the campsite, whirling and turning to
the rhythm of the song and the claps of the bystanders. Now that
was fun. Main Street in the old western town site was wide and
dusty. Wagons lay unhitched on either side of the road. Here and
there we found a gathering of actors and presenters playing out
their stories. A carpetbagger hawker shouted to gather a crowd as
he offered his magic elixir cure all to those who would buy. 
Having
wandered to the deepest reaches of the park, we found a
completely rebuilt trading fort of the type that existed before
Edmonton. This was the backbone of the European influence in the
early days. The highly prized beaver skin ruled the economy and
the voyagers plied the rivers and streams moving skins toward the
East and dry goods toward the West. Of particular interest was
the large two story trading building. The inside contained the
usual trading activities but the most interesting part was the
construction of the building. A masterpiece of construction it
was quite a prize for the fort area. From here we worked our way
back through the various eras to the front gate, leaving with a
good understanding of what it took to create Edmonton.
To contact Fort Edmonton
Park by telephone you can call 780-496-8777.
Fort Edmonton Park is located at the corner of Fox Drive and
Whitemud Drive.
Their mailing email address is: http://www.fortedmontonpark.com
*** THE END ***
<<<<<
Back
Next >>>>>