Stuff and Rabviews // Olds, AB

The Katimahouse has been uneventful as of late now that everyone is working. The upside of this being we're out of each-others hair for a bit, the downside being that there's not a lot to write about! So rather than leave you all hanging I've decided to take this opportunity to review Olds. But enough of my yappin', let's boogie.

Founded in *DATE HERE*, Olds was built around the rail line, and like most small towns in North America the infrastructure is based around the main street (50th Avenue). Many of the staples of day-to-day life can be found along 50th; a single-screen movie theatre, a western wear store, Shoppers, antique stores, and some family run restaurants (I've yet to try any of them, but hopefully I'll have visited them all by the end of my stay here. With names like Dutch 'N Such how could I not?). The Olds Agricultural College, kitty-corner to the Katimahouse, offers courses in agriculture, land sciences, and veterinary sciences among other subjects. The Agricultural Society (my employer) is another large focal point in Olds, although not always for the best reasons; the MegaDome has been cause for a plethora of complaints as it was built taller than local regulations permit.

The overwhelming majority of people I've met here have been kind and caring individuals. Interestingly, a large number of them are not natively from this area, or even from Alberta. The couple that own the local antique store are from England, the western wear owner is Ukrainian, and my boss is actually a University of Guelph Alumni (small world eh?). It's amazing how a small town can attract so many people, not only to live, but to come from far and wide to attend the local events such as the Ag Soc. shows and Olds Fashioned Christmas. Olds Fashioned Christmas? What's that? Well, I'm glad you asked (I told myself I was going to be professional for this review, but....pfft I don't need an excuse, this is my blog after all). OFC is a nearly two-month long event here that involves parades, period costumes, free food, and of course the town crier. I'll have more on that once the festivities begin, but it should be spectacular to say the least.

But I wouldn't be much of a critic if I wasn't critical now would I? Olds is not without its faults. I promise I won't complain too much about this, but its cold here. While those of you back home have +10 degree weather, it's -13 here, and we have an inch of snow. While this is unseasonably cool for this area, the fact is that Olds is always going to be cooler than Bradford. And what would winter weather be without ice?(ooh, check out that alliteration) A whole lot more pleasant for one. The town has been iced over but I've yet to see hide or hair of any attempts to melt it. No salt, no sand, and sidewalks that slant downwards towards the road. Not the best situation, especially considering the large number of elderly citizens in Olds. For now though I'll give the town the benefit of the doubt and assume that they weren't prepared for this. The only other real gripe I have is with the lack of a by-law prohibiting idling. Guaranteed, every farmer that comes into the Ag Soc. will leave their gigantic Ford running for the entire duration of their stay. True, most of these are petty things that can't be helped, but honestly there's not a whole lot out here to complain about. There are tons of people and things I miss from back home, but if you lived here you'd be fairly comfortable.

PROS:
-Great small-town atmosphere
-Amazing community
-Christmas is a two-month long affair that involves the whole community and tons of period costumes (more on that as it approaches)
-Everything is within walking distance
-Gorgeous college campus
-Single-screen movie theatre
-Chinooks provide a huge bump in the temperature in the winter months (when they blow in that is)
-It's flat. Really flat. You just won't believe how vastly, mind-bogglingly flat it is. Good for those of us who are lazy or have a hard time getting around

CONS:
-No autumn or spring, just winter straight into summer
-Un-salted / un-sanded sidewalks, made worse by the fact that large portions of them slant downwards towards the road
-No anti-idling laws resulting in huge pick-ups that just sit on the road, engines running, for unbelievable lengths of time
-It's really freaking flat, so there's nothing to stop the wind from howling through the streets.

**Stuff and Rabbits V 1.1**
-S&R will now be updating Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
-Writing will be improved, no more winging posts at 2 AM
-New site layout forthcoming
-Photos coming soon, courtesy of my grandpa's camera