The Canadian Badlands are dotted with “Mascots”. Perhaps the most well known is the 86-foot T-rex in Drumheller, but if you snoop around a bit, you”ll find quirky charactors and giant, over-sized objects of all kinds in the most unlikely places. Not far east of Red Deer, towards Rochon Sands Provincial Park, we found Alix-Gator. Not to be confused with Alberta Gator, wife of Albert E. Gator, the official mascots of the University of Florida, Alix-Gator is the proud mascot of the Village of Alix, Alberta, population: about 850.
A man by the name of Joseph Todd came with his wife and children to this area from Michigan in 1900. They travelled in a covered wagon pulled by an ox and a horse. They were on their way further east but decided to stop overnight, and were so impressed by the quality of grass, soil and abundant water that they decided to settle in the area. The quarter section that the Todds purchased was to become the site of the settlement known as Toddsville, later to become the Village of Alix.
Alice Westhead
Mrs. Alice Westhead was the first white woman to come to this area. Along with her husband Charles, she arrived in 1892 and established a cattle and horse ranch, raising saddle horses and polo ponies to be shipped to England.
Mrs. Westhead met Sir William Van Horne, president of the CPR, on a trip back from England. At this time, the CPR was building a railway between Stettler and Lacombe. Sir William asked if he could change the name from Toddsville to Alix in her honour (Mrs. Westhead’s mother was Austrian, and the European name for Alice is Alix). Apparently she agreed.
At one time there were three railway stations in Alix. The Grand Trunk, the CPR and CNR depots.
The first grain elevator to be built in Alix was the Alberta Pacific Elevator in 1909 beside the CPR tracks. It was replaced with a sturdier building in 1916, which was demolished circa 1990. The Alberta Wheat Pool Elevator was constructed by the CNR tracks in 1927. It was demolished circa 2002.
[...] a little digging, we also found Alix the Alligator‘s connection to Alix, Alberta. We’re still trying to figure out Squirt the [...]