Rowley, Alberta: The
Never Say Die Prairie Town—page 2
Locals and visitors to Rowley shopped at one of the
town's three stores to buy
some lumber at one of the yards or shoot
some pool. There were schools, a church, hospital and a community
hall. Farmers and ranchers did their business at the municipal
district office on Main Street.
Locals are proudly right wing and conservative, and many even
chuckle at the term redneck. Outsiders are spotted immediately.
Residents are blunt, speaking their minds freely and without a
hint of reservation. However, the bluntness and cowboy swagger softens dramatically at
the mention of one name—Sam Leung—a Chinese cafe and butcher
shop owner who served the town for almost three decades. Sam
charmed everyone, and he loved a good shot of whiskey and a poker
game. His backroom became the favorite haunt of the good old boys,
who after arriving on the declaration of buying meat, were soon at
the poker table.
Chop suey and fried oysters were served. But Sam's was also the
place where women could laugh and complain about their men while
munching shrimp. And many children learned to count with Sam's
pennies because the Chinese butcher made extra time to teach them.
Sam Leung retired in 1968 and died three years later down the road
in Rumsey. For some, his passing and the closing of his cafe
signalled the coming of the ghosts in Rowley. But the town's
decline, like so many other Alberta prairie communities, started
much earlier.
By the end of the forties, changes were already clearly evident in
Rowley. The
municipal district office had moved to nearby Morrin.
A series of fires over many years had leveled many stores,
services and homes. Some, like the barber shop and pool hall, just
closed because of dwindling business. New highways and roads were
built, but not within stopping range of Rowley. Traffic just
bypassed Rowley without even noticing.
Meanwhile, a new generation of Rowley citizens discovered Rowley
was no longer the centre of civilization, and that modern roads
made it easier to reach Drumheller to the south, and to Stettler
to the north, and even beyond to Calgary and Edmonton.
By the end of the fifties, many farmers found it impossible to
make ends meet on their quarter sections of land. Rising
transportation costs and sagging grain prices were forcing some to
leave. During the decade, the hotel and curling rink also burnt
down. They weren't replaced. Many original pioneer homes were
abandoned. As the old homestead properties were being gobbled up,
it left bigger farms but fewer people.
The sixties weren't much better. The third and last school closed
in 1965, and that same year, the biggest shock of all—the
railway station shut its doors.
Heritage Community Foundation Presents
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