BARRHEAD - To help commemorate Fort Assiniboine's bicentennial, Town of Barrhead Coun. Rod Klumph, plans to walk from the Alberta Legislature to the hamlet.
He announced his plan to his fellow councillors during the May 23 council meeting.
Klumph picked the location as the Legislature is near the original Fort Edmonton or Edmonton House, on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.
"Many of the people who went to Fort Assiniboine (200 years ago) were people like myself who got caught up in the gold rush and left their homes and businesses. They used the Klondike Trail to travel to gold fields in the Yukon," he said.
As part of its 200th-anniversary celebrations, the hamlet plans to host a series of events, the largest and most prominent being when the hamlet residents and other visitors welcome the second running of Athabasca River Brigade on July 8 and 9.
In 2017, the brigade of about 170 paddlers in 15 canoes undertook a 333-kilometre journey along the Athabasca River to celebrate Canada’s 150 celebrations and to teach voyageurs and the public about their history and the river's importance in the environment.
The brigade left Jasper June 22 and arrived in Fort Assiniboine six days later, where they were met by then-Alberta Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell and a crowd of about 1,200 well-wishers.
Klumph plans to leave Edmonton for Fort Assiniboine on July 1 and hopes to make it to the hamlet in time to see the arrival of the river brigade a week later.
"The route from Edmonton to Fort Assiniboine was so harsh that a group of (NorthWest Mounted Police) officers were sent up there to map the route. Only one made it," he said.
However, Klumph noted he does not believe his own trek will not be as dangerous as the one taken by the NWMP.
"The most dangerous part and what might take the longest is getting out of Edmonton," he said. "I might not make it. I have old legs and feet, but I will attempt it."
Klumph also said that he would not be precisely following the Klondike Trail, but rather a 160-kilometre hybrid route going from Edmonton past Morinville via Highway 2, then to Busby and on to Barrhead, before joining the Grizzly Trail to Fort Assiniboine.
Klumph then invited his fellow councillors to join him on his quest, noting the individual legs would be roughly 20 kilometres.
Coun. Dausen Kluin, who suffers from cerebral palsy, jokingly said that Klumph might be able to persuade him, but only if he could use his scooter.
"I might need a few extra batteries and a generator to charge them," he said.
Mayor Dave McKenzie interjected that council could follow his progress by tracking STARS Air Ambulance, which would be "circling Klumph like a vulture."
All kidding aside, councillors wished Klumph well, suggesting he could use the trek to fundraise for his favourite cause.
Klumph said while it was a worthwhile suggestion, he said that he just wanted to draw attention to Fort Assiboine's bicentennial celebrations.
He suggested that the municipality could support the hamlet by advertising or listing potential accommodations in the area on the town's Better-in-Barrhead website and participate in the festivities by hosting a presentation at the Fort Assiniboine Museum and Friendship Club Drop-in Centre.
"It could be as simple as sending a vintage artefact or picture that brings the history of (Barrhead's connection) because we are on the Klondike Trail," Klumph said, saying that he plans to ask the communities to write a letter congratulating the hamlet on its milestone which he would deliver.
He also proposed that the mayor Dave McKenzie, on behalf of the municipality, should ask the bicentennial committee "for podium time" at the event, so the municipality could congratulate Fort Assiniboine in person.
"What you plan to do is impressive, to say the least, and if anyone should have the honour of addressing the people at the Fort Assiniboine, it should be you," McKenzie said.
As part of the bicentennial celebrations, the hamlet also plans to host an expanded version of its Pioneer Days on June 6-9, where area school children participate in hands-on demonstrations designed to teach them what pioneering life was like.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
