The Radisson Zion Museum is a Provincial Treasure

I recently took a short trip from Saskatoon to the town of Radisson, Saskatchewan.  I had traveled through the town before, but had never been too interested in the town's museum - the Radisson Zion Musuem.  I'm not a prairie museum enthusiast because usually I see neater pieces of history just driving around.

This time, however, the museum's owners lured me inside.  And it was incredible.

Privately owned and funded, artifacts fill every room of the old Zion church, and every room took my breath away. One of the owners, a warm and bubbly Barb, said that she, her husband and another partner had amassed and funded the collection, renovated the church, and now run the museum entirely on their own, just because they love doing it.   Their passion shows in every detail.

Just a few of the many photos I couldn't help but take...

The Beckett House Near Kinley, Saskatchewan

On a lone trip to the RM of Perdue, I came across this gorgeous house and homestead.  From my research, it appears to have been occupied as early as the 1910's, and lived in until the mid-1970's.  The Beckett family, who owned the home, were immigrants from Minnesota and frequently socialized with the Millers, a family I've previously profiled.  I absolutely love this house - enjoy!

The Beckett House

Other buildings on the homestead

View from the homestead.  In the distance is the Kinley, Saskatchewan grain elevator.

Inside the house.  

The living room.  Notice the white chair - my family owns identical ones.

Ladder to the attic

Upstairs

View out the back door.  

The Abandoned Miller House, Part Two

I previously profiled the Miller house, located in Perdue, Saskatchewan. Since then, I've done quite a bit of research on the history of this family and the community in which they lived.  I will be posting soon about a house I refer to as "gunshot house", owned by a family named Beckett, a few range roads south of the Miller house.   Until then, here are some additional photos of the Miller house and homestead:

The master bedroom

Some things never change

Recordings of classical music

It's really quite rare to find such beautiful windows, still intact. 

Late 1940's tractor

An old Ford, in the garage

Love Old Prairie Towns? Then You'll Love This Site

I heard about Prairie Towns on CBC radio this morning.  It's a work-in-progress type of site, and the author welcomes input and photo contributions from readers.

Very well-organized, Prairie Towns features photographs of original mainstreets, schools, churches, residential buildings, rail stations and practically everything else.  As a photographer of ghost towns, I find the pics on this site fascinating.  Go ahead and check it out.

One of my favorite hamlets, Tuxford, Saskatchewan.  From the website Prairie Towns

I photographed the building on the far right in the summer of 2014.  Quite neat to see it in its original condition.

A Trip to the Dust Homestead

One of the things I love most about photographing abandoned properties is the mystery each house holds.  The first question always concerns who owned the house and whether or not that person or family is still in the area.  When a family moves houses, or an older couple moves to the city, it's quite easy to see this from the lack of possessions the family left behind.

I've been in quite a few abandoned houses, however, containing belongings that show a family hastily left, or was forced to leave because of age, financial reasons, and from time to time, potential foul play.

I find it especially heart-wrenching when I find a house that was abandoned - most likely when an older couple had to move because of their advanced age and need for daily assistance - is still full of that couple's most precious belongings.  Photographs, scrapbooks, fine clothes and jewelry, love notes, and university diplomas, laid to rest in the deteriorating house.

Did these couples or families lack others to care for their belongings, or to hold dear their memories?  Was the job of cleaning out the house just too overwhelming for loved ones to face?

I found this house, once belonging to a family named Dust, while out looking for a cemetery I read was nearby.  The homestead lay at the very edge of town, across from a badly flooded abandoned hog operation.  The entire homestead consisted of a large house, a gorgeous barn, and many wooden storage sheds.   The windows of the house were missing and the back door was wide open.  The house had not been ransacked but appears to have been left out of necessity and the job of cleaning out the house may have overwhelmed relatives nearby.  In any case, the house was a truly beautiful and haunting piece of Saskatchewan history and contained many stories of the family who once called the place home.

Below are scans of negatives I found on the property, as well as my own photos of the homestead today.  The house appears to have been occupied as late at 2008 and as early as 1930.

The homestead then...

The homestead 

The Dust Family

Dust father and son

And now...

The Dust House, September 2014

The barn, 2014

The back of the house

These sheds were full of chairs, tools, car parts, and cookware.

Boxes upon boxes, full of everything imaginable, filled many rooms of the house.