Wetaskiwin District Heritage Museum Centre & City of Wetaskiwin Archives

As winter still looms over our weary Wetaskiwin heads, we remain optimistic as we longingly gaze at our beachwear and garden supplies. This beach/garden chair artifact from 1934 serves as a reminder that ‘Wetaskiwinter’ does end and locals have long embraced a beach culture at many of our scenic lake locations. Pigeon Lake was originally known as Hmi-Hmoo – a Cree word for ‘Woodpecker Lake.’ It earned its name due to the abundance of passenger pigeons that once flocked to that location. Evelyn Blanche carried this particular chair to many vacation beach spots like Ma-Me-O Beach, also known as ‘white pigeon’ in Cree. Before the lakeside was filled with beach bodies, occasionally you could spot a ‘Strandkorb’ beach-chair (made in Germany, 1882) that acted as an enclosed shelter from the sun and wind. By the 1920s, holidaying became a fashionable treat at Ma-Me-O Beach, so much so that a weekly publication called ‘The Beach Comber’ was released in the late 1930s. ‘The Beach Comber’ sold for 1 cent and was made up of gossip, personal observations, and advertisements. If you are looking to get warm, without sand, but with a drink in your hand, join us for Rock-A-Hula beach party at the end of this month!