With Medicine Hat Friendship Force

 The name of the city, Medicine Hat, is intriguing, is it not?  The name originates in a Blackfoot legend. In a time of great famine, a young man exchanged the life of his wife for a magic bonnet, a Saamis,  that endowed him with great hunting prowess and thus saved the tribe from starvation. The exchange occurred along the South Saskatchewan River at a "breathing hole", place now known as Medicine Hat. 

Medicine Hat lies 178 miles southeast of Calgary and 250 miles north of Great Falls, Montana. From Edmonton, we rode a Red Arrow bus 178 miles to Calgary and then a Prairie Sprinter Shuttle onto Medicine Hat. All along the way, the flat land prairie was green with irrigated crops and yellow with fields of canola as far as the eye could see in any direction. With  a layover in Calgary, this was an all day trip. 

 

Beautiful City Hall

After a tour of James Marshall brick sculptures, we had lunch at Medicine Hat's beautiful City Hall.  Our club's name was added to a plaque listing all the journeys Friendship Force clubs hosted by the Medicine Hat Club over the years.

James Marshall, a well respected artist and Medicine Hat native, met with us at the Stations of the Cross in Garden Park. Each of the seventeen murals was created by James.  Over two hundred of his murals can be found around the world. 

Finely Bridge

Flood waters almost reached the bottom of the Finley Bridge in 1995.  James created this mural to commemorate the citizens of community who volunteered to work together in response to the rising flood waters. 

We cut-up potatoes at Prairie Gleaners one morning. Farmers in Southeast Alberta donate produce that volunteers at Prairie Gleaners process into packages of dehydrated vegetables that are shipped to hungry people all over the world.   It was great to help them!

The Saamis Teepee rises in Medicine Hat to a height of 210 feet. Each of the tens masts features a story board depicting native culture. 

We enjoyed close-up views of owls and other birds at Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale before lunch at Broxburn Vegetables and Cafe near Lethbridge. 

After lunch, we had a guided tour of Fort Whoop-Up near Lethbridge. It's nickname was given to a whisky trading post.  During the late 19th century the sale of whisky was outlawed, but due to lack of law enforcement in the region, many whisky traders flourished there.

Scenes of Fort Whoop-Up

Medalta Potteries once manufactured everything from dinner ware for hotels to very large urns.  It is now a museum and a ceramic arts facility. 

Out on the prairie, we had lunch at the Muffin Shop in Irvine before wandering around the Prairie Memories Museum, a cute local place full of historic buildings and furnishings.

Main Street in Irvine

We had a great time in Southeast Alberta thanks to our hosts Dianne and Herb Durda and the wonderful Medicine Hat Friendship Force. This was our 16th Friendship Force Club visited throughout the world since we joined Friendship Force 11 years ago.  It has proved to be a wonderful way to meet people of the world and be introduced to their cultures and viewpoints.