What does Edmonton sound like to you?
I started asking myself this question about a month into this job, when we were tasked with developing an ECAMP pop-up exhibit. To me, this city’s most recognizable sounds come from our transit system. Every day on my way to work, I hear the “Train bound for 102 Street will be arriving in 30 seconds…” and the ear-piercing bells signaling the closing of the doors. I hear the rumble of the belowground tracks at Churchill. I hear the pressure-releasing puff of a bus kneeling down at a curb. All of this had me thinking, these are all the transit vehicles that we have now, so what was here before?
I come from a family of bus drivers and Edmonton Transit System workers. My grandpa drove for ETS for a total of 15 years, and he would have witnessed a lot of changes: from the electric trolley buses that he started driving in 1964, to the diesel and hybrid buses operated and introduced while he was living and working in Edmonton. My cousin (hi Brian!) said that my grandpa knew drivers who loved to make the old Propane buses backfire. By pumping the gas as they approached a hill, the gas that’d been built up in the manifold would make a massive “bang!” That would have been a great sound to capture, but unfortunately, they don’t run the Propane buses anymore…
But the buses are only one small part of the history of how people got around in the place we now call Edmonton. My project, Hearing Edmonton in Motion, is all about the evolution of transportation here.
Between tours, I’ve been scouring the city, recording different sounds that I could edit together into three soundscapes that trace this history and change.
I trekked out to the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin for some old cars. A field trip to Fort Edmonton Park yielded a Red River Cart and Edmonton Yukon & Pacific steam engine. And you may have seen me running like a weirdo on the ECAMP Instagram; now you know that I was being strange for a purpose! As a huge museum / historic site nerd, getting to go to these places was cool all on its own, but this project has given me so much more than that. I was able to learn more about what public transportation used to be, how people got around before cars existed, and, in a really lovely way, I had the opportunity to connect with what my grandpa loved to do even though he’s not here to talk to me about it himself. I didn’t go into this project with the expectation that I’d engage with my family’s history at all, but every connection and tie to their work was more than welcome. The gems you find when you’re not looking for them!
After weeks of recording, planning, and editing, I am proud to say that you can experience the finished soundscapes (and a lil’ interactive activity) in Churchill Square on August 19th from 11:30 – 2:30. Come down, listen, play around with history, and tell us what you think! The soundscapes will also live on ECAMP’s SoundCloud, which you can check out here:
Since Time Immemorial to the Fort covers the long, long span of time before Edmonton was even a spot on the map. Hear the whoosh of grass and crunch of snow underfoot, the addition of our favourite animal companions, and the beginnings of Fort Edmonton. One iconic sound you’ll certainly notice is the rattling and squeaking of a Red River Cart, a invention by Metis people in the Red River area (hence the name!)
The Boomtown Days of Edmonton transitions from horse-powered vehicles to planes, trains, and automobiles. A mere Fort no more, Edmonton grew exponentially during the early years of the 20th century, and with that brought a host of new ways to transport people around the brand new city.
Journey into Modernity traces the rapid growth and expansion of Edmonton’s city, population, and transit system. We’re a long way from only having one Ford Model A chugging through the town’s unpaved streets! Now with modern cars, diesel, hybrid, and fully electric buses, LRT system, and more, everyone can get from place to place with ease.
– Emily Horrill, ECAMP Interpreter
Special thanks to:
The folks in the car garage at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum
Neesha, George, and Brendan at Fort Edmonton Park
Brian Korthuis, Ryan Birch, Dwayne, and everyone who was manning the ETS exhibit at K-Days
My mom for dragging big sticks while I shoved a mic at her feet
And of course, Chris, Kesia, and Marina for making all of this possible!
Further Reading:
Colpitts, George. “The Methodists’ Great 1869 Camp Meeting and Aboriginal Conservation Strategies in the North Saskatchewan River Valley,” in Great Plains Quarterly 29, no. 1 (2009): 3-27. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2169&context=greatplainsquarterly
Edmonton Radial Railway Society, “Edmonton Streetcar History.” https://www.edmontonstreetcars.ca/learn/streetcarhistory
Knox, Olive. “Red River Cart Trains,” in Manitoba Pageant, 1956. https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/pageant/02/carttrains.shtml
Tingley, Kenneth W, and Edmonton Transit System. Ride of the Century : The Story of the Edmonton Transit System. Edmonton: Edmonton Transit System, 2011.