Summer Adventure #2

A co-worker got married a couple of weekends ago in the one-horse town (rather, Hamlet) of Claybank, which is about an hours drive south of Regina. It is interesting how many of these small, drying up old towns have these large, elaborate Catholic churches. Like Lebret, the entire population of Claybank could easilt fit into the church, which can seat about 150-200 people.
Claybank does have one other feature, though. It is the home of the Claybank Brick Plant, which is now a national historic site. So, between the wedding and reception (held in a tent at a nearby ranch), Crystal and scooted over there, paid our $8 fee for a self-guided tour, and wandered around.There are lots of artifacts, and bricks, and machinery, and factory spaces, and old clothes, and brick kilns, and on and on and on, just sitting around with very few physical barriers between us and them. Unlike most museums, this place seems more authentic because it is authentic. This is where it happened, and it hasn't been re-assembled in a display in some modern building. And since we were the only two people there, it felt like we had stumbled upon a ghost-town or something, where the residents had just up and left.If you ever get a chance, there is a 30 minute film that has been made about it, which is quite informative. It's a part of the "Edifice and Us" series, which is a recent development that is video-cataloging some of Saskatchewan's more interesting buidlings.

Here are a few other links to check out:
Claybank Brick Plant Historical Society
A Little Brick Plant in the Middle of Nowhere
Claybank National Historic Site