Rosemary held its first Long Lunch in the fall of 2009 - photo courtesy of Marg Loewen
On Canada Day, 2010, when we got the phone call, my partner and I were contentedly roaming around the town of Rosemary taking pictures of the parade, eating pulled-pork sandwiches and generally soaking up the prairie hospitality.
I must admit that the idea of jumping back in the car and driving three hours east to the Hamlet of Acadia Valley did not immediately appeal to me. I hadn’t finished shooting the tractor pull event yet. And things were still heating up in Rosemary. But Lorraine Kuhn, who runs the Prairie Elevator in Acadia Valley, and Doug Jones from the Canadian Badlands thought we should see the inaugural Acadia Valley Canada Day Long Lunch, and it started at five, so off we went.
The Long Lunch has caught on in the Canadian Badlands of southeastern Alberta. Brooks, Foremost and Rosemary have all dabbled with the idea. These get-togethers are similar to traditional harvest suppers held in September in farming communities.
It’s called a Long Lunch because traditionally one or two (very) long tables are set up outside, right down the middle of the main street. Tablecloths, nice cutlery, the works. But on this day the Prairie Elevator Society volunteers, who organized the event, conceded that the mosquitoes had the upper hand, so the whole thing was moved inside Memorial Hall.
The McNeil catalogue house in Empress – photo courtesy of Pat Donaldson
The Acadia Valley Long Lunch also marks the launch of a new, self-guided Catalogue House Tour. in the early 1900s, it was possible to order a barn, or even an entire house from the T. Eaton Company catalogue or the Canadian Aladdin Company. Everything would arrive by rail and the neighbours would, I expect, be co-opted to help with the assembly.
Long before e-commerce, thousands of buildings were shipped across Canada from 1905 ’til the 1950s. The 2.1 million hectares of Alberta’s Special Areas is home to many catalogue houses including those in Acadia Valley, the Village of Empress and the Town of Oyen. All three communities are on the ‘drive by’ Catalogue House Tour.
Acadia Valley’s Egeland House was ordered through Eaton’s and built in 1914. A gem for its time, it featured indoor plumbing! It is currently being restored to its original splendour.
The Village of Empress has three catalogue houses including the McNeil House. Known as Modern Home No. 660, it was ordered from the 1917-18 Eaton’s Fall-Winter catalogue. The order included lumber, lath, shingles, mouldings, doors, glazed windows, paint, hardware, nails and building paper, all for the princely sum of $1137.68.
The Prairie Bells catalogue house in Oyen is now a B&B – photo courtesy of Pat Donaldson
Prairie Bells Bed and Breakfast in Oyen is an example of an Eaton’s Eastbourne, also known as Model No. 666. It was originally built in 1917 on a farm south of Oyen. In 1956 the house was purchased by the Roman Catholic board and moved to Oyen to be used as a convent, then a teacherage. There have been several owners since and in 1997 it was converted to a B&B. Much of the furniture comes from the early part of the last century and most of the original woodwork is still in place. Prairie Bells B&B is open for tours by appointment.
The Long Lunch was a big success. Feasting on locally-raised barbequed beef with all the trimmings, (and the best Saskatoon Berry desserts) we were regaled with long stories of the area and the warmth of its people.
Download the brochure – a self-guided driving tour of five catalogue houses in the Canadian Badlands. They can also be picked up at That’s Empressive, an art gallery housed in the old bank in Empress, and at the Prairie Elevator in Acadia Valley.