Fort McMurray Update #2

Our Beiseker Fire Truck and the accompanying firefighters have been spotted in the Fort McMurray area helping out.  Way to go guys!

For those wishing to donate items to help the evacuees they will be accepted at the AngelaRoxanne Photography studio.  The studio is next door to the hardware store on Main Street (230 6 Street).  They're open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. day.   They'll also have a special time to be open this Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 

They'll need a couple of volunteers to help out down there.  If you can give them a couple of hours that would be great.

Right now the authorities are asking for specific items such as personal hygiene items, disposable diapers,  bottled water, granola bars, toilet paper, facial tissue, pillows (new), and blankets (new).

The Canadian Red Cross is accepting cash donations which are always greatly appreciated in disasters like this.  Money is easily transferred and outfits like the Red Cross can get huge buying power discounts!

If you know someone up there from Fort McMurray, text them, e-mail them or call them and let them know that all of Canada is beside them in their fight.

Thoughts and Prayers to Fort McMurray

I've been watching the reports coming in from Fort McMurray all evening.  They are quite terrifying!

This small Alberta city is under siege by a raging forest fire.  The authorities have ordered a complete evacuation of most of the city! 

Parts of the city appear to be on fire or already destroyed.  I think I can speak for all of Beiseker's council in saying our thoughts and prayers go to all those folks in Fort McMurray.  We hope that you all are able to reach safety tonight.  Over the coming next few days and weeks there will a multitude of projects coming from Southern Alberta to help you all through this difficult time.  You are not alone!

If you want to help people displaced by disaster, you can donate to the Canadian Red Cross through their Alberta Fires Appeal.

Beiseker's History: Fires!

King George Hotel fire, 1936.
From Beiseker's Golden Heritage

As you are aware, I am very proud of Beiseker's volunteer fire department which, in my opinion, is second to none in this great province. 

Firefighting today is a science and our volunteers are constantly upgrading their skills and training with courses and practices. 

But fire has been an enemy of this village since it started as a small hamlet a hundred years ago.  Early volunteer firefighters had little water and structures built entirely of wood and insulated with wood shavings to contend with. 

Despite the heroic efforts of those early volunteers, fire has destroyed much of Beiseker's historic buildings over the years. Here are a few of the early fires;

• In 1929, a fire destroyed the Hagel & Held Block on Main Street
• Sam Dattner's store at the west end of Main Street (near where Ng's restaurant is today) burned to the ground in the early 1930s.
• In 1932 the building built by E.C. Aisenstat at the corner of Main Street and First Avenue (now occupied by Apple Pie)  burned down.
• In 1936, the King George Hotel located at the corner of Main Street and Second Avenue (at the current location of the hardware store) was totally destroyed by fire. Approximately fifty years later, the Beiseker Hotel located down the street from the King George, suffered the same fate.
• In 1944, fire destroyed Mrs. E. N. Hagel's home.
• In 1944 the Roman Catholic Rectory (located in front of St. Mary's Cemetery) burned down.
• In 1945, fire destroyed the pool hall, barber shop, Stimac's confectionary, and the post office located on Main Street.
• 1953 saw the destruction by fire of the Beiseker Curling Rink, built in 1939.

Despite these horrible events, Beiseker and its folks survived and thrived.  There are likely dozens of acts of valour and heroism connected with those disasters now forgotten in time. 

Whenever I see our volunteer firefighters in their shiny trucks, I am reminded of how far we've come over the past hundred years.