FALLING FOR MEDICINE HAT
As Jungle Book author Rudyard Kipling once said, it's `the only hat of its kind on earth'
Sometimes you read a city slogan and you wonder what the town forefathers were thinking when they came up with it.
There was a time when someone imagined that travellers and business investors would find the “Land of Rape and Honey” in Tisdale, Sask., irresistible. Fortunately, that time has passed. Their new slogan is “opportunity grows here.”
The City of Ottawa also ditched the old slogan “Ottawa — technically beautiful,” which by all accounts was technically a disaster. The trouble is, when you give up a slogan, you have to reprint every sign with that slogan on it before you can truly put the name behind you. Medicine Hat has quite a few signs and monuments that still display its longtime slogan, “the Gas City.”
When I first read the slogan on the city's welcome sign, I didn't like it, but as I explored the city and learned more about its history, it grew on me and so did the city.
In the early 1900s, “the gas city” slogan really worked. Located above an enormous natural gas field, Medicine Hat lured manufacturers with free land, free water and cheap gas for heat, light and power. Marketing helped the city become an important manufacturing centre. Some residents were so committed to their tag line, that in 1910 they petitioned to have the city name changed to “Gasburg.”
That's when Rudyard Kipling, British author of The Jungle Book and The Man Who Would Be King, stepped in and wrote a letter to the local paper. Kipling had a special place in his heart for the uniquely named southeastern Alberta city.
“This part of the country seems to have All Hell for a basement, and the only trap door appears to be in Medicine Hat,” he said. “And you don't even think of changing the name of your town. It's all your own and the only hat of its kind on earth.”
Modern-day Medicine Hat is still, as Kipling put it, “the only hat of its kind on earth.” About a three-hour drive southeast of Calgary, the city makes a great weekend escape with plenty of unique things to see and do. You'll just have to decide whether you want to tell your friends you're visiting “the Gas City” or the place with a “Sunshine State of Mind” — the new tourism slogan.
SAAMIS TEPEE
Medicine Hat got its name from the Blackfoot word “Saamis,” which loosely translates to “medicine man's hat.”
You can read all about the legend behind the name at the Saamis Tepee, which is the world's largest teepee. Inside the teepee is a series of murals and interpretive panels that explain the Indigenous history of this area.
A FLIGHTSEEING SEARCH FOR THE BADLANDS GUARDIAN
Who would have guessed my first POST-COVID flight would be in Medicine Hat? Super T Aviation offers flightseeing trips over the city and surrounding region. The South Saskatchewan River Valley is beautiful from the air and we flew over a geomorphological feature called The Badlands Guardian. It can only be seen from the air and was discovered in 2005 by Lynn Hickox on Google Earth.
HISTORIC HOLIDAY
Medicine Hat has a lot to offer those who love history. For decades, clay items, bricks, tiles and china products were an important industry in the city. The old Medalta factory is now a National Historic Site that has been converted into an industrial heritage museum. It's a fascinating place to tour and learn about the history of this industry. There's even an artist-in-residence program. The city also has a lovely historic downtown area with brick architecture dating to the early 1900s and murals that capture the history of the city and surrounding region.
COTTONWOOD HEAVEN — POLICE POINT PARK
Police Point Park is home to a nature centre and giant cottonwood trees that are as old as 300 years. The nature centre is open year-round and offers a variety of programs and tours.
The City of Medicine Hat also offers free-to-borrow bikes that you can take out on the trails. The park gets its name from the fact it is located on the site of a former North West Mounted Police outpost. Look for birds, beavers, porcupines and weed-eating goats in the park.
LIQUID LIBATIONS
There's a long history of brewing in Medicine Hat and brew pubs are a big deal there. Medicine Hat Brew Co. began operating in 1912 — more than a century ago. The Hat is home to three award-winning microbreweries, a distillery and a kombucha brewery. Cafe culture is also alive and well. Some of the top coffee stops include Station Coffee Company, Cafe Verve and Madhatter Coffee Roastery. Inspire Cafe also has good French press coffee, specialty teas and a locally roasted house blend.
CYPRESS HILLS INTERPROVINCIAL PARK
Less than an hour's drive southeast of Medicine Hat, Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park offers a wide array of all-season outdoor recreation. In summer, boating, canoeing, swimming and biking are popular activities. Winter visitors enjoy snowshoeing, skating, skiing and more. The park is a dark-sky preserve, perfect for viewing stars.