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The Brazeau Collieries Minesite is situated approximately one mile/1.6 kilometers from the old town of Nordegg, which now is classified as a ghost town. At the present time, to visit the Minesite, it is necessary to be accompanied by an authorized Tour Guide. However, if you wish to customize your tour in order to fulfill a specific curriculum, or to cater to a specific purpose/outcome, please present this request in writing to the Head Office of the Nordegg Historical Society, Box 550, Rocky Mountain House, AB, T4T 1A4, or by email to: pforsyth@county.clearwater.ab.ca It also is suggested that, a few days prior to your arrival at the Nordegg Heritage Center, you arrange to speak with the Guide who will be assigned to conduct your tour, in order to discuss your specific requests/requirements. (Phone 403-721- COAL (2625).
Preliminary preparation can be as in-depth as you wish, but it is suggested that at least some preparation take place prior to departure for the field trip. The following information guide is based upon total immersion in the topic. Please note that this guide will be more intense than the majority of institutions will wish to follow. A brief synopsis is given with each heading listed. Please select those items that fit the criteria for the objectives that have been established for your study.

Background information regarding the town of Nordegg, and the social aspects of life in a company-owned resource town, are closely tied to the mining operation. Considerable information is available within the resource material to be discussed, but the main focus of this guide is upon the Brazeau Collieries.
If your field trip includes a study of the town, and every-day life of the people, please request a copy of the Driving and Walking Tour Map of Nordegg. This will show the original plan of the town, superimposed with locations of historic buildings still standing, and structures erected after closure of the mining town. On the back of this map is a brief explanation of the numbered areas. A few local hiking trails also are illustrated. You are granted permission to make copies of this map to the extent that each tour participant has a copy.
To explore the town, it is suggested that the tour leader create, and discuss with the other supervisors, a plan of action whereby small groups can be taken on a walk of discovery through the area of the town. Each group would cover the same points of interest and related general material, but not necessarily all at the same time.
Information on the town of Nordegg can be found on the Historical Society website page: Nordegg, Past, Present, and Future. Information on both the town and the general area is on the website page: Nordegg and the Nearby Area. These can be accessed through the Historical Society Home Page: http://www.nordegghistoricalsociety.8m.com/

One area which connects to both the Brazeau Collieries Mining Operation and to the town of Nordegg, is the special graveyard set aside for the 29 miners killed in the explosion of #3 Mine on October 31, 1941. This is located next to the Nordegg Heritage Center. It can be found just south of the back entrance to this building. Three of the miners killed were buried elsewhere; 26 lie in this graveyard.

Some knowledge of the location and the background of development of the mining operation, as well as the people involved in this, is helpful in understanding subsequent events. It aids in the appreciation of the part played by Brazeau Collieries in the unfolding of Canadian history and in Canadian resource development in the 20th century. This study can be done as a brief overview, or as a detailed examination.
This listing (below) begins with a brief overview, and becomes more comprehensive as it progresses:

This (following) is directed at all age and grade levels.
This (following) study is sufficient for Upper Elementary Students.
Primary Grades: the teacher/tour organizer will need to adapt a simplified version of this information

Section A.. 1) Prior to your visit, read the historical information given on the top portion of the Homepage of the Historical Society website (until you reach the update section on present day news.) Further down the page, there are photos and information about restoration work done on the minesite in recent years, which you may wish to cover.

2) Next, click on the link to Nordegg Town

These three pages will give a brief, but reasonably complete, overview of all aspects of the area, town, and industrial complex. They may be printed for reference purposes.

Section B (optional) ­ more detailed and broader scope of information.

If you wish to have more in-depth knowledge, the following two sites will give you more complete information, with the second being the most comprehensive of the two.

1a) *For Kids - This is an 'alphabet' page, with three items to give information on Nordegg, the man and the town.

http://www.albertasource.ca/alphabet/flist_selected_letter.php?letter_id=n

1b) *The following site has a five-page write up on the Nordegg story, and it is in more detail than the one above (suitable for the older child, or the better reader):

**Advanced Grade Six, Middle School (Junior High), High School, and Post-Secondary Groups**

1c) *The following site has a four-page write up on the Nordegg story, and it is in more detail than the ones above:

Click on the map where it says Nordegg (It is actually shown north of where it should be located). A small box about Nordegg is displayed. Click on the words, Read More. This brings you to the settlement page, the first of four pages of history, as listed in the box on the right.

2) *If you prefer more in-depth knowledge, about Alberta mining communities, and the place of Nordegg within the Alberta picture, go to:

This site was constructed around the history of the Italians who came to Canada, to work in the coal mines. Nordegg had a disproportionately high number of Italian immigrants. The historical information is very thorough, compiled and presented as a project of the Heritage Community Foundation.
Follow each section of the Quick Links (red box on right side of page) to see the complete story.

Section A

Allow enough time in Nordegg, prior to your tour start time, for students to view an introductory video, Vision in the Valley, at the Nordegg Heritage Center.
If this is an annual visit, and your institution has materials relating to Nordegg, this video could be shown and discussed prior to making the trip to Nordegg.

Section B

1) *Students also can trace development of the mining complex by reading and viewing the information presented in the Museum (see information below, heading of *NOTE : Museum Material).

Also, background information on the 1941 explosion, that killed 29 miners, is available in the Museum. This explosion will be discussed briefly during your tour. Following the tour, have the students stop at the Miners Graveyard, where 26 of the 1941 explosion victims are buried. They may walk inside the cemetery fence, provided they maintain a respectful approach. Then return to the Heritage Center, just to the north, to complete their study.

There is a section in the Museum which is devoted to the explosion, Included is a map, used at the inquest, showing where each of the victims was located, within the mine.

2) *If you wish to view this material using a different approach, do these activities prior to taking the tour. Allow a minimum of one half hour to covering the material in the Heritage Center Museum, and another half hour to view the background video, Vision in the Valley.

**There are three videos, Vision in the Valley, Nordegg: Ghost Towns of Canada, and Nordegg Sports Days, 1947/48. As supplementary material, any of these videos will be played upon request. These videos also are sold in the Gift Shop (**see complete list of available materials, at the conclusion of this Study Guide).

The Museum material is arranged chronologically, beginning with the folding boards immediately inside the Museum entrance. This section covers the Kiska Waptan Nakoda Natives, originally known as the Wesley Stoneys. They lived in this area prior to development of the town of Nordegg. Their history is a fascinating one, strongly tied to the history of Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, and Rocky Mountain House. (For example, the well known name, Tom Wilson, the first non-Native individual to see Lake Louise, and the Guide for Major Rogers in plotting the route for the railway, had a small trading post on Kootenay Plains, west of Nordegg. Three children of Tom Wilson became permanent residents of Nordegg.)
Following the Native information and photos, the history of the various stages of development of Nordegg is given, along with photos, as you walk around the Museum, following counter-clockwise.
Younger children would benefit by going in small groups, accompanied by a supervisor, who reads the information to them, and answers their questions. Some Upper Elementary students, Junior High students, and above, are capable of absorbing the material on their own, with a supervisor available to answer their questions.
If certain questions require further reference, it is suggested first to try the person at the Tourist Information Desk, as many of the Old Timers from Mining Town Nordegg help out in that capacity from May to September.
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REFERENCE AND STUDY MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE NORDEGG HISTORICAL SOCIETY HEAD OFFICE, and THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (no tax):

* The Nordegg Story, told in video format: Vision in the Valley - $19.95. This video traces Martin Nordegg from Germany to Canada, and then to Alberta. It follows the building of the Brazeau Collieries coal mine operation, and the development of the town, also called Nordegg. This video is available in both NTSC (North America) and PAL (Europe) formats.

* The Nordegg video segment of the Ghost Towns of Canada series which runs on the History Channel and other documentary-styled stations, now is available for purchase - $19.95

* Also available is the video, Nordegg Sports Day - 1947-48 - $10.00. This shows the people of Mining Town Nordegg, and illustrates many of the traditional activities, including the Cowboy Race, Pillow Fights, Teepee Raising Race, Tug-of-War, and much much more, all set to a musical soundtrack (no spoken audio).

Dave Campbell, who now lives in Edmonton, has recorded two CDs in his basement studio. These CDs contain the type of music played by Nordegg dance bands, that produced the music for Saturday night dances in the Empress Theatre/Dance Hall. Dave was a member of one such band of Old Mining Town Nordegg and, in this nostalgic trip down "memory lane", Dave takes the listener back to those days gone by.

* CD ­ Dave's Tunes : $10.00
* CD ­ More Tunes : $10.00

The most recently available book, When Coal Was King ($12.95), tells the story of the Brazeau Collieries mining complex from its inception in 1911 to closing in 1955. This book concentrates on the actual mining procedure, and the support structure required for an efficient operation. It also discusses, at length, the process of making briquettes, an operation for which Nordegg became famous.
There are a large number of photographs, maps, and diagrams to illustrate the information.

Small Moments in Time: the story of Alberta's Big West Country - $34.95 (From the distant past to present day - the North Saskatchewan River Corridor, the Shunda Basin, Brazeau Collieries, and Nordegg); by Anne (McMullen) Belliveau. This book is based upon the area, and discusses the many visitors and travelers who spent time within the region. It also traces the rise and fall of the only non-Native settlement in the area, that of Nordegg.

Martin Nordegg: the Uncommon Immigrant. - $24.95 The story of Martin Nordegg, his life, his adventures, and his family; by W. John Koch. This traces the life of the very private individual, Martin Nordegg, from his birth to his death. There is a wealth of background information on him and his family.

To the Town that Bears Your Name. $12.95 the story of the travels of Martin Nordegg and his daughter, Marcelle, west from Rocky Mountain House to Lake Louise by horseback. This included a visit to the new mining area which later would be called Nordegg; translated from German (Journal of Martin Nordegg), by Maria Koch.

Also available in German (when in stock)

Items are available through the Nordegg Heritage Centre and Museum from May to September.
Or, if you prefer, email Phyllis, or phone her at 403-845-4444, or mail inquiries to Nordegg Historical Society, Box 550, Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, T4T 1A4 .

For a complete understanding of this following material, please be sure to have completed a number of the study areas discussed above.

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