Wildwood dates to 1908 and like many towns in western Canada it was founded with the coming of the railway. That line was part of the Grand Trunk Pacific’s transcontinental route, but since about the 1920s it has belonged to Canadian National Railways. The trains come long, often and fast.

Wildwood was originally called Junkins, after a railway official, but in 1929 it was changed to what is used today. The first hotel in Junkins was built around 1910, so just shortly after the railway came through. Interestingly it was not located close to the tracks but rather a couple blocks away.

Many old hotels we have documented were built by the tracks for a reason and that was to capture all that railway business. Everyone came and went by train once, and this made it a desirable location. Still, one could do well elsewhere in town.

“Well, I started in 1974. I had a little break over COVID and back again, so I guess I’ve been here for 50 years. And I’m only 29! A lot of people, after 50 years, you know, it’s just a job. To me, it’s not a job. It’s enjoyment. – Gladys. She’s a dynamo with an infectious personality.

“If you really want to come to meet amazing people in Wildwood come here. They treat you nice, have good hearts and are very caring. I think I started in 1994 and worked up to about two or three years ago in a bar. Now I’m over at the liquor store.” – Sherrie (speaking of working here and the owners). Sherrie has more pep than people half her age.

“But, you know, the older ladies, they’re just like family to me and treat me like their kid, right? Well, they seem so cool about the whole thing.” – Dan (speaking about the long time employees: Gladys 50 years, Sherrie 30 years & Glady’s daughter Cathy, 25 years).

The original hotel was expanded upon many times and when done, it was close in size to the one present day. It was also alike in form and similarly two stories tall.

This first hotel was called the Junkins and for a time post World War Two the name Jasper Highway Hotel was used. At the time the Yellowhead Highway (#16) passed by about a block to the south, but later a new alignment skirted the town completely.

“I enjoy every day of the time that I’ve been here. I love everything, everything about it.” – Gladys

“When we first came to Wildwood, yes, it was divided. Men on one side, couples on the other side.” – Gladys (speaking of the former Ladies & Escorts rule).

“The restaurant right now, we’re getting calls on it like crazy, so I imagine in a month or two. Once that’s back in we’ve got food service again.” – Dan (speaking about his hopes for the restaurant to reopen).

The original hotel burned down in 1958 and it is a story we hear repeated often. In the old days, hotels going up in flames seemed a common occurrence.

The current hotel is on the same property as the first and given this newer incarnation is similar in size and shape suggests they reused the original foundation. We can not say for certain, however.

The first mention of a restaurant goes back to the 1930s, and while there is still one in the hotel today, it was closed at the time of our visit. There is no one to run it (staffing is a reoccurring problem too) but they are looking for an operator.

The current hotel has had many owners over the years and a quick count suggests well over a dozen.

“We actually had a company approach us one time, and they wanted to go through our building checking for ghosts. I told them, I said, you know, our ghosts, they’re leaving us alone, so we’re going to leave them alone.” – Dan (legends state that every old hotel is haunted).

“My boss, Danny, is amazing.” – Sherrie

“There was so much smoking in here. The place was blue when you walked in. You couldn’t see nothing. Then you stunk at the end of the day,” – Gladys (back before smoking in bars was banned).

The Wildwood Hotel bar, known as the Silver Spur Saloon, champions the local music scene and on the night of our visit there was a band rocking the house. The Silver Spur seems to be a popular spot with the motorcycling fraternity and hosts many events to attract riders. A large grassy space adjacent to the hotel (under the Wildwood Hotel mural) is sometimes used as a beer garden for special events.

Our server Gladys recently celebrated a half century on the job and shows little signs of slowing down. Her daughter Cathy works here too and was also helping the night of our visit.

“There was a boy from Vancouver and when his vehicle broke down, there he was west of Wildwood. He hitchhiked in so I said, I’m going to help you. I’m going to give you money so that you can get to Fort McMurray, to get your job, get a room for the night, get some food till you get going. He was so grateful. It came out of my own pocket and then I said, I hope you remember me.

So he went up there, and, of course, I never heard anything for really quite some time. One day I came back to the hotel to work, and he had gone to the restaurant because it was open before the bar, and he said, give this envelope to me for helping him out. He gave me my money all back, and then some. After that, even at Christmas, he sent me a nice Christmas gift and everything. You can often tell the honesty of people by how they act.” – Gladys (she’s a sweetie).

Gladys was the first bar-maid at the Wildwood Hotel and prior to this all staff were men. Male servers were common during the Beer Parlour era, but this later changed with the relaxing of rules.

The Wildwood Hotel bar once had a separate Ladies and Escorts entrance when it was constructed and this lasted into late into the 1970s. It was common at the time for bars to be segregated by gender and the rules stated ladies had to be accompanied by a male.

The west end of the building is a recent addition and dates to 1991. It houses the liquor store and laundry, plus allowed a few more rooms to be added upstairs. A distinctive line is visible on the exterior of the building marking where old and new meet.

“We’ve brought a lot of bike and car show charity events to this place. So, we’ve been doing that for about 14 years. We raise money for kids for cancer and different things like that. And we put on the, you know, tattoo contests and barbecuing and smokers going out here and we give away prizes from all the sponsors. We’ve been doing that for quite a few years and I think we’ve raised close to $100,000.” – Dan (on giving back to the community).

“Like they were 18 and started to come in here when I started working here. And now they’re like 50-something.” – Gladys (one watching younger patrons growing up).

“Yeah, my dad bought this place, as a retirement business. I used to come out as a young guy, help him out once in a while. So as a young guy, probably 13, 14 years old and I’m working in a hotel. It’s been in the family for 40-some years and now I’ve owned it for 14 years.” – Dan (on growing up in the business and now owning the hotel).

A relatively recent advertisement for the Wildwood Hotel lists the following: Laundry Mat [sp], cafe, bar, hair salon, liquor store and rooms with satellite TV and internet. “Our goal is to make you feel like this is your home away from home.”

Wildwood has decreased in population in recent years and is down from a high of about 450 in the 1960s. It is a Hamlet now, but in the past, when the population was larger, it held village status. Small town shrink, while larger centres grow and grow.

Wildwood, Alberta: Population about 250, located in Yellowhead County and it is 120km west of Edmonton.