We followed Hwy 12 east from Gadsby AB to Coronation AB, passing by Halkirk and Castor as we had stopped in at those locations on a previous Road Trip.
Coronation looks like many other prairie towns, unremarkable at first glance. We decided to have a quick drive around and see if there would be anything in the town that would catch our eye.
Coronation has a few commercial buildings at their turn off of Hwy 12, a gas station and 2 motels and restaurants. A park with their mascot Crown, an old train caboose and the Musem; which has a number of older buildings, is situated on the right hand side of the street.
A typical small town Alberta hospital services the town and area and it has an assisted living complex attached. Ammenities include a skating/hockey rink, curling rink and outdoor pool. A golf club and camping sites are located there as well.
The town was to be a "hub" town with the rail lines bringing in prosperity. At one time it hosted 3 Grain Elevators but the last one was demolished in 2002.
Calgary and Red Deer grew and Coronation now survives as a meeting place for Farmers, Ranchers and those working in the Oil Patch.
Although it lacks the interest of the larger centers, it has it's own appeal. Professional murals cover some of the downtown shop walls, The water tower catches your eye, since it "towers" over the downtown core. We found Jack's Shoe store, older and not too pretty, but it's character stood out. From the window you can still see shoe boxes on the shelf, but I don't think it sells any of it's wares.
The main streets are paved and very wide, some are in need of some care and attention, but they are suprisingly in good shape. Across from the Library was the Avalon building, an old movie theatre from the shape and size. The mural on the west side depicts British Royalty.
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Saturday in October the streets are busy with vehicles going to and from the hockey arena or stopping at the hardware store. We stopped in to grab a quick coffee and use the facilities at the Arena, where a small boy with a huge smile held the door open for us. As strangers to the small town arena we were looked at curiously, but since we posed no threat, we went about our business unhindered. The smell of fresh popcorn was too much to resist, so armed with hot coffee and buttery popcorn we left to investigate the town.
On our travels we look for a couple of items that all prairie towns seem to have in common. Many have grain elevators (or had) and many more have a "Railway Avenue". The railway was the lifeblood of the prairie. If you were unlucky enough to live in a community that the Railroad bypassed, your town/village died or as many did, the whole town moved. Coronation was one such place, incorporated in 1911, it moved south from Haneyville.
We try to take a picture of every Railway Avenue street sign we can find, it is a reminder to us of how important the railroad was to the communities is passed through. I especially like this one as my maiden name was King. Seeing the street names in some of the smaller locals is always interesting. Many of Coronation's streets have something to do with royalty, streets such as the before mentioned King, Victoria, Alexander and Windsor to name a few.
Coronation like many of it's counterparts struggles to survive as it cannot compete with the supercentres, chain fast food restuarants and mega shopping centers that the larger centres have. They are a little out of the way for a quick Sunday drive, but they are worth the trip. Every June they hold their Rodeo and a Country Fair. This June we hope to take the time and visit them and enjoy some country hospitality.
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