COCHRANE— Opening with a fresh look and a new name, Stockmen's Memorial Foundation is eager to celebrate Cochrane's rich ranching history with guests.
Stockmen's Memorial Foundation, newly christened The Stockmen's, reopened to the public on Tuesday (June 15) at a third of its typical capacity.
The newly redesigned space at the foundation features Western ranching culture exhibits and collections, a western art and bronze gallery and The Bert Sheppard Library and archives of Alberta’s cancelled brand files. The space also has a dedicated Mercantile section of items available for purchase. The new-look is more welcoming and allows visitors to focus on each area section separately or together if they wish, said executive director of Stockmen's Scott Grattidge.
“A lot of people are new to Cochrane and they’ve never been here and for those that have been before it’s a new look and for those that haven’t maybe it’s an excuse now to come to see what it’s about,” Grattidge said.
As part of the redesign, a collection of brands from the Royal Bank of Canada in downtown Calgary are being mounted and placed in the RancheHouse. The bank was home to a collection of brands belonging to prominent ranchers in the Calgary area. These brands were passed on to Stockmen's and were part of the original Western Heritage Centre.
Grattidge said the brands can now be found in the Aspen-Birch-Cedar room.
“It allows people to get a flavour of our history and past. We can showcase it,” Grattidge said.
A highlight of the newly designed Stockmen's is the centre’s interactive branding experience set to launchin July. The program is designed to give visitors a taste of Western culture through the design and creation of a brand using a branding furnace.
“Branding is probably one of the pinnacles of ranching culture, the same way a barn raising is to the Amish. It’s practical. You’re getting a bunch of work done, but it’s also about the food, it’s about the fellowship,” Grattidge said. “When you’re putting that brand on, you're putting your name on something. There’s a definite sense of pride.”
Grattidge said he equates branding to a hockey player having their name etched on the Stanley Cup, because the brand represents years of hard work and sacrifice dedicated to a goal one can take pride in.
“Every time that brand gets put on a cow it's a little bit of that same emotion and feeling attached to it,” Grattidge said. “It’s yours, you’ve earned it, you respect it and you have some pride in showing it.”
Grattidge said they have completed a couple of pilot programs, and the branding experience has proven to be popular with those who try it out.
A pilot was hosted with Alberta Tourism in 2020 and in early spring a group of students in the Cochrane High School ROAMS class participated.
The students participated in a history lesson at Stockmen's and then had the opportunity to design their own brand. The students thought carefully about their brands, just as ranchers would have in the past.
“We fired up the branding furnace and they all got right into it,” Grattidge said with a grin. “Most of them had the chaps on and we're getting right into it. It was great to see.”
He added one of the students was able to locate the cancelled brand file belonging to her great uncle during the program. It served as a great way to connect with the town’s past.
The branding experience is proving to be a fun program that is an interactive way to learn, Grattidge said, and those who have participated in it have taken pride in the brand they have created.
Grattidge said Stockmen's is hopeful to see the province enter into Stage 3 of the province’s Open for Summer plan and looks forward to hosting branding parties for visitors to enjoy.
“It’s a way for people to connect with their own backyard and the history that is in their own backyard,” Grattidge said. “This gives them the opportunity to touch that branding iron.”
