FROM THE BRANCHES
FROM THE BRANCHES
CRTA Remington Carriage Museum Visit
LINDA MANWARREN ; PICTURES BY DON CHECKLEY
On June 1 , thirty-five members of the Calgary
Retired Teachers ’ Association ( CRTA ) travelled to Cardston to visit the Remington Carriage Museum . Don Remington , for whom the museum is named , was a landowner , cattle rancher and philanthropist . After organizing a Santa Claus parade in Cardston , he began to collect and restore sleighs and carriages . He travelled the world to look for carriages and sleighs for his own collection proposed that the Alberta government build a museum in Cardston to which he would give his collection provided that the carriages and sleighs in his collection not be separated .
The collection has grown to over three hundred carriages and sleighs that are housed in a beautiful museum complete with tack , a working stable and a restoration workshop . The museum boasts the largest collection of buggies , sleighs and carriages in North America and includes a Hansom Cab worth over one million dollars
that once was the personal cab of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt , an American multimillionaire .
We were able to enjoy a visit to the stable , a carriage ride with Randy , our driver and former school principal , and a visit with Nick , a twelveyear-old horse .
This museum , with the Reynolds – Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin , is featuring a tribute exhibit to the McLaughlin Carriage and Automobile Company out of Oshawa — one of Canada ’ s very own automobile companies .
On the museum grounds is a statue of the famous racehorse Seabiscuit with jockey George Woolf who was born in Cardston .
On main street in Cardston is a fountain named after Fay Wray who starred in the 1933 movie King Kong . Miss Wray was also born in Cardston .
This See Alberta visit to the Remington Carriage Museum allowed members to gain further appreciation of our country ’ s interesting history . �
McLaughlin carriage
Carriage ride Seabiscuit Statue
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