The Victoria Hotel is located on the corner of 48th Avenue and Queen Street in downtown Bruderheim Alberta. It is a small community in the shadow of a sprawling metropolis (Edmonton) and chemical plants to the west illuminate the night sky.

The Hotel was built in 1906 by the Krause family and named in honour of Queen Victoria, who was monarch until her death in 1901. She left quite the legacy. Naming hotels after royalty was common back in the day, as was the practice of locating these establishments right across from the train station. That was the case here and while the trains still run, they are not the people movers they once were. The station building is but a memory.

“I’m glad you guys come out. I think it’s awesome what you guys are doing. This is great.” – Al (speaking of our project).

“Yeah, they haven’t really returned to normal…people aren’t coming out like they used to. Habits change. See, everybody’s got their own man cave now.” – Al (on running a hotel pub in a post Covid world).

Bruderheim dates to the 1890s but did not really see any growth until the arrived of the Canadian Northern Railway around 1905 or 1906 (reports differ) It is now a Canadian National line and has been since 1920-ish.

Many early settlers in the area were German speaking and mostly came from what is present day Ukraine. Bruderheim when translated means Brother’s Home.

“We’ve got good ownership here. Al and his sister, they run the bar and I can’t ask for any better people to do it.” – Karl.

“So the hotel hired this girl. She was a bartender and I used to come by all the time…so I asked her out on a date and then next thing you know, we’re married now…so it’s a pretty love story of the Victoria Hotel.” – Karl.

The town started out small but by the 1920s had population of about 300. For the next few decades it ranged between 250 and 500. In the late 1970s there was a boom period for a few years and it multiplied several fold. This is thanks to all the petrochemical plants that sprung up nearby and Bruderheim became home to many of their workers. New homes are still being built today.

Once Bruderheim crossed the thousand mark it changed from a village to a town.

The Krause family were prominent citizens here and in addition to owning the Victoria Hotel, they also built the local feed mill. When originally constructed the hotel was smaller and the south section present day is the oldest. The building roughly doubled in size in the 1920s and there were other additions over the years as well.

In 1918 and 1919 the hotel functioned as a temporary hospital during the Spanish Flu epidemic. This gives rise to the most common of the many ghost legends associated with the hotel and most speak of a nurse apparition from that time.

“Before I bought this place, I wouldn’t drink here. I quit coming in here because it was run down. They weren’t cleaning it.” – Al (before the sale).

“I have no background in the industry. Absolutely zero.” – Al (speaking of being a first time hotelier).

“They got away with the VLT money…the ATM money…the float. They took everything.” – Al (on being robbed).

Former server Hazel spoke of remnants from the hospital that were still in storage upstairs in the attic when she first started working here in the 1960s. While originally employed at the Victoria Hotel Café (long gone), she later moved on to the Beer Parlour and stayed until a few years ago.

On the topic of royalty, Queen Elizabeth (great-great-granddaughter of Victoria) and Prince Phillip briefly stopped in town during a promotional tour of the area for the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton. They arrived by train, and while it is not said if their majesties ducked into hotel for a cold one, it was a backdrop for their visit.

About this time, the CNR station site was developed into Queen’s Park and Main Street became Queen Street.

“This seems like home to me. I mean, I’ve been here so long. Well, at one point, I lived in the apartment here in the hotel, too.” – Hazel.

“Oh, a few customers wore it. I don’t remember hitting him (looking at Kevin) but he says I did. He probably deserved it, first of all, right? Oh, yes, he deserved many, he deserved lots.” – Hazel (speaking of the baton shown disorderly customers – she might be tiny and meek in appearance but is no nonsense).

“I don’t know, from 1977 until 2022…I remember the days when you had the ALCB glasses and very regimented order to everything…you weren’t allowed to swear in the bar.” – Hazel (45 years on the job).

Historical photos from the 1950s in the Molson Breweries archives shows the hotel looking almost the same back then as it does today. So 75 years later and it is much as it was.

In that era it had the two door Beer Parlour setup typical of the times. Liquor law stated that drinking establishments must have both a “Men’s” and “Ladies & Escorts” entrance to separated drinking areas. Evidence of the second door remains to this day and is marked by the ghost outline of its frame.

A later photograph from the 1980s shows signage on the hotel the same as it is today. There’s no more steak pit, in spite what it says up there. For a time in the 1970s and 1980s, the Victoria was known as the Bruderheim Hotel.

“You know, on a weekend, Friday, Saturday night, if you weren’t here by six o’clock, there was no room.” – Hazel (on the old days).

“I tried to talk my daughter into coming, because she used to work here too. She saw the ghost. Kevin saw the nurse. But she saw it was a man in a black trench coat at the counter.” – Hazel (sharing ghost stories).

There have been numerous owners of the hotel over the years and one of the more colourful was a fellow by the name of Albert Strauss. A life-long bachelor, he ran the business for a number of decades starting in the 1920s.

Siblings Al and Liza are the current owners. They spoke of the aged structure, the post pandemic doldrums and shared their struggles and triumphs. The Beer Parlour Project scouted the Vic in the summer of 2023 and at that time they were just getting set up. When we returned for the subsequent visits it was busy and we hope the trend continues.

Like many old hotels, rooms are no longer rented.

Liza shared a collection of old papers found stashed away in various hidden parts of the building. The attics and basements of these establishments often hold hidden secrets (and far too many spiders). There’s a liquor license rule sheet from back in stricter times, receipt books and old newspapers that echo a nation’s fear of pending war (World War Two).

“If I was wealthy I would have bought it myself so I could still be here.” – Hazel (lamenting leaving the job after the hotel sold).

“Oh, yeah, but it was scary. I had the gun held at my head and I was scared, but it’s something you don’t forget.” – Hazel (on being robbed).

“So he comes out in this pink Cadillac, and I think, yeah, pink Cadillac.” – Hazel (speaking of meeting Al Strauss before he passed on).

Love letters sent by Trudy (Gertrude or Gertie) to then owner Al were also found. Neither were kids at the time. Trudy had been visiting her mother in Edmonton and somehow during 1948 she and Al met. A brief (and often one-sided) romantic fling followed. The tone in later correspondence suggests Trudy laments a love not fully reciprocated.

A photo found with the letters shows them together. There’s also an Easter card and other mementos.

In one letter Trudy speaks of returning to family in Ontario and then onward to England to put an end to her marriage at the time. Presumably, this is so she and Al can get more serious. These later letters were written while on a train crossing Canada, and from a steamship mid-Atlantic.

“The old-timers would grab their accordions, guitars, and banjos. Many nights, we staggered home because the entertainment was that good.” – Kevin (sharing memories of long ago).

“As you know (the hotel) was an infirmary. Suddenly one night, a young nurse appeared in a white gown and I swallowed the whole piece of pizza because I was in shock. As she walked by, she disappeared..it was right over by the jukebox. She walked in this way and passed by the jukebox before fading away. Shortly after that incident, I found a book at the town library that contained pictures and the history of the infirmary. As soon as I opened up the book, I recognized that nurse immediately; there was a photo of her that was just as clear as day.” – Kevin.

Al had the reputation of being a bit of a lady’s man, and given what is said by Trudy, a bit aloof, but that he kept the letters is telling. While a long-term relationship never blossomed between them it must have had an impact on his life.

Trudy eventually returned to Canada, and it appears she lived out her days in Edmonton. It’s not known if she divorced or remained married, if she reconnected with Al again, nor anything else.

Al passed on in the late 1960s. In addition to owning the hotel, he was part of the local police force for a time.

The Al and Trudy story is by no means complete. We will continue digging and post updates here should we know more.

Bruderheim, Alberta: Population about 1,300, located in Lamont County and about 65km northeast of Edmonton.