Vintage Connaught School Postcard

While I've been keen to collect vintage postcards of my hometown of Medicine Hat, Alberta, one of the things that I've been most enthusiastic about is finding ones that have been used and tell a bit of a story. This postcard of Connaught School was one of those finds, and was mailed off to Vermont (via Montreal) nearly 90 years ago in 1924. 

Like the other used postcards I've found, I love bringing them back to the Hat after decades of being hundreds or sometimes even thousands of miles away. This postcard was sent from a little girl (who likely attended Connaught School) to her Aunt, where she wrote that she'd be leaving soon to come and visit her.

A few things struck me when I saw this postcard. One was that the little girl was named, Edna. It's a name that's now so dated, I found myself joking / dwelling on the fact that people gave their kids senior citizens names - even though they obviously weren't back then. The other thing was that the postcard showed Connaught right after it was completed, with no landscaping, and no other buildings surrounding it. It really makes the details of the structure seem more prominent than they look today hidden behind so many trees.

The third thing that I realized, and it is a bit sad, but even though this postcard was written by a child she's probably no longer alive. If she was she'd easily be pushing 100. Things like this make the history even more captivating to me when I stop and realize that someone else's entire life went by before this small memento found its way to me. And now, unknown to those who originally shared this, I'm sharing it again and it's become a small piece of my story. There's a poetry to it all, and it makes me curious about how someone in the future might react to finding one of my Around the Hat postcards after I'm gone.

Cypress Club Interior: Lounge & Staircase

Unlike many of the other historic locations I've photographed around Medicine Hat, what makes the Cypress Club so unique is that it's remained a prominent members club since its inception in 1903 right through until today. This building was constructed in 1907, and is still a stunning downtown landmark. If the exterior seems a bit subtle, the interior leaves no question about just how incredible this club is.

I was personally invited inside the club to document the location for my Around the Hat series, and shot so many amazing pictures that I thought I'd divide them up into three posts. Starting with the lounge and staircase, I also went on to photograph the dining area and boardroom, followed by the poker room and snooker table.

I loved exploring this location. The dark wood, stained glass, high back leather chairs, and even the animal heads on the walls, all serve to create an almost stereotypical view of what classical high society was (or still is) meant to look like. It's great that the location is still used for meetings and gatherings, and I'm especially fond of how well the building and interior has been maintained - right down to the vintage shoe polishing machine in the men's washroom. 

The atmosphere in the lounge creates what would seem to be the ideal location for a whiskey or brandy, and the surrounding details, like the buffalo head over the fireplace, only helps to further emphasize the local flavour. Even newer additions, like the bar with the Cypress Club logo, have been seamlessly incorporated into the layout to preserve the classic look. The Cypress Club is brimming with history, and it was an absolute pleasure to get the opportunity to see it up close and share it here. More to come.

Creative Space 2.0

This weekend marked the first time in recent memory that I had an abundance of free time. I had no work, no photo shoots planned, and no real pressing chores or errands to get done. With the exception of plans to go watch the Oscars on Sunday night, I had two days to just lay on the couch. Sadly, I never got around to that.

On Friday after work I was going through my Around the Hat postcards to organize them, and it struck me how my apartment had become consumed by side projects. A photo book to scan for my folks was all over my desk, some video tapes were stacked across the kitchen counter, and my prints and postcards filled the dining and coffee table. There wasn't a free surface to actually work anywhere anymore. I suppose that's what kicked off the idea, because right then I decided it was time to upgrade my work space.

Come Saturday I was out the door and decided to take a road trip to the IKEA in Calgary. Not only did I already know what I wanted from there, but it was an easy excuse to do some joyriding in my new 300. It was actually a lot of fun, and the idea of building a more efficient work space was a good motivator. I ended up buying a new shelf, desk extension, table top, mountable work lamp, and a couple of large wall frames.  

This is what my desk / edit suite started out as, and below are the pictures of the outcome after all of the building, deconstructing, purging, and reorganizing. It turned out not to be a very relaxed weekend until Sunday night, but I'm loving all of the extra desk space to lay projects out now. I think it looks pretty good too.

BEFORE. My desk before the new shelf and extension.

AFTER. My updated work space.