5. Subjects Events In the days before the Kodak Brownie and do-it-yourself photography, it was the professional photographer who recorded all manner of events, but he was of course restricted by time and distance from being on hand for the unexpected.  The fall blizzard that hit the southwest on September 13, 1903 is well documented in local histories but of course only a few photos exist.  It was probably good fortune that there was a photographer on hand in Baldur that day. While a new school was being constrcuted in Baldur in 1904, classes were held in the Fowler house, which still stands (as of 2024) on Elizabeth Avenue. Carberry was established by the PR in 1882. Much later a CNR Branch line provided another transportation link. This is the first CN train to arrive. Film and the developing process were expensive, so photographers chose their shots carefully. We have no record of the purpose of this gathering in front of the Elgin Hotel but it was certainly a camera-worthy event. Auctions of cattle and other livestock were and important commercial activity and we have a few photos such as this one in Elgin. Soldiers leaving Hartney. WW1 Scheduled events, like this excursion to Brandon Fair from Hartney, were a natural subject to document. While snowstorms are rare in September, they are common throughout the winter. This one must have seemed particularly fierce to a Killarney entice the photographer out of his warm studio. Field Days were a big deal throughout the first half of the twentieth century and the parades were especially well documented. This photo of an Orange Lodge re-enactment in Killarney in 1887 is rare. The photographer is unidentified but we can be grateful for the information provided about the participants. This photo from the James Wall Collection is a high finely detailed look at a railway construction project – near Neelin in 1904. The Annual Souisford Pioneer Picnic was fist held in 1883. It’s not every day that one sees camels on 7th Avenue in Virden, but because everyone knew the circus was coming and there was a photographer in town, we have this shot.