Affectionate letters, combined with an endearing day have the Atlas Coal Mine preparing to host Valentine's in the Valley.
A series of love letters written in 1920 and 1921 have been re-discovered by the team at the Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site. The series of twelve letters are between Jim Dewar, a manager at Northwestern Fuel Supply in Drumheller and his bride-to-be Sadie MacRury of Sydney, Nova Scotia.
“One fascinating thing is that most of Jim Dewar’s love letters written to Sadie were on company stationery,” explained Jay Russell, curator at the Atlas Coal Mine..
Northwestern Fuel Supply found markets and distributed coal for the Newcastle Mine.
“He was pitching woo while at work,” added Russell. “And I suspect the business owners would not have been very amused if they knew that Dewar was using company stationery, company stamps, and company time to express his deepest feelings to his true love!”
With the Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site’s Valentines in the Valley fast approaching, staff immediately thought of the love letters in the archives, and decided to utilize them as part of event.
“These love letters have all the elements of a great story,” said Kelly Eddy, special events director at the Atlas Coal Mine. “There’s interesting characters, suspense, and a few plot twists. So, we intend to use the letters as a focal point to our Valentines in the Valley!”
The event, with valley treasure 'Fanny Ramsely' will be taking place at the East Coulee School Museum, February 13 at 6:30 p.m.
"Fanny was one of Western Canada's most famous madames, and she operated right out of the Drumheller valley," explained Russell.
Proceeds from the night are going towards preserving Drumheller's mining heritage.
"There is dinner, entertainment, there is prohibition era style activities and games," said Russell. He also suggests guests dress up to go with the theme.
"Dress up in your retro finery," added Russell. "Anything from turn of the century all the way up to 1959, get out your fedoras and flapper gowns."
Regular tickets cost $50, while VIP tickets are being sold for $100.
Tickets for Valentines in the Valley can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com or by calling the Atlas Coal Mine at (403) 822-2220.