You might think that the Father Lacombe Chapel is a quaint little building steeped in history, but you’ll never go because it doesn’t have food.
Well, tomorrow is the day to change your mind. Alberta’s oldest standing building and a provincial historic site is once again the place to take in A Taste of the Past where you can enjoy some authentic old-fashioned homemade ice cream and other historic foods while taking a moment to learn about local history.
“We’ll have a lot of historic recipes happening,” said Jacob Kryger, one of the historical interpreters on the site. “We’ll be making a lot of historic foods and people can come and try them.”
He promised tourtière, a French-Canadian minced meat pie, as well as pickled vegetables, and a variety of cookies, among the menu items.
“It’s a bit of a list.”
In A Taste of the Past’s past, there has been bannock, pemmican, and borscht, not to mention the delightful ice cream, making the event a veritable cornucopia of gustatory delights.
The interpretive guides will also tell stories from the past and offer historic craft activities and games for guests to participate in.
“We’ll have the spinning wheel that people are welcome to try that if they like. I’ve been learning how to do that this summer. It’s been quite interesting.”
Kryger said that, as a lifelong St. Albertan and history buff, he has always been interested in working at the chapel.
“With this job, you end up learning so much of the history that you wouldn’t have learned.”
Some of the most interesting things he’s learned about are all of the different uses that the building has been put to over its lifespan since it was first built the same year that the mission of St. Albert was established: 1861.
“It was used as a chapel for nine years, a cathedral for one year, and then after that, it was used for a whole bunch of different things. At one point, it was a chicken coop and a storage area for the church. They took out the back wall and the bishop used to park his car in here.”
It was also Alberta’s first museum in 1927. The building was moved from its original location to where it currently sits. It was restored in the 1980s.
Visits to the site average around 20 people per day but there was a swarm of more than 100 visitors one day earlier this week. The local appetite for history certainly has been whetted. People can learn more by visiting its website at www.history.alberta.ca/fatherlacombe.
Admission to tomorrow’s event is by donation to the St. Albert Food Bank. It runs from noon to 4 p.m. The chapel is located on St. Vital Avenue, just to the east of the St. Albert Catholic Parish.
