Writing this past week about the history of Cochrane has been a great experience that has reinforced history’s importance to me.
But it has also been a little troubling.
I get the sense that there are worries about losing touch with the history of this town as it grows – and grows and grows.
Knowing the history of where you call home is so essential to understanding the way things operate today – and as I have discovered, can also be so exciting to learn about.
I have to admit I am a bit biased. I’ve been called quite a few things in my day, and history nerd is definitely one of them.
Growing up, when my friends were reading teen fiction, I was checking out historical accounts of the First World War; while other kids were watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles my mother was showing me Hitchcock and Godard.
I wrote a thesis connecting heavy metal and Alberta cowboys based on their historical stories – I would say I’m pretty obsessed.
It comes mainly from my father who has spent the last few years retracing our family tree – finding old photographs, birth certificates and letters.
We discovered that my great, great uncle, William Drinnan, was deeply in love with a woman, but left to go and hunt and trap for a few months. While he was gone, that woman fell in love with another man – William’s brother.
William took off to the mountains by Nelson, B.C. where he lived in solitude until one year he froze to death. But during his time there, he would write letters to his niece – the daughter of his brother and long lost love.
We have found sections in history books dedicated to William – his broken heart, isolation and walks into town always wearing the same suit and hat.
Last year, my family hiked to the location at the top of the mountain where he had died.
They took water from the lake that was named after him and have now purchased a headstone to put at the Nelson cemetery in his honor.
See what a little digging into the past can do?
I strongly encourage everyone to take part in Historic Calgary Week, but try to keep the spirit of it all year round.
Because, as Cochrane grows it becomes even more important.
