PINCHER CREEK NEWS

A prominent Pincher Creek family, along with physicians from a local clinic, have established a pair of University of Lethbridge awards that invest in the next generation of students and the health and well-being of their community. Drs. Beverly (BSc ’03) and Tracy Burton (BSc ’03), both physicians practising in Pincher Creek, together with their […]

As a result of the biggest changes to happen in Alberta high-school football in 25 years, the Willow Creek Cobras of Claresholm are looking to expand the reach of the team by inviting eligible high-school students from schools in the region to play football at Willow Creek Composite High School in 2024. Students from Pincher […]

The Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association’s Day on the Creek program, which offers a unique outdoor learning experience for hundreds of students from the Pincher Creek area, has been nominated for an award that recognizes environmental excellence. The Alberta Emerald Foundation announced Friday the nominees for the 33rd annual Emerald Awards, and the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association’s […]

In this week’s Living History column, we reflect back on a couple of pioneer families connected with the agricultural and railway industries from southwestern Alberta. William Jacob and Minnie (Faulk) Bressner Coming to Canada and the Cowley area in the early 1900s, the Bressners took up a homestead in the Porcupine Hills. Their land was […]

Sgt. Vince Bacon, the newly appointed detachment commander of Piikani Nation RCMP, and his team are committed to improving relationships between the Piikani First Nations community and the police officers serving them. “Our history has left generational scars on the lives of many. I know that we are just at the beginning of a long […]

Livingstone Range School Division’s board continues to explore the option of a four-day school week.

For many readers with an interest in our local history or for those who know our changeable winter weather, the thought of the traditional use of snowshoes during the holiday season is not one which readily comes to mind. Yet there has been a pioneer use, particularly during the annual festivities, for these means of […]

Now that December has arrived and most of us are preparing for Christmas, it would be interesting to reflect back on some of those pioneer Christmas celebrations from the early days from the Pincher Creek District. This week, we look back at those pioneer Christmas celebrations from 1908 and 1909. New Year’s Day dinner a […]

The Econo Lodge Inn and Suites in Pincher Creek has won a national award from Choice Hotels Canada. Choice Hotels Canada has announced its annual Awards for Property Excellence, and the local hotel has been named Best New Entry: Economy. “This exciting hotel has achieved high levels of guest satisfaction since coming online,” said Brian […]

Partners Evolve Power (Evolve) and TransAlta Corporation (TransAlta) hosted a site tour at their Tent Mountain Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Project (TM-PHES) in the Crowsnest Pass on Oct. 17. Evolve and TransAlta jointly own the TM-PHES in a 50-50 partnership. In attendance for the tour were Alberta Affordability and Utilities minister Nathan Neudorf, Indigenous Relations […]

This week’s Living History article highlights new historical research on some of the early pioneers from the Olin Creek District adjacent to the Porcupine Hills. Earlier versions of these stories appeared in our local history book for the Pincher Creek area, Prairie Grass to Mountain Pass, but these new versions capture this new knowledge. Happy […]

Recent historical research has unearthed additional chronicles from a couple of the early pioneer families who settled in the Olin Creek District within the southwestern reaches of the Porcupine Hills. Research sources include Find A Grave, the homestead records held by the Provincial Archives of Alberta as accessed via ancestry.com and the old time recollections […]

One of the arrests occurred in the village of Champion, Alta. last Sunday while a shelter-in-place advisory was in effect

The Chief Mountain port of entry is closing for the season on Sept. 30, at 6 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST). It will reopen in the spring of 2024. Due to the harsh winters and its high elevation, Chief Mountain only operates from May to September. Travellers can use either the Carway port of entry or the Coutts […]

A much forgotten figure from the early pages of local history has been that of Dr. George Malcolmson, who made significant contributions to medical practices in both Pincher Creek and up in the Crowsnest Pass. Let’s have a look at that frontier medical history. Established practice in Old Galt Hospital in Lethbridge Little is known […]

When hundreds of public health and safety officials gather in Edmonton this week for the Safety in Our Cities conference, they will discuss what role legal pressure can play in changing addicted people’s behaviour. As the conferees will learn, the international evidence is clear: compassionate intervention can work. An excellent example comes from U.S. states […]

One of the distinguished heritage buildings housed at the Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village is that of the Kootenai Outpost of the North West Mounted Police (NWMP). Constructed and utilized to assist in law enforcement functions in one of the remote rural areas so common across the Canadian Prairies prior to the First World War, this […]

Crowsnest Pass RCMP were dispatched Wednesday morning, at roughly 5:15 a.m., to a complaint of a break-and-enter in progress at a Lundbreck business. During the Sept. 13 break and enter, the owner attended the business, and an altercation took place in which a suspect brandished a weapon. The owner received minor injuries as a result […]

Chronicled here are three pioneer families with early Pincher Creek business connections. Recent research has unearthed some of their histories. Bookkeeper with the Hudson’s Bay Company Frederick J. Dupuy was a bookkeeper with the local Hudson’s Bay Company store here in Pincher Creek when it was located on the south side of Main Street, on […]

This week, we look back at the life and times of pioneer businessman Charles William Hart. He was related to I. L. (Ben) Montgomery, who homesteaded south of Pincher Creek and later operated the first Ford dealership here in town. Business opportunities Hart was born in the American state of Indiana, and was raised in […]

The Harambee Grandmas invite you to their sixth annual fabric and yarn sale on Friday, Oct. 20 and Saturday, Oct. 21. The fabric and yarn sale takes place in Lethbridge, at McKillop United Church, 2329 15th Ave. S, from 4-7 p.m. on Oct. 20 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Oct. 21. Cash, debit, and credit […]

The Chipman Creek School District Number 864, situated just east of the ranching settlement of Pincher Creek, had a pioneer history that bespeaks of the western Canadian frontier. That history tells of the local struggles to educate the district’s students. School establishment and early ratepayers The school district was established in June 1903. The school […]

Although coal mining brought economic good times to the settlement of Beaver Mines nestled in the foothills to the west, the local industry was not without its tragedies and loss of life. This week’s Living History article takes a look back at some of those unfortunate events of more than a century ago. Two mining […]

Local history buffs will recall the article where we had a look at a few of those lesser known Pincher Creek pioneers residing in this western frontier settlement back in 1891. That was the first year in which our community was listed separately in the Dominion Census, a great source of historical information on those […]

Fort Macleod Kids First Family Centre wants to change how it uses its building to meet new requirements for funding. Kids First wants to take over the space now used by Fort Macleod Preschool to provide a safe, uninterrupted place to work with families and parents. Preschool would move into the larger play area for […]

Those who have an interest in the history of the Lundbreck area will recall its many ranching and coal mining origins. These two industries have made major contributions to the community’s economic survival over the decades. Local conditions promoted early trade Lundbreck’s business chronicles have many stories to tell. The settlement’s role as a depot […]

Eligible Alberta drivers aged 18 and over will now automatically exit from the Graduated Driver Licence (GDL) program. GDL drivers who have completed their 24-month driving period and have no suspensions or demerits within their last 12 months of probation, including zero tolerance for any alcohol and/or drug consumption, will receive a letter informing them […]

Matt Devine will be cycling through Pincher Creek on Thursday, June 29 as part of his journey across the country to raise funds for You Can Ride 2 (YCR2).  “Matt Devine’s story is a testament to the power of resilience, humility, and a willingness to grow,” reads an email sent to the Echo. “Despite facing […]

Pincher Creek’s early history abounds with half-forgotten chronicles of many of its ranchers. Although numerous ones are well remembered, others with still equally intriguing tales from this corner of the western Canadian frontier have been largely lost from the pages of the local past. One such example was that of “Barney” Bolster, who was well […]

This Father’s Day, Pincher Creek resident Alexa Levair will not only be celebrating her dad, KC Stone, but also the major influence he has had on her career. Stone worked for the City of Lethbridge Water Treatment Plant for 41 years and retired in 2022. Levair grew up learning about water treatment and municipal government […]