Old City Hall (BATUS Park)

Prior to my fascination with the history of Medicine Hat this year, I'm sure I saw a few pictures of this building in passing.  The truth is that I never gave it much thought, mostly because I didn't recognize it or realize what it was.  It wasn't until I started going through various online archives that I realized this was the original Medicine Hat city hall and fire station, and that it was demolished in the early 1980s right before I was born.

Today the location of the former city hall is better known as B.A.T.U.S. park (after the British Army Tactical Unit Suffield - the nearby Canadian Forces Base), on the corner of 2nd street and 6th avenue just across from the old Canadian Bank of Commerce building.  In fact, if you check out the photo set I did of that location you can see more archival images of this corner.

The loss of the old city hall is unfortunate, but the decision came after years of debate about the building not being large enough and its worsening condition.  In 1983 (Medicine Hat's centennial year) the new city hall was built just a block over along the bank of the South Saskatchewan river.  Thankfully, the city council was brave enough to agree on a bold and modern design.

City council wasn't always quite so successful in their decisions however.  Between the late 1960s and early 1970s, in one of various attempts to spruce up the aging city hall, they decided to paint the entire building (in what I can only image was vomit inspired) green.  There was no way that was going to age well.  

Then in 1973, to give the illusion of a modern structure, and because I imagine people were getting ill from the colour, the building was covered entirely in metal panels that further stripped the building of its charm.  Of course, the facade did nothing to help the interior, which my mom recalls from her brief time working there, "only made the offices darker".  By the time talk of demolition started, I imagine many cringed at the thought of how much it would have cost to try and restore this Frankenstein of a building.      

In the end, I found it fascinating to uncover the evolution of this space, and how despite seeing this park regularly, I knew almost nothing about it.  I didn't even see a historical marker in the park saying that the city hall used to be there.  As it was, this corner in downtown Medicine Hat used to be a pretty significant place.  It was the central fire hall and seat of the local government for over seven decades. 

Park entrance.

The city's medicine man icon in BATUS park.

Spliced: Mockumentaries

The following comes from my column, Spliced from Volume 47 - Issue 18 of the Carillon (the University of Regina newspaper) from February 2005.  In it I discuss my love of mockumentaries, and why I think others should drink the Kool-Aid too.

The fake documentary, or mockumentary, is something I could talk about, or not talk about for hours. And still, I’d find things to not talk about.

How I’d love to claim that joke, but it’s spoken by Sheri Ann Ward Cabot, a character in the brilliant mockumentary, Best in Show (2000). A comedy about the Mayflower dog show, and the fanatical, but hysterical characters that pamper their dogs in pursuit of a blue ribbon.

Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Jennifer Coolidge, are just a handful who star as dog owners who bring new meaning to the words eccentric and witty. The cast is exceptional, and although they’re all outrageous, the semblance of reality is never far off.   The movie is so successful at breeding laughter from seemingly commonplace occurrences that you’ll come to find yourself saying, “I know someone like that” or at least you'll think you do.

Whether I’m talking about Corky St. Clair, Nigel Tufnel, Harlan Pepper, Alan Barrows, or the modern father of the mockumentary (I thought I‘d exaggerate a bit to keep with the style of the genre), I’m talking about one funny man: Christopher Guest.

His first big induction into the genre was in Marty DiBergi’s (aka Rob Reiner’s) rockumentary This is Spinal Tap (1984). For any music fan, this is a must see. Picture every stereotype, every unconventional act, and every nuance of the big haired, spandex wearing, heavy metal band culture of the 1980’s, and therein lies the endless comedic foundation of this film.

Guest plays Nigel Tufnel, one of the band’s leading members who is torn by the lead singer’s girlfriend, and the declining popularity of the group. The information and critical comment that this, seemingly ditsy, film provides is both inspiring and memorable. It’s a challenge, but try not to quote something from the film after watching it, I dare you.

Later in his career, Guest turned to directing and starring in his own mockumentaries starting in 1996 with Waiting for Guffman. His flamboyant Corky St. Clair, decides to direct a pageant for the 150^th anniversary of the small Missouri town of Blaine. The cast established in this film transcended into his future films, Best in Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003), a mockumentary about the folk music scene.

In my experience, people either seem to love these films or hate them, however the tide seems to be changing with this style becoming more mainstream.  In many ways the genre is like a scripted blooper reel, which often makes you feel like you're in on the joke in that moment and not necessarily being played to.  You’ll quickly find out for yourself if you like them, and chances are if you‘re watching with someone who doesn‘t, the experience will be ruined.

Documentaries have gotten a bad reputation for being boring, or too dry, which in itself is a huge myth. But, if you’re having your doubts about watching a comedy posing as a documentary, don’t.

Christopher Guest’s films aren’t out to trick you, they’re out to entertain and make you laugh. See Spinal Tap or Best in Show if you want to get your first taste of this genre and style, because if you’re going to become a believer in the mockumentary, these are the films that are going to do it. And, if you’re already hooked, I'm glad you're in the club!

I feel there is nothing more I can say to get you to see these films, for I think Spinal Tap summed up the mockumentary genre best when they mused, “there’s such a fine line between stupid and clever”. 

Vintage St. Patrick's Church Postcard

Not long ago I came across this vintage Medicine Hat postcard of St. Patrick's Church on eBay. I snapped it up for a couple dollars thinking it might provide further inspiration for my Around the Hat series. What I really liked about the postcard when I first saw it was that it was used and stamped. Kind of like with my coin collection, I actually enjoy a lot of memorabilia more knowing that people have used it or have a story connected to it. The history becomes tangible in that respect.    

This postcard was mailed from Medicine Hat to North Richfield, Utah in 1957 for 5 cents, however the image is likely older than that because the street isn't paved. The message on the back is from one pen pal to another, simply stating that a letter will be on the way shortly. It makes me a bit curious about who these people might have been, but I also just like the poetry of having this postcard mailed back to the Hat 55 years later.