Little White Church in the Rockies: Jasper Park Baptist Church and Bedford Inn Coffeehouse

This church in Jasper, Alberta was originally home to the "Union" church in Jasper - a congregation of Protestant Christians who weren't members of the Church of England in Canada (Anglican) congregation.

Famed author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), laid the cornerstone in 1914, while he was visiting Jasper. The church was officially opened in the fall of 1915, but it took several years to complete.

In 1925, the Union Church in Jasper voted to join the newly formed United Church of Canada - a merger of the Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Methodist churches in Canada.

In 1939, the Jasper United Church was visited by another famed author, John Buchan (The 39 Steps). Of course, at the time he was known as  Governor General of Canada, Lord Tweedsmuir, and was accompanied by Lady Tweedsmuir.

In the early 1940s, the place became known as "The Little White Church in the Rockies."

 In 1965, this building was sold and became home to the Jasper Park Baptist Church congregation. 

For many summers (1968 to the mid-1980s) the church basement was home to to the Bedford Inn Coffeehouse. The coffeehouse, styled like a 17th Century English inn, was named after Bedford, England - the home of another famous author, John Bunyan (The Pilgrim's Progress).

The Travelling Treasures of Tutankhamun: It's Worth the Trip to Toronto to Catch the King

 “He gave his life for tourism.”
That's how comedian Steve Martin once characterized the life an death of Tutankhamun (King Tut for all you Saturday Night Live fans) — the Boy King who reigned in Egypt for only 10 years, yet became the most famous pharaoh of the ages...
 

By Stephen A. Nelson

The Brandon Sun

December 11, 2009

The Tao of Taiwanese Sculpture 2: Zen and the Art of Juming

If there is one thing I learned in Taiwan, it’s this: 

language is an art, art is culture, and culture is politics. And in Taiwan, the best art — like the best politics — is rooted and grounded in tradition and history, but not bound by them...

By Stephen A. Nelson
The Brandon Sun
November 21, 2009

Coming Soon: Real Wild Ride with Jasper Motorcycle Tours

Keep that motor running! Head out on the highway!

It takes more than going down to your local video store and renting Easy Rider to become a rebel. And it takes more than riding on a bus to truly experience the Canadian Rockies.

To be a real rebel, you have to get on the road, off the beaten track, and take the road less travelled. And to experience the Rockies, sometimes you have to have to do that on a motorcycle – preferably a Harley Davidson.

But, of course, not everyone has a bike. And not everyone who has a one can bring it to Jasper. So for we Rebels Without A Cycle, there is Jasper Motorcycle Tours.

I could have rented a bike and leather gear and hit the open road looking like James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause or Marlon Brando in The Wild One. OK, maybe more like Dennis Hopper in Flashback!

But since I don't have my licence, I was most fortunate to get Candace for my guide; I sat in the sidecar, feeling like Robin next to her BatGirl.