BOWDEN — It was quite a procedure, but town staff managed to save a piece of Bowden history last week, as the former Bowden Hotel site and adjoining Mom’s Kitchen building and site were demolished and cleaned up.
At 6 a.m. Aug. 16, public works operator Kole Molyneux and Bowden Igloo Arena operator Cody Atkinson combined to save the Mom’s Kitchen sign, with the help of a couple of big pieces equipment.
Mom’s Kitchen was an iconic gathering place for many years, but the building had been abandoned in recent years.
The Bowden Hotel burned down on New Year’s Day 2022. Last week, that site and the adjacent Mom’s Kitchen site were knocked down and cleaned up, due to safety and health concerns over issues like asbestos and debris.
A movement to save the sign for posterity and possibly display it in the Bowden Pioneer museum gained ground on Facebook and in town hall.
Molyneux said he and Atkinson decided to take it down at 6 a.m. on Wednesday in order to be “out of the way of all the equipment” working on the Bowden Hotel and restaurant sites.
They came in with a truck and front-end loader as well as a couple of ladders. The bucket was positioned under the sign to catch it so there was no damage as it fell after being cut off from its post via a grinder.
During an interview with the Albertan, Molyneux described that procedure as “pretty simple,” but it wasn’t a quick one. He estimated the project took about an hour to complete.
“I was just kind of just making sure that we were all safe,” he said.
The sign was also big and heavy.
Its size was estimated to be about four feet by six feet, consisting of plastic and metal.
The sign was taken to the public works department for initial storage with the goal of eventually displaying it in the museum.
Molyneux was asked about the sign’s significance to the town.
“It's part of the town history. So you know, that's nothing easy to do. So. That was another day,” he said.
Atkinson felt the same way.
"I think it's pretty good. I feel pretty good about it,” he said. “You know, having the chance to again savour a piece of history of Bowden, it's always a good thing.
"(It’s) something generations to come can enjoy; the legacy. And everything passed down from generation to generation is always good, so can't go wrong with that.”
Rudy Friesen, the town’s chief administrative officer, said in addition to local residents, some members of council are also involved with the museum committee, so there was lots of talk in town hall about the need to save the sign.
"We weren't sure we were able to get at it. But as it turned out, the timing was right and we were able to get a couple of guys over there, so it was nice to get it down.
“And I know that the folks with the museum have some interest in it. So now they've got it,” Friesen said.
“I think that's why a lot of these small towns have these museums because there's a lot of history in these small towns. And so doing what we can to preserve that, it’s always nice when we can do it.”
Mayor Robb Stuart was asked for his thoughts about the rescue of the sign.
"To me, it's just an old sign," he said. "But if people want it, between them and the museum, I guess that's up to them -- if the museum thinks it's a relevant artifact -- because there were about three signs there before that one went up at least."
— With files from Johnnie Bachusky
