coalbranch

our history. What a shame most people these days no longer have their photos printed.

Yes, that could become a big problem in the decades ahead unless better records management practices for electronic records are adopted by more and more people.

Looks like somebody got a good hit

The fielders look pretty dejected, don't they?

The most beautiful ball park ever!

Interesting shot. I couldn't resist and had to 'google' to find out what happened to this town. An ice cream parlour in this remote looking location must have been quite special. Is it this town? (I am from Australia, so don't know much about your history, just curious when I see old photos).www.ghosttownpix.com/alberta/mtn.html

That's it! Mountain Park was one of the towns in what was called the Coal Branch. These were a string of small coal-mining towns that lived and died with the coal industry. They sprouted up in the early 20th century and thrived for a few decades but were all but ghost towns by the 1950s. Some are completely gone, others have some ghost town remnants, and a few still exist, albeit much smaller. While they were around, the Coal Branch towns were pretty busy little spots with a plethora of residents from all over the world. If you'd like to see more photos from the Coal Branch, including Mountain Park, the Allen Godby photos are a great resource. Thanks for your interest!

Thank you for the link! I love these archive photos and the history that come with them, including how well people dressed in those days even if it was 'just' going to the ice cream parlour, with some men wearing ties.

Those little details are the best part of archival photos, I think.

I drove through the "coal branch" area a couple of years ago, not much left of the historic structures, the only town with any habitation is Cadomin and it's a tiny hamlet... I think these days most people commute to the existing mines from either Hinton or Edson... Back then cars weren't as good as today, even now it's still mostly gravel roads through the coal branch though...

Does he have gloves on or are his hands that black?