Stettler Alberta was founded in 1905 and in anticipation of the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway. That firm was building east from Lacombe and arrived in the community the following year. Stettler is named after Carl Stettler, a Swiss immigrant.

A few years later the line was extended further east and eventually went all the way into Saskatchewan. At present it is still operated by the Canadian Pacific (Canadian Pacific Kansas City now), but presently ends in Stettler. The rest of it to the east is all but gone and relegated to the history books.

Stettler became a two railway town in 1911 when the Canadian Northern Railway arrived in the area. The year 1920 saw that line become a Canadian National Railway property. As late as the 1980s you could still catch a passenger railcar into Stettler and it was operated by VIA Rail Canada on CN’s track.

Although CN no longer operates this line, a section running from Stettler south to Big Valley remains active. Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions hosts tour trains and oftentimes with an old steam locomotive. It is a popular tourist draw and great fun for the whole family.

“Hi, I’m Kimberly Ko, and I have been running this hotel since 2013…I’m actually a registered piano teacher. Right now, if I go back to 12 years, now I’m more knowledgeable in the business, I wouldn’t have bought this.” – Kimberly.

“It’s a nice, it’s actually a really nice design building…almost like an art deco-y kind of thing going on, moderne…” – Kimberly.

The population of Stettler has steadily increased from about 1200 in the early days, to roughly 1300 in the early 1940s and over 2400 in the 1950s. It experienced an accelerated growth starting the 1980s and it is well over five thousand now.

Residents are largely employed in agriculture, oil and gas, and retail. Stettler is the economic hub for the area and serves a large outlying area. At the time of our visit it was by far the largest community visited by the Beer Parlour Project to date. Most of the towns we have visited had populations in the hundreds.

“I’ve been playing piano since I was five years old.” – Kimberly.

“So usually when I do an investigation, I bring the people in. We talk about what the stories have been told, what experiences have happened. And then I take them down into the basement. And I’ll have cameras set up with night vision…” – Lylas, on doing investigations at the hotel.

Stettler still retains a vibrant downtown and boasts all the amenities anyone would ever need. That is certainly not the case in many other communities we have visited where there are few businesses left.

Carl Stettler constructed the National Hotel on the same site as today’s Stettler Hotel. This was in 1906, and two years later it burned to the ground. Shortly after the fire, it was rebuilt and sold to new owners, but it too went up in flames in 1942. Hotel fires were common in the old days.

A newspaper account of the time mentions no serious injuries, but the building was a complete loss. The present hotel dates to 1948 and is on the same lot. Some 2000 folks attended the grand opening celebrations and a good time was had by all. Especially those in the Beer Parlour. That number represents more than the entire population of Stettler proper at the time, so it was quite the event.

“Do you know Robert Raymond Cook’s story? He murdered his family…it was his father, his stepmother and his five siblings (June 25th, 1959). And the funeral home was not able to accommodate that many bodies at once. Because the Stettler Hotel had a walk-in cooler, that’s where they stored some of the bodies, until they can be prepared. Yeah, the spirits with the spirits.” – Lylas. (Cook was convicted and hung in 1960).

“And then I thought maybe I can just fix it (the building) and I can just run it, right? But it’s a continuous fixing, continuous. So, this building is for sale now.” – Kimberly, on the building needing constant attention.

A cursory glance is all you need to tell you the building is from the 1940s. In both style and vibe, there is no doubt. It is of concrete with decorative brickwork, parallel lines, shiny ceramic tiles of black, chrome trim and there is a neon sign (with LEDs now).

The owners have since restored this feature, but converted it to more durable and economical LEDs. It retains the look of the original and when lit is like a beacon in the night.

When built the Stettler Hotel had beer parlour and cafe on the main floor. Everything you need in one spot! There are two floors of rooms and we stayed in one for this shoot. The cafe is gone.

“Well, this is part of me, so I bought a piano in…you bring in what makes you comfortable, right? And I’ll play whenever there’s an opportunity. It is unusual to see a grand piano in a bar. I’m actually trained…they (customers) never really had a chance to listen to a classical pianist, but when they hear it, they just love it.” – Kimberly (she’s plays beautifully & we loved it too).

In the 1950s a drug store operated out of the north side of the building. In more recent times there was a liquor store there, but it was closed by the time of our visit.

In the days of early telephones, before seven digit phone numbers were adopted, the Stettler Hotel had the lowest number in the local directly… “1”. The hotel retained that number from the time that they opened, until part way into the 1950s.

An advertisement from the mid-1960s proclaims…

“The House of Ingram” – 46 modern up-to-date rooms – telephones – 24 hour service – reasonable rates – television – fully licensed – banquet rooms. Owners – Gene and Sheila Ingram.”

Records suggest that the hotel changed hands many of times over the years, but we were unable to establish a complete timeline. Small town hotels are bought and sold often. The Calgary Brewing Company opened the hotel and operated it for at least a few years at least, but then it fell into private hands.

“I think you can see the owner must be a lady in here. You can see a lot of flowers everywhere…it’s me. Yeah. I just put my character in this building.” – Kimberly (the flowers are a nice touch).

“So Kim is very generous enough to let us do investigations here because the Stetler Hotel is over 100 years old.” – Lylas.

The building was touted as fireproof and this was a big selling point given that the first two incarnations succumbed to flames. Constructed at an estimated cost of $300,000, a huge sum at the time (4+ million today), it was noted as exceeding the highest building standards of the time.

Kimberly, the current owner, has operated it for a number of years. In addition, she is an accomplished pianist and gives lessons on the side. There is a grand piano in the tavern and she can be encouraged to play if you ask nice. Watching her getting lost in the music is mesmerizing and a spectacle you’d never expect to see in an old hotel bar.

The hotel had a restaurant until recently, but that’s no longer the case and as such there is presently no food service in the pub. At various times in the past, other businesses operated out of the building, including hair salons.

The Stettler Hotel appears in many historical photographs and they show how little it has changed over time. Today, it is much the same as when first constructed. In the old days, the section that later became the drug store was once an open drive through, presumably to a back parking lot.

“I’m ready to do one. We’re going to do a half-second exposure. Okay. So, I’ll count three. Just be comfortable, whatever you want. Both of you and the piano are in on this one…look like you’re doing something…so when I say three, okay. One, two, three. Perfect…you guys carry on.” – Rob having us pause for a mid-interview film shot.

We suspect the Calgary Brewing Company sign on the north side of the building was added some time after construction, or perhaps is a more recent reproduction. In the early days there was another building immediately adjacent to the hotel and right up against that very wall.

In days past there were other hotels in downtown Stettler. The Dominion, the Royal, a Grand Union, an Alberta Hotel, a Lake View and a King Edward are all mentioned in historical documents, but with few details.

The Royal still exists, however, although not in its original building, and it is situated on the next block east of the Stettler Hotel. It is a rather nondescript two story structure.

Stettler, Alberta: Population about 5700 and it is located in Stettler County about 80km east of Red Deer.