Council asks delegation to focus heritage tourism plans

Crowsnest Pass council asked Ron Hungar to return with a prioritized, costed plan and community-group support before seeking municipal backing for four heritage and tourism proposals.

Hungar, administrator of the 2024 Crowsnest Pass Coal Reunion, presented the ideas August 25. Council did not sponsor a project or commit municipal land, staff time or funding.

The proposals include restoring the remaining Koci crow statue in Blairmore and the Old Maude locomotive near the Greenhill Hotel, creating a driving tour of giant roadside attractions, installing individual plaques at Bellevue Union Cemetery and organizing a combined anniversary celebration in 2028.

Hungar said the Blairmore crow requires maintenance and structural attention. His presentation also described rust and other deterioration on Old Maude, which he said is owned and maintained by the municipality.

The crow is the remaining member of a pair associated with Crowsnest Pass artist Franz Josef Koci. Hungar said the other statue was dismantled after being moved to Bellevue.

His second proposal would connect large statues and monuments in Sparwood and southern Alberta through a self-guided driving tour. Visitors could collect stamps at roughly 10 attractions, supported by printed and online information, then receive a prize for completing the route.

Hungar said he has begun discussing the concept with other communities. The proposed 50-foot Davy safety lantern in Crowsnest Pass would be added to the route if it is built.

Council provided a letter of support for the lantern concept in June but did not commit municipal funding or ownership. Hungar said design work is continuing and proposed lighting it in violet, indigo and blue to resemble the flame cap of a Davy lamp.

The third initiative would place a separate marker near each grave at Bellevue Union Cemetery while leaving graves and headstones intact. Hungar said weathering has made many inscriptions difficult to read and that records are available to prepare the plaques.

He is exploring support through the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta.

Council members suggested he contact a local society already working on cemetery records and headstones so the proposal can build on existing work.

Hungar’s fourth proposal would combine three anniversaries in 2028: 125 years since the Frank Slide, 125 years since coal mining began in Frank, Bellevue and Coleman and 50 years since Alberta passed the Crowsnest Pass municipal unification legislation.

The legislation was passed in 1978 and the municipal merger took effect January 1, 1979. Hungar proposed dedicating the giant lantern as part of the celebration and coordinating activities with the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre.

His presentation said a committee would be needed to organize venues, displays, transportation, entertainment and other events. Hungar also said he has been exploring possible federal support for the lantern and anniversary programming.

Council members said the 2028 timeline could be workable but the group of proposals was too broad for a budget decision without a lead organization, clear scope and reliable costs.

Members advised Hungar to identify the proposal he considers most significant, assemble a community group and return with a plan that could enter the municipal budget process.

Any municipal participation will require a future council decision after those details are developed.