Fort Macleod

The Town of Macleod:

The town of Macleod is actually called Fort Macleod, as it was the first Northwest Mounted Police outpost in Western Canada, established in 1884. It was named in honor of Col. James Macleod of the Mounted Police. When I arrived in Fort Macleod in 1943, it looked to me just like the frontier towns I had seen in the movies. There was just one main street lined with sandstone and brick buildings along with few old wooden buildings, and there were many hitching posts to tend to all the horse riders. One building of notice the Empress Theatre, built in 1912. You'll read more about the Empress Theatre later, as it became an important part of my life. Another particularly interesting sandstone building was the Silver Grill Bar and Restaurant. It was told that the large mirror over the bar was shattered by a bullet, back around 1912.

There were many private homes, some with picket fences, on the side streets. Several churches were in the neighborhood and three cemeteries with markers dating back to the late 1800's. On Main Street, you found tackle shops, clothing stores, hardware, grocery, and general merchandise stores. There were two small hotels in town: the Queen's hotel, built in 1903, and the American, built in the 1890's. Both had around 40 rooms. I can't say for sure, as I never got to stay in either one.

I always enjoyed going into town. There were always horses at the hitching posts; a number of colorful outfitted Indians would be standing along the wooden raised boardwalks, farmers were doing their shopping in the tackle shops and hardware stores. One particular noticeable group of people was the Hutterites. They were of German extraction and lived together in a commune. They made their own clothes, which were always black; the young men were clean shaved and the married men all wore beards. It was very interesting to watch the elders shopping. They were forbidden to purchase anything that they could make or grow themselves. They kept to themselves, and their farms were showplaces of neatness. They were very hard workers and very courtly to all. Some of the townspeople disliked them because of the ongoing war and their German background.

On Sundays, the Buckwell's attended church in town. They attended the Episcopal Church and I would always attend with them. Mrs. Buckwell was very religious and every Sunday evening we would all gather in the sitting room at home and Mrs. Buckwell would read a number of passages from the Bible. After Walter left for England and was flying in the war, we would all offer a prayer for his safe return.

Fort Macleod was a friendly town. It seemed that everyone knew everyone else. As I mentioned earlier, the population was only around 1,500. The airmen and airwomen from the airbase were always treated very well. Townsfolk would invite them to their homes and were always ready to extend a friendly handshake. Unfortunately, there was not much to do in this small town. The Empress Theatre was always full, but that was about the extent of off base entertainment. Training at #7 SFTS was very intense and really didn't leave much time for anything else.