Half the fun of finding the Last Chance Saloon in the haunted Rosedeer Hotel in Wayne (blink your eyes and it’s gone), Alberta, is meandering along a narrow valley dusty road beside the Rosebud River. Locals call this the Eleven Bridges Road; all eleven are short, wood planked, and one lane. The Guinness Book of Records lists this unique road as having the most bridges in the shortest distance.
On our Canadian cross country motor trip the antiquated Rosedeer Hotel was not on our agenda. Then a local guide whispered:...Rosedeer. Haunted. ’Tween bridges 9 and 10. Murder. Last Chance Saloon, best buffalo burgers ....12.8 km southeast of Drumheller.
On our Canadian cross country motor trip the antiquated Rosedeer Hotel was not on our agenda. Then a local guide whispered:...Rosedeer. Haunted. ’Tween bridges 9 and 10. Murder. Last Chance Saloon, best buffalo burgers ....12.8 km southeast of Drumheller.
The Last Chance Saloon in the Rosedeer Hotel, over 100 years old, is a slice of the old Wild West. It is the background star in movies like Running Brave, Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, and Jackie Chan's Shanghai Noon. Wayne, the village in which it is located, once boasted 3,000 inhabitants; 2,000 were miners. Today’s town sign reads population, 33.
The old flat-topped planked building is sandwiched between the railway track and the hills. Directly across the road is the site of the once active Rosedeer Coal Mine. Before the Eleven Bridges Road, everything and everyone came in by railroad.
The old flat-topped planked building is sandwiched between the railway track and the hills. Directly across the road is the site of the once active Rosedeer Coal Mine. Before the Eleven Bridges Road, everything and everyone came in by railroad.
‘Twas one wild and lawless town. Mine workers favoured the Communist Party and in the 1920s Ku Klux Klan members lit crosses on the hills. One of the previous owners said at that time the bar was known as the Bucket of Blood because of miners’ fights. When coal mining was in full swing some Ukrainian and Russian miners wanted to form a union. The company brought in several KKK union busters. They beat up a number of union organizers, two of whom died in a room on the third floor. This ended the call for unionization but created a haunted room still available for rent at your peril.
Bullet holes in the saloon’s wall are framed above the piano, testimony to the time three strangers walked into the bar, ordered drinks and refused to pay. The bartender calmly walked back to the bar, pulled out a 45-calibre revolver and shot three bullets, each one over the heads of the headstrong customers who soon fled from the scene. This took place in the 1970s! Bar walls are crammed with memorabilia: a working band box, records, barber poles, stuffed animals, puppets...you name it.
Bullet holes in the saloon’s wall are framed above the piano, testimony to the time three strangers walked into the bar, ordered drinks and refused to pay. The bartender calmly walked back to the bar, pulled out a 45-calibre revolver and shot three bullets, each one over the heads of the headstrong customers who soon fled from the scene. This took place in the 1970s! Bar walls are crammed with memorabilia: a working band box, records, barber poles, stuffed animals, puppets...you name it.
There are no other businesses in Wayne. There used to be a post office, store and a few others but only the hotel remains, although young people are now attracted by the village’s unique reputation.
We thought about staying the night in the haunted room. That was before current owner Dave Arsenault showed us a couple of photos on his cell of ghostly images taken by a patron a few weeks ago. For sure we saw two ethereal outlines just behind the bar.
Not to be outdone, the female bartender told us her paranormal story as we sipped bourbon like the oldtimers. While working the bar, she heard someone call her name several times. Despite her search, she never located the caller. When some of her bar help also mentioned they heard her voice calling them---and she wasn’t on the premises---they each chalked it up to another visit by ghostly auras.
We thought about staying the night in the haunted room. That was before current owner Dave Arsenault showed us a couple of photos on his cell of ghostly images taken by a patron a few weeks ago. For sure we saw two ethereal outlines just behind the bar.
Not to be outdone, the female bartender told us her paranormal story as we sipped bourbon like the oldtimers. While working the bar, she heard someone call her name several times. Despite her search, she never located the caller. When some of her bar help also mentioned they heard her voice calling them---and she wasn’t on the premises---they each chalked it up to another visit by ghostly auras.
Route: Calgary to Rosedeer
If you haven't already done so read the STALKER,
winner of the 2015 John Kenneth Galbraith Literary Award
New Section: Readers Comments
If you haven't already done so read the STALKER,
winner of the 2015 John Kenneth Galbraith Literary Award
New Section: Readers Comments
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