Amanda Jeffery, Free Press
Local author Jeff Crawford has released another book. The author is known for his previous novel Dreamshaper, which was released October 2009. This book, though, is aimed toward a younger audience.
Mr. Pratt’s Coffee Mug was released in August 2020. Crawford said he was inspired by one of his teacher’s coffee mugs when he was growing up. “His coffee mug was absolutely disgusting, to the point where you could smell it half-way across the classroom,” says Crawford.
He says the mug was a frequent topic of conversation amongst the students. The more he thought about it, Crawford said he started wondering what kind of creature would grow inside a mug like that.
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In the book, a creature escapes the mug, but only one student sees it. The story is about the student dealing with the critter before it wreaks too much havoc.
“This one is my first illustrated book,” says Crawford, who is now a teacher at Drayton Valley’s HW Pickup School. He says the age group it’s aimed for is about seven or eight years old. “At the end of it there’s a bunch of learning activities as well.”
Crawford says the illustrations for the book are one of his favourite parts. At one point a former student of his, Shae Skelton, reached out to him. “She just wanted to say thank you for the time we had in class, and she drew a little portrait of me because she was doing some digital artwork.” He says they ended up chatting and he learned that she was taking art classes in college.
When he got the rights for Dreamshaper back from the publishing company, he asked her if she could come up with a mock cover for Dreamshaper and he was impressed with the results. “The cover she drew me for Dreamshaper was far better than the one I got with my old publishing company,” he says. With the cover she provided, Crawford self published Dreamshaper.
A local woman has made it to the top after losing the most weight and was named the TOPS Queen for 2026.
Seventy-eight-year-old Pat Thoreson has been a member of the not-for-profit weight-loss club, Take Off Pounds Sensibly, since 1984. After losing the most weight in Alberta this year, Thoreson was crowned the TOPS Queen last May.
“I started out with a weight problem when I was growing up, so I’ve spent a lot of years at it,” she says.
Since she joined TOPS, Thoreson has lost 72.25 lbs, though she says most of the loss was over the past couple of years.
Prior to joining TOPS, Thoreson had tried out a number of different groups in an attempt to achieve results, but with little success. She says she would lose a little bit of weight, but then would gain it back.
Living near Winfield, Thoreson would meet with the club in Bluffton. From spring to the fall, Thoreson would drive herself to the club every week. Over the winter, Thoreson’s husband would drive her so she wouldn’t have to drive in the dark.
As much as the group was about losing weight, the social aspect was also appealing. She says the club was extremely supportive, and she formed a bond with the members, which was one of the reasons that kept her motivated to return.
“We take turns doing programs, and we have contests. It’s just a good support club,” she says. “That has been another thing that has gotten me to this point.”
One of the women Thoreson met was Violet Schmidt, who was Queen in 1995, and the two became very close.
“Over the years, she was one of the best supporters that I’ve ever had,” she says.
Unlike other groups, Thoreson found the approach of TOPS refreshing. Each week there was a weigh-in for the members, similar to other organizations, but they focused on making healthy food choices rather than food or calorie restriction.
“It’s a food exchange,” says Thoreson. “It’s not that you can’t eat certain foods; you just think about the amount of calories and that type of thing.”
She says they allow themselves to eat the food, but just remain conscious of how much and how often they ate it.
It’s also cheaper than many other programs. To join TOPS, there is an annual fee of $49 USD. Thoreson says her club, which has since relocated to Hoadley, also charges a $5 fee for each meeting to cover the costs of the coffee and rental space. Other than that, there are no fees for information packages and no meals that have to be purchased.
Thoreson says the biggest weight loss came after she received an award for being part of the club for 40 years.
“I thought, ‘40 years and I haven’t really done a whole bunch,’” she says. “That’s one of the things that kind of shook my memory that this was why I was really here, not just to visit.”
She says she lost weight at a healthy pace and was able to keep it off thanks to the information she had from the group and the exercise regime that she stuck to.
“On Mondays, [my husband and I] would floor curl in the afternoon. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I do chair exercises for one hour in Buck Lake on Tuesdays and Winfield on Thursdays. Then on Thursdays I would walk for three-quarters to an hour at Winfield as well,” says Thoreson.
As a Queen, Thoreson says she would like to advocate the importance of healthy choices to people.
“A person can do it if they just stop and think about what they’re eating and what they should be eating,” she says. “Even though it took me 42 years, I still go there. It’s not like you have to do it all of a sudden.”
Thoreson says she hopes people will hear her message and make time to attend a meeting at a nearby club to see what the organization is all about.
More information about the program can be found at www.tops.org.
I remember when I let my kids walk to school alone for the first time. I stood in our big front window waving, and blowing kisses fighting the urge to jump in my car and follow them. I told myself repeatedly that if I didn’t get a call from the school wondering where they were, they must have made it safely and they did.
The route to school from our home on 54th Ave was pretty calm for the most part except for three crossings. The first was crossing the road that the old pool was on from west to east. There was no cross walk and it had some blind spots. People often picked up speed while driving and I would really hammer it into the kids’ heads “Stop, look and listen! Then get eye contact.” The other two crossings closer to St. Anthony School did have traffic lights, however some drivers liked to make that right hand turn while they were looking left. Again “Eye contact!” I wanted my kids to know the responsibility of being a pedestrian, after all we lived in town and walking was something we did often. I never wanted them to implicitly trust that the driver saw them, or wasn’t distracted. They needed to be predictable and patient for drivers. That first walk happened three years ago and my, how times have changed.
Whereas, before I directed much of my annoyance and outrage at drivers, now it’s the “pedestrians,” who aren’t actually on foot. I’m talking about people on an e-anything who zip and zoom from sidewalk to the roads, and who don’t make eye contact, don’t act predictably and generally are not respecting the rules of the road or the sidewalk.
Do I sound like a Karen? I hope so.
A few weeks ago I was walking to the library from the office, and there was a truck at the fourway stop to my right. I made eye contact, looked both ways and proceeded to walk. Then out of the blue to my left, an electric scooter came off the sidewalk onto the road, cut off my path of walking and zipped through the intersection, without stopping thereby cutting the truck off too. In this one instance not only could the person have hit me, but the truck that was ready to proceed could have gunned it and hit him.
Seinfeld is my mindless pleasure. There’s one episode I just watched where Kramer got into blows with a baseball player over a ball cleaning violation on the golf course. Jerry thought he was being too strict with the rules. Kramer’s response. “Hey, a rule is a rule and let’s face it without rules…there’s chaos.” This is what the roadways and sidewalks seemed to have devolved into, utter chaos.
So despite the fact that the current laws on electric anything are murky, and scooters shouldn’t be used off of private property, here they are. And while I would love to deliver the typical PSA to drivers, that says “Hey it is back to school, please watch out for pedestrians.” I also want to shout out. “Hey it’s back to school, please make sure your kids know the rules of the road, how to be a respectful pedestrian that acts in a predictable manner around vehicles, and non-motorized pedestrians! Please!!! For the love of…”
I am not just being a Karen on this one and I would like to put the general reminder that not more than a few years ago we had an e-scooter death in this very town when a scooter driver hit a pedestrian, knocking him down resulting in injury causing death.
So on one hand I would like all drivers to be aware of the pedestrians out on the sidewalk this school season but also, pedestrians or hybrid pedestrians please also do your due diligence and watch for traffic, and be predictable. Lets make sure everyone gets to where they are going in a boring and uneventful way this school year.
The Drayton Valley Thunder are getting ready to hit the ice for the pre-season, and head coach Jeff Truit says there will be some changes this year.
Truit, who is in his second season of coaching the team, says there were some lessons to be learned last year.
“I knew that this was a tough league coming in, and with a younger group,” he says. “We learned a lot of lessons in how we have to play and how we have to approach things.”
Truit says it wasn’t anything earth-shattering for him; he was aware there could be some improvements the team needed to work on when he started.
There were a lot of first-year players on the team last year, and so there was some inexperience to contend with.
“I thought last year that we got out-competed at times,” he says.
Heading into camp this year, Truit says they are focusing on bringing in more skill and speed, and they are also looking for bigger players.
“It’s going to be a very competitive camp. I think our scouts have done a tremendous job with the quality of players we’ve got coming in,” he says.
The coaches will be keeping an eye out for some of the taller players with more muscle mass this year. Truit says there is a place for every size of player, but he wants a team that’s a balance of players who are six feet or more and have power and the smaller guys who have the speed.
One of the areas that he saw needed to be improved was their game against the boards. He says the team needs to be able to win those battles. When the players head into that situation, there is a mental aspect to the win. Truit says sometimes size can affect how the player acts in the corners.
“We’re not sacrificing skill because these guys do have skill,” he says. “We look at that being a real positive for our team.”
Truit says there is a fire within every athlete regardless of their size, and each one has to work within the team to make it a success.
A lot of the recruits have worn letters on their jerseys from their past teams. Truit says even though these past leaders are coming into a new level of hockey, they know how to prepare for games and are less likely to get overwhelmed.
“They are very mature young men,” he says. “The nice thing about it is they’ve been leaders, they’ve had to take care of their teams and set the example on and off the ice.”
Truit says last year was a tough year, but as the players have come back, he sees a new level of focus. He says their attitudes have always been great, but they are willing to take on the responsibility of taking the team to another level.
“They know we have to improve,” he says. “They know that the pressure is on. They seem to have grasped that, and that speaks to the quality of their character.”
Truit says there is a mental aspect to the game that the players have to master as well.
“[As an athlete] you have to take it upon yourself to raise that level, and that’s a mindset that you’ve gotta come into,” he says. “And it just feels like now they are going to get it done.”
Truit says he sees the increase in the drive from the players, and he’s really excited about what the upcoming season will bring.
While the role of the captain on the team is an important one, Truit says they are all expected to help with the leadership.
“I care about the collective unit rather than just the captains,” he says.
Truit says one of the best things that fans can do to help the team is to fill the seats during games. He says it can be very intimidating for the opposing teams coming in to hear the cheers for the home team.
He says he believes the fans will be proud of the improvements that have been made to the area, including the taller glass, new clock, and screen. The atmosphere will be different.
“The fans here in Drayton Valley can be a very intimidating group when they’re loud and they’re cheering and supporting that way,” he says. “They did a great job for us last year.”
When I first got into the advertising and sales side of the newspaper I didn’t know anything about anything. But I did know I wanted to make sure that we built our clients effective ads specific to newspaper marketing.
“Newspaper friendly” advertising is a stand alone subset of advertising, just like every social network has their own specs for effective digital advertising, and billboards have their requirements, and radio has their requirements. Newspaper ads that follow certain specs are more effective.
Why is this important for you to know? Because with the rise of AI, we have been getting many AI posters as graphic design submissions for advertising. As a jumping off point for our graphic designer this is fantastic intel, however as a carbon copy ad, these posters are not always newspaper friendly.
A few basic tips I share with people when they are considering submitting a draft design are these:
White space! Newspapers need white space. Too much of everything leads to a whole lot of nothing for the eye to focus on. White space allows your prospective clients to see your important messaging from a distance and draws them in closer to see more once interest is piqued.
Font size. The Free Press type font is 9pt. Advertising should be larger than this. In some cases much larger.
Font contrast. A dark font on a lighter background is the easiest to read. This is why newspapers are black font on white paper. Again this takes us back to white space.
These are the basics that I let people know about. This may mean that your newspaper ad is not a carbon copy of your promotional poster.
But our brand! You might protest.
Branding does not mean placing the same identical ad across multiple mediums. Branding requires you to ensure the big picture aspects of your company are included in all advertising such things like: colours, typeface, image themes etc.
You wouldn’t put a very detailed poster on a billboard would you? No. People driving at 70km per hour don’t have time to read all of the information. But you may put the same headline, with the same colour and similar imagery with a big bold company name. Social media advertising favours not just images but videos – branding may appear in the beginning and end of the video.
If you do choose to draft your ad graphics in AI here are some prompts I pulled from Gemini you could use in that will help make your ad specific to the newspaper medium:
Newspaper prompt guidelines from Gemini
1. Demand High Contrast and Grayscale Clarity
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“High contrast, strong key lighting, bold outlines, optimized for black and white print, crisp grayscale separation.”
Note: you can reference the same but in colour, the colour contrast will be more defined.
2. Enforce Simple Compositions and Ample Negative Space
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“Minimalist background, single clear focal point, uncluttered design, generous empty negative space for text overlays.”
3. Choose Graphic or Vector Styles Over Hyper-Realism
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“Flat vector art style, clean graphic illustration, sharp edges, print-ready layout, high-legibility design.”
One of the services the Free Press provides is graphic design. Our graphic designer on staff, has worked in marketing and has a degree in graphic design. She has a keen eye and great understanding of the importance of typeface, layout, and focal point. If you draft your poster initially in AI send it our way to be rendered into a newspaper friendly format. Provide us with a png or pdf file, unflattened so we can adjust to make sure you are getting the best ad that will catch the most eyeballs.
The fact is the wrong ad style for the wrong medium is ineffective no matter the marketing platform you use. Over at the Free Press, advertising is part of the full newspaper package and we want your ads to be as interesting and eye catching to our readers as our editorial headlines.
Last Friday the Evansburg Inn was entered into the annals of history by the Beer Parlour Project, which has been making a photographic documentary of historic hotels across Western Canada.
Chris Doering, Rob Pohl, and Doering’s wife Connie Biggart are the founders of the Beer Parlour Project, which aims to record the history of hotels that were the focal point of their community when they were first built. The group wants to capture the essence of the building using a combination of digital and vintage flash photography of the building and the community of people who use it.
“My friends and I are history photographers,” says Doering. “So we go around and document historic buildings, machinery, or whatever the case may be.”
While they were out in the field working, they were often in rural areas. Often there were hotels in the community, some of which were still original structures from the first half of the 20th century, and they would stop in for lunch.
“Right under our noses is all these really interesting hotels with really interesting stories,” says Doering.
The trio started the project in 2022 and have been to about 50 rural establishments since then. Their goal is to visit 100 older hotels across Western Canada so they can publish a coffee table book. They’ve already secured an exhibit at the Alberta Art Gallery in 2028, which they are excited about.
The Beer Parlour group started their weekend on a Thursday at the Colinton Hotel in Colinton, Alberta. From there they drove to Evansburg on Friday, and on Saturday they stopped in at the Warburg Hotel and Saloon.
Though Doering, Biggart, and Pohl all have full-time jobs, this project is their main hobby. The group is funding their project on their own, though they are looking for some arts grants to help cover some expenses. As such, they try to get as many stops in as possible if they have to travel any distance.
Doering says they pick areas to focus on each time they are planning to work on their project. Once they have the area and have selected the hotels, they look into the history of the building and its relationship to the community. They also consider the cultural side of things and how people are involved in the history of the building.
“They’re really little hidden gems,” says Doering. “Outside appearances can be deceiving.”
Doering’s role in the project is digital photography, research, and handling most of the interviews.
“You hear some really amazing stories,” says Doering. “Some hilarious, heart-breaking — you name it.”
Pohl focuses on taking photos, often on his vintage tri-pod camera, and he also helps with some of the writing for the website.
While Pohl’s camera isn’t the best camera for the project, he uses it because he prefers to develop the pictures in his darkroom. It also provides a great ice breaker as patrons come up and ask him questions about it.
“It’s funny, the expectations of people now, especially the younger generation. [They say] ‘Can I see the back of the camera? What does the picture look like?’” says Pohl.
He says people are often shocked that it will take a month for the picture to be developed, but they always offer to send them a complimentary picture when it’s ready.
Pohl says now that they’ve been to a few different bars, had their stories told in the paper, and have been interviewed for television and radio, they can show that they are credible and have a legitimate project that they are working on. This could make it easier to secure grants to help cover some expenses, and it could also make it easier for them to get their work published in a book.
It hasn’t always been easy for them to get people to trust them. For the most part, owners have allowed them to come in, take some photos, and talk to people; however, some have turned them away.
“There is always a little suspicion because they think we’re either gonna portray their place as a dump and try to make fun of it, which we’re not. We’re trying to celebrate it, get people aware of these [places] and out there to enjoy them,” says Pohl. “We don’t use any images or take any pictures in a way to portray it in that light, so we’ve got to get that understanding in place.”
The other suspicion owners sometimes have is that the Beer Parlour Project is going to charge them for the work they are doing, which has never been the case.
The owners of the Evansburg Inn, Christine and Diane Maskell, say they were happy to participate in the project because they believe it’s important for small towns to be recognized and supported.
“Some people don’t even go off of Highway 16, and when they go to these small communities, they’re amazed at what they can find in them,” says Christine.
Christine and her mother-in-law, Diane, have owned the Evansburg Inn for nearly 26 years, and it was only recently that Christine decided to close the bar down on Sundays. Prior to that, she had been working every single day to keep the place going while raising five kids.
The best memories Christine and Diane have are of the people they’ve met along the way. The history of their time running the bar is tied to their memories of their patrons and friends.
Currently, Christine, Diane, Christine’s daughter Lindsey, and her daughter-in-law, Jacey, run the place.
“We do get along really good, honest to God,” says Diane. “They say that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law don’t get along, but we do.”
The family run business has seen its ups and downs. Their family lost a grandson, son, brother, and husband when Robbie Maskell passed away in 2022.
But still, the women have continued to serve their loyal customer base. Christine is a Jill-of-all- trades, but she doesn’t touch the electrical. She does, however, handle the maintenance for the rest of the building.
“If it’s broken, she’ll fix it,” says Diane.
Over the years, their bar has been known as a place of respect.
“I say, if you respect the place, then I’ll respect you,” says Christine.
In the time they’ve owned the place, there have only been a handful of fights.
Diane recalls a time when Christine had to step in to keep the peace one night.
“There was going to be a fight — this was a few years ago. There was a regular sitting at the bar, and [Christine] knew he was going to go after [another patron]. She jumped over the bar and grabbed him, and hung onto him like you wouldn’t believe,” says Diane.
The bar has become a memorial for some. A bench outside the Inn was placed there in Robbie’s honour, and inside, there is a column filled with messages for a loyal patron who passed away.
“He used to sit in that spot,” says Christine. “He did a lot of plumbing work and help for us over the years we were here, and he suddenly passed away.”
They held a memorial service for Jerry Lee, and his family asked if they could write messages on the wall. Christine pointed them to the area where Jerry always sat, and Jerry’s family and friends left messages for him there.
Several years later, those messages are still preserved, and Jerry is still remembered.
“He had some nieces and nephews that were five or six years old. They’re 18 now and they come in, and they so appreciate that we still have [the messages],” says Christine. “A couple of weeks ago his daughter came in, and she brought her daughter in and they were talking about it. It’s kind of nice.”
Pohl and Doering’s only regret with this project is that they didn’t start sooner. Many old hotels have been closing down in recent years.
“We’ve kind of missed the boat in a way. We should have started a decade sooner and we could’ve gotten a lot more, but we’re going to have no problem hitting 100,” he says.
The group is also really enjoying working on the project, and Pohl thinks they might push past 100 simply because they enjoy it.
More information about the Beer Parlour Project can be found at www.beerparlourproject.com.
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If you’re tired of trying to watch live performances from the balconies with binoculars, which is often the case at the large venues found in the city, then the intimate settings of the Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre and the Max Centre are just the ticket.
The two facilities have a full calendar of performances throughout the fall and winter months and they offer two completely different experiences.
The Max Centre is located in Frank Maddock High School and offers a wide array of “dinner and a show” packages featuring performances by tribute acts showcasing the work of some of the world’s best known musicians. When you book a ticket at the Max you get your money’s worth. An evening can last anywhere from three to four hours and includes a catered meal, a live performance and well priced drinks. By the end of the night there are almost always people on the dance floor or singing along with the performers. This is an excellent venue to get out with a group and have some fun.
The Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre is another performing arts venue that packs a punch.
The arts centre, formerly known as the Cardium Theatre, was the entertainment anchor in downtown Drayton Valley at the height of the mid-century oil boom. In recent years it was purchased by the local municipalities and refurbished into its current form, where it now acts as a venue for live music, comedians and other entertainers.
The Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre is the largest stage in this part of Alberta, is managed by a group of dedicated volunteers and works to bring in up and coming and independent artists to the area.
A night at the theatre includes moderately priced beverages and snacks, comfortable theatre chairs, and there is no bad seat in the house. If you are working dinner into your evening I would recommend going out for supper at one of the 40 different restaurants in town, and heading out for after-show drinks at nearby lounges and bars.
Upcoming performances at both venues are regularly advertised on social media or in the Drayton Valley and District Free Press.
Once she’d done that, Crawford continued to keep in touch with her and they started discussing Mr. Pratt’s Coffee Mug. “So all of the illustrations are actually done by Shae Skelton,” says Crawford. Skelton, he says, used to live in Drayton Valley but has since moved to pursue her academic goals. Crawford says he’s working with her right now on another illustrated book he hopes to release in the near future.
While it’s been a few years since Crawford released Dreamshaper, he says he has a few that he’s been working on. Two of them are stand alone novels that he has queried out. He’s also working on the sequel to Dreamshaper, which he says will be self-published like the first in the series.
A local woman has made it to the top after losing the most weight and was named the TOPS Queen for 2026.
Seventy-eight-year-old Pat Thoreson has been a member of the not-for-profit weight-loss club, Take Off Pounds Sensibly, since 1984. After losing the most weight in Alberta this year, Thoreson was crowned the TOPS Queen last May.
“I started out with a weight problem when I was growing up, so I’ve spent a lot of years at it,” she says.
Since she joined TOPS, Thoreson has lost 72.25 lbs, though she says most of the loss was over the past couple of years.
Prior to joining TOPS, Thoreson had tried out a number of different groups in an attempt to achieve results, but with little success. She says she would lose a little bit of weight, but then would gain it back.
Living near Winfield, Thoreson would meet with the club in Bluffton. From spring to the fall, Thoreson would drive herself to the club every week. Over the winter, Thoreson’s husband would drive her so she wouldn’t have to drive in the dark.
As much as the group was about losing weight, the social aspect was also appealing. She says the club was extremely supportive, and she formed a bond with the members, which was one of the reasons that kept her motivated to return.
“We take turns doing programs, and we have contests. It’s just a good support club,” she says. “That has been another thing that has gotten me to this point.”
One of the women Thoreson met was Violet Schmidt, who was Queen in 1995, and the two became very close.
“Over the years, she was one of the best supporters that I’ve ever had,” she says.
Unlike other groups, Thoreson found the approach of TOPS refreshing. Each week there was a weigh-in for the members, similar to other organizations, but they focused on making healthy food choices rather than food or calorie restriction.
“It’s a food exchange,” says Thoreson. “It’s not that you can’t eat certain foods; you just think about the amount of calories and that type of thing.”
She says they allow themselves to eat the food, but just remain conscious of how much and how often they ate it.
It’s also cheaper than many other programs. To join TOPS, there is an annual fee of $49 USD. Thoreson says her club, which has since relocated to Hoadley, also charges a $5 fee for each meeting to cover the costs of the coffee and rental space. Other than that, there are no fees for information packages and no meals that have to be purchased.
Thoreson says the biggest weight loss came after she received an award for being part of the club for 40 years.
“I thought, ‘40 years and I haven’t really done a whole bunch,’” she says. “That’s one of the things that kind of shook my memory that this was why I was really here, not just to visit.”
She says she lost weight at a healthy pace and was able to keep it off thanks to the information she had from the group and the exercise regime that she stuck to.
“On Mondays, [my husband and I] would floor curl in the afternoon. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I do chair exercises for one hour in Buck Lake on Tuesdays and Winfield on Thursdays. Then on Thursdays I would walk for three-quarters to an hour at Winfield as well,” says Thoreson.
As a Queen, Thoreson says she would like to advocate the importance of healthy choices to people.
“A person can do it if they just stop and think about what they’re eating and what they should be eating,” she says. “Even though it took me 42 years, I still go there. It’s not like you have to do it all of a sudden.”
Thoreson says she hopes people will hear her message and make time to attend a meeting at a nearby club to see what the organization is all about.
More information about the program can be found at www.tops.org.
I remember when I let my kids walk to school alone for the first time. I stood in our big front window waving, and blowing kisses fighting the urge to jump in my car and follow them. I told myself repeatedly that if I didn’t get a call from the school wondering where they were, they must have made it safely and they did.
The route to school from our home on 54th Ave was pretty calm for the most part except for three crossings. The first was crossing the road that the old pool was on from west to east. There was no cross walk and it had some blind spots. People often picked up speed while driving and I would really hammer it into the kids’ heads “Stop, look and listen! Then get eye contact.” The other two crossings closer to St. Anthony School did have traffic lights, however some drivers liked to make that right hand turn while they were looking left. Again “Eye contact!” I wanted my kids to know the responsibility of being a pedestrian, after all we lived in town and walking was something we did often. I never wanted them to implicitly trust that the driver saw them, or wasn’t distracted. They needed to be predictable and patient for drivers. That first walk happened three years ago and my, how times have changed.
Whereas, before I directed much of my annoyance and outrage at drivers, now it’s the “pedestrians,” who aren’t actually on foot. I’m talking about people on an e-anything who zip and zoom from sidewalk to the roads, and who don’t make eye contact, don’t act predictably and generally are not respecting the rules of the road or the sidewalk.
Do I sound like a Karen? I hope so.
A few weeks ago I was walking to the library from the office, and there was a truck at the fourway stop to my right. I made eye contact, looked both ways and proceeded to walk. Then out of the blue to my left, an electric scooter came off the sidewalk onto the road, cut off my path of walking and zipped through the intersection, without stopping thereby cutting the truck off too. In this one instance not only could the person have hit me, but the truck that was ready to proceed could have gunned it and hit him.
Seinfeld is my mindless pleasure. There’s one episode I just watched where Kramer got into blows with a baseball player over a ball cleaning violation on the golf course. Jerry thought he was being too strict with the rules. Kramer’s response. “Hey, a rule is a rule and let’s face it without rules…there’s chaos.” This is what the roadways and sidewalks seemed to have devolved into, utter chaos.
So despite the fact that the current laws on electric anything are murky, and scooters shouldn’t be used off of private property, here they are. And while I would love to deliver the typical PSA to drivers, that says “Hey it is back to school, please watch out for pedestrians.” I also want to shout out. “Hey it’s back to school, please make sure your kids know the rules of the road, how to be a respectful pedestrian that acts in a predictable manner around vehicles, and non-motorized pedestrians! Please!!! For the love of…”
I am not just being a Karen on this one and I would like to put the general reminder that not more than a few years ago we had an e-scooter death in this very town when a scooter driver hit a pedestrian, knocking him down resulting in injury causing death.
So on one hand I would like all drivers to be aware of the pedestrians out on the sidewalk this school season but also, pedestrians or hybrid pedestrians please also do your due diligence and watch for traffic, and be predictable. Lets make sure everyone gets to where they are going in a boring and uneventful way this school year.
The Drayton Valley Thunder are getting ready to hit the ice for the pre-season, and head coach Jeff Truit says there will be some changes this year.
Truit, who is in his second season of coaching the team, says there were some lessons to be learned last year.
“I knew that this was a tough league coming in, and with a younger group,” he says. “We learned a lot of lessons in how we have to play and how we have to approach things.”
Truit says it wasn’t anything earth-shattering for him; he was aware there could be some improvements the team needed to work on when he started.
There were a lot of first-year players on the team last year, and so there was some inexperience to contend with.
“I thought last year that we got out-competed at times,” he says.
Heading into camp this year, Truit says they are focusing on bringing in more skill and speed, and they are also looking for bigger players.
“It’s going to be a very competitive camp. I think our scouts have done a tremendous job with the quality of players we’ve got coming in,” he says.
The coaches will be keeping an eye out for some of the taller players with more muscle mass this year. Truit says there is a place for every size of player, but he wants a team that’s a balance of players who are six feet or more and have power and the smaller guys who have the speed.
One of the areas that he saw needed to be improved was their game against the boards. He says the team needs to be able to win those battles. When the players head into that situation, there is a mental aspect to the win. Truit says sometimes size can affect how the player acts in the corners.
“We’re not sacrificing skill because these guys do have skill,” he says. “We look at that being a real positive for our team.”
Truit says there is a fire within every athlete regardless of their size, and each one has to work within the team to make it a success.
A lot of the recruits have worn letters on their jerseys from their past teams. Truit says even though these past leaders are coming into a new level of hockey, they know how to prepare for games and are less likely to get overwhelmed.
“They are very mature young men,” he says. “The nice thing about it is they’ve been leaders, they’ve had to take care of their teams and set the example on and off the ice.”
Truit says last year was a tough year, but as the players have come back, he sees a new level of focus. He says their attitudes have always been great, but they are willing to take on the responsibility of taking the team to another level.
“They know we have to improve,” he says. “They know that the pressure is on. They seem to have grasped that, and that speaks to the quality of their character.”
Truit says there is a mental aspect to the game that the players have to master as well.
“[As an athlete] you have to take it upon yourself to raise that level, and that’s a mindset that you’ve gotta come into,” he says. “And it just feels like now they are going to get it done.”
Truit says he sees the increase in the drive from the players, and he’s really excited about what the upcoming season will bring.
While the role of the captain on the team is an important one, Truit says they are all expected to help with the leadership.
“I care about the collective unit rather than just the captains,” he says.
Truit says one of the best things that fans can do to help the team is to fill the seats during games. He says it can be very intimidating for the opposing teams coming in to hear the cheers for the home team.
He says he believes the fans will be proud of the improvements that have been made to the area, including the taller glass, new clock, and screen. The atmosphere will be different.
“The fans here in Drayton Valley can be a very intimidating group when they’re loud and they’re cheering and supporting that way,” he says. “They did a great job for us last year.”
When I first got into the advertising and sales side of the newspaper I didn’t know anything about anything. But I did know I wanted to make sure that we built our clients effective ads specific to newspaper marketing.
“Newspaper friendly” advertising is a stand alone subset of advertising, just like every social network has their own specs for effective digital advertising, and billboards have their requirements, and radio has their requirements. Newspaper ads that follow certain specs are more effective.
Why is this important for you to know? Because with the rise of AI, we have been getting many AI posters as graphic design submissions for advertising. As a jumping off point for our graphic designer this is fantastic intel, however as a carbon copy ad, these posters are not always newspaper friendly.
A few basic tips I share with people when they are considering submitting a draft design are these:
White space! Newspapers need white space. Too much of everything leads to a whole lot of nothing for the eye to focus on. White space allows your prospective clients to see your important messaging from a distance and draws them in closer to see more once interest is piqued.
Font size. The Free Press type font is 9pt. Advertising should be larger than this. In some cases much larger.
Font contrast. A dark font on a lighter background is the easiest to read. This is why newspapers are black font on white paper. Again this takes us back to white space.
These are the basics that I let people know about. This may mean that your newspaper ad is not a carbon copy of your promotional poster.
But our brand! You might protest.
Branding does not mean placing the same identical ad across multiple mediums. Branding requires you to ensure the big picture aspects of your company are included in all advertising such things like: colours, typeface, image themes etc.
You wouldn’t put a very detailed poster on a billboard would you? No. People driving at 70km per hour don’t have time to read all of the information. But you may put the same headline, with the same colour and similar imagery with a big bold company name. Social media advertising favours not just images but videos – branding may appear in the beginning and end of the video.
If you do choose to draft your ad graphics in AI here are some prompts I pulled from Gemini you could use in that will help make your ad specific to the newspaper medium:
Newspaper prompt guidelines from Gemini
1. Demand High Contrast and Grayscale Clarity
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“High contrast, strong key lighting, bold outlines, optimized for black and white print, crisp grayscale separation.”
Note: you can reference the same but in colour, the colour contrast will be more defined.
2. Enforce Simple Compositions and Ample Negative Space
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“Minimalist background, single clear focal point, uncluttered design, generous empty negative space for text overlays.”
3. Choose Graphic or Vector Styles Over Hyper-Realism
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“Flat vector art style, clean graphic illustration, sharp edges, print-ready layout, high-legibility design.”
One of the services the Free Press provides is graphic design. Our graphic designer on staff, has worked in marketing and has a degree in graphic design. She has a keen eye and great understanding of the importance of typeface, layout, and focal point. If you draft your poster initially in AI send it our way to be rendered into a newspaper friendly format. Provide us with a png or pdf file, unflattened so we can adjust to make sure you are getting the best ad that will catch the most eyeballs.
The fact is the wrong ad style for the wrong medium is ineffective no matter the marketing platform you use. Over at the Free Press, advertising is part of the full newspaper package and we want your ads to be as interesting and eye catching to our readers as our editorial headlines.
Last Friday the Evansburg Inn was entered into the annals of history by the Beer Parlour Project, which has been making a photographic documentary of historic hotels across Western Canada.
Chris Doering, Rob Pohl, and Doering’s wife Connie Biggart are the founders of the Beer Parlour Project, which aims to record the history of hotels that were the focal point of their community when they were first built. The group wants to capture the essence of the building using a combination of digital and vintage flash photography of the building and the community of people who use it.
“My friends and I are history photographers,” says Doering. “So we go around and document historic buildings, machinery, or whatever the case may be.”
While they were out in the field working, they were often in rural areas. Often there were hotels in the community, some of which were still original structures from the first half of the 20th century, and they would stop in for lunch.
“Right under our noses is all these really interesting hotels with really interesting stories,” says Doering.
The trio started the project in 2022 and have been to about 50 rural establishments since then. Their goal is to visit 100 older hotels across Western Canada so they can publish a coffee table book. They’ve already secured an exhibit at the Alberta Art Gallery in 2028, which they are excited about.
The Beer Parlour group started their weekend on a Thursday at the Colinton Hotel in Colinton, Alberta. From there they drove to Evansburg on Friday, and on Saturday they stopped in at the Warburg Hotel and Saloon.
Though Doering, Biggart, and Pohl all have full-time jobs, this project is their main hobby. The group is funding their project on their own, though they are looking for some arts grants to help cover some expenses. As such, they try to get as many stops in as possible if they have to travel any distance.
Doering says they pick areas to focus on each time they are planning to work on their project. Once they have the area and have selected the hotels, they look into the history of the building and its relationship to the community. They also consider the cultural side of things and how people are involved in the history of the building.
“They’re really little hidden gems,” says Doering. “Outside appearances can be deceiving.”
Doering’s role in the project is digital photography, research, and handling most of the interviews.
“You hear some really amazing stories,” says Doering. “Some hilarious, heart-breaking — you name it.”
Pohl focuses on taking photos, often on his vintage tri-pod camera, and he also helps with some of the writing for the website.
While Pohl’s camera isn’t the best camera for the project, he uses it because he prefers to develop the pictures in his darkroom. It also provides a great ice breaker as patrons come up and ask him questions about it.
“It’s funny, the expectations of people now, especially the younger generation. [They say] ‘Can I see the back of the camera? What does the picture look like?’” says Pohl.
He says people are often shocked that it will take a month for the picture to be developed, but they always offer to send them a complimentary picture when it’s ready.
Pohl says now that they’ve been to a few different bars, had their stories told in the paper, and have been interviewed for television and radio, they can show that they are credible and have a legitimate project that they are working on. This could make it easier to secure grants to help cover some expenses, and it could also make it easier for them to get their work published in a book.
It hasn’t always been easy for them to get people to trust them. For the most part, owners have allowed them to come in, take some photos, and talk to people; however, some have turned them away.
“There is always a little suspicion because they think we’re either gonna portray their place as a dump and try to make fun of it, which we’re not. We’re trying to celebrate it, get people aware of these [places] and out there to enjoy them,” says Pohl. “We don’t use any images or take any pictures in a way to portray it in that light, so we’ve got to get that understanding in place.”
The other suspicion owners sometimes have is that the Beer Parlour Project is going to charge them for the work they are doing, which has never been the case.
The owners of the Evansburg Inn, Christine and Diane Maskell, say they were happy to participate in the project because they believe it’s important for small towns to be recognized and supported.
“Some people don’t even go off of Highway 16, and when they go to these small communities, they’re amazed at what they can find in them,” says Christine.
Christine and her mother-in-law, Diane, have owned the Evansburg Inn for nearly 26 years, and it was only recently that Christine decided to close the bar down on Sundays. Prior to that, she had been working every single day to keep the place going while raising five kids.
The best memories Christine and Diane have are of the people they’ve met along the way. The history of their time running the bar is tied to their memories of their patrons and friends.
Currently, Christine, Diane, Christine’s daughter Lindsey, and her daughter-in-law, Jacey, run the place.
“We do get along really good, honest to God,” says Diane. “They say that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law don’t get along, but we do.”
The family run business has seen its ups and downs. Their family lost a grandson, son, brother, and husband when Robbie Maskell passed away in 2022.
But still, the women have continued to serve their loyal customer base. Christine is a Jill-of-all- trades, but she doesn’t touch the electrical. She does, however, handle the maintenance for the rest of the building.
“If it’s broken, she’ll fix it,” says Diane.
Over the years, their bar has been known as a place of respect.
“I say, if you respect the place, then I’ll respect you,” says Christine.
In the time they’ve owned the place, there have only been a handful of fights.
Diane recalls a time when Christine had to step in to keep the peace one night.
“There was going to be a fight — this was a few years ago. There was a regular sitting at the bar, and [Christine] knew he was going to go after [another patron]. She jumped over the bar and grabbed him, and hung onto him like you wouldn’t believe,” says Diane.
The bar has become a memorial for some. A bench outside the Inn was placed there in Robbie’s honour, and inside, there is a column filled with messages for a loyal patron who passed away.
“He used to sit in that spot,” says Christine. “He did a lot of plumbing work and help for us over the years we were here, and he suddenly passed away.”
They held a memorial service for Jerry Lee, and his family asked if they could write messages on the wall. Christine pointed them to the area where Jerry always sat, and Jerry’s family and friends left messages for him there.
Several years later, those messages are still preserved, and Jerry is still remembered.
“He had some nieces and nephews that were five or six years old. They’re 18 now and they come in, and they so appreciate that we still have [the messages],” says Christine. “A couple of weeks ago his daughter came in, and she brought her daughter in and they were talking about it. It’s kind of nice.”
Pohl and Doering’s only regret with this project is that they didn’t start sooner. Many old hotels have been closing down in recent years.
“We’ve kind of missed the boat in a way. We should have started a decade sooner and we could’ve gotten a lot more, but we’re going to have no problem hitting 100,” he says.
The group is also really enjoying working on the project, and Pohl thinks they might push past 100 simply because they enjoy it.
More information about the Beer Parlour Project can be found at www.beerparlourproject.com.
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If you’re tired of trying to watch live performances from the balconies with binoculars, which is often the case at the large venues found in the city, then the intimate settings of the Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre and the Max Centre are just the ticket.
The two facilities have a full calendar of performances throughout the fall and winter months and they offer two completely different experiences.
The Max Centre is located in Frank Maddock High School and offers a wide array of “dinner and a show” packages featuring performances by tribute acts showcasing the work of some of the world’s best known musicians. When you book a ticket at the Max you get your money’s worth. An evening can last anywhere from three to four hours and includes a catered meal, a live performance and well priced drinks. By the end of the night there are almost always people on the dance floor or singing along with the performers. This is an excellent venue to get out with a group and have some fun.
The Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre is another performing arts venue that packs a punch.
The arts centre, formerly known as the Cardium Theatre, was the entertainment anchor in downtown Drayton Valley at the height of the mid-century oil boom. In recent years it was purchased by the local municipalities and refurbished into its current form, where it now acts as a venue for live music, comedians and other entertainers.
The Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre is the largest stage in this part of Alberta, is managed by a group of dedicated volunteers and works to bring in up and coming and independent artists to the area.
A night at the theatre includes moderately priced beverages and snacks, comfortable theatre chairs, and there is no bad seat in the house. If you are working dinner into your evening I would recommend going out for supper at one of the 40 different restaurants in town, and heading out for after-show drinks at nearby lounges and bars.
Upcoming performances at both venues are regularly advertised on social media or in the Drayton Valley and District Free Press.
“Ultimately my goal is always to be a full-time writer and to be able to bring that into the classroom,” he says.
Crawford also has a collection of three short stories that have been released called Tales From Mardell: Volume 1. Two of those stories were previously published in magazines. He says anyone looking to get a signed copy of Mr. Pratt’s can contact him at jwcdreamshaper@gmail.com. Crawford also has a website that promotes other local authors called FauphTalk Fiction, which can be visited at www.fauphtalkfiction.com
A local woman has made it to the top after losing the most weight and was named the TOPS Queen for 2026.
Seventy-eight-year-old Pat Thoreson has been a member of the not-for-profit weight-loss club, Take Off Pounds Sensibly, since 1984. After losing the most weight in Alberta this year, Thoreson was crowned the TOPS Queen last May.
“I started out with a weight problem when I was growing up, so I’ve spent a lot of years at it,” she says.
Since she joined TOPS, Thoreson has lost 72.25 lbs, though she says most of the loss was over the past couple of years.
Prior to joining TOPS, Thoreson had tried out a number of different groups in an attempt to achieve results, but with little success. She says she would lose a little bit of weight, but then would gain it back.
Living near Winfield, Thoreson would meet with the club in Bluffton. From spring to the fall, Thoreson would drive herself to the club every week. Over the winter, Thoreson’s husband would drive her so she wouldn’t have to drive in the dark.
As much as the group was about losing weight, the social aspect was also appealing. She says the club was extremely supportive, and she formed a bond with the members, which was one of the reasons that kept her motivated to return.
“We take turns doing programs, and we have contests. It’s just a good support club,” she says. “That has been another thing that has gotten me to this point.”
One of the women Thoreson met was Violet Schmidt, who was Queen in 1995, and the two became very close.
“Over the years, she was one of the best supporters that I’ve ever had,” she says.
Unlike other groups, Thoreson found the approach of TOPS refreshing. Each week there was a weigh-in for the members, similar to other organizations, but they focused on making healthy food choices rather than food or calorie restriction.
“It’s a food exchange,” says Thoreson. “It’s not that you can’t eat certain foods; you just think about the amount of calories and that type of thing.”
She says they allow themselves to eat the food, but just remain conscious of how much and how often they ate it.
It’s also cheaper than many other programs. To join TOPS, there is an annual fee of $49 USD. Thoreson says her club, which has since relocated to Hoadley, also charges a $5 fee for each meeting to cover the costs of the coffee and rental space. Other than that, there are no fees for information packages and no meals that have to be purchased.
Thoreson says the biggest weight loss came after she received an award for being part of the club for 40 years.
“I thought, ‘40 years and I haven’t really done a whole bunch,’” she says. “That’s one of the things that kind of shook my memory that this was why I was really here, not just to visit.”
She says she lost weight at a healthy pace and was able to keep it off thanks to the information she had from the group and the exercise regime that she stuck to.
“On Mondays, [my husband and I] would floor curl in the afternoon. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I do chair exercises for one hour in Buck Lake on Tuesdays and Winfield on Thursdays. Then on Thursdays I would walk for three-quarters to an hour at Winfield as well,” says Thoreson.
As a Queen, Thoreson says she would like to advocate the importance of healthy choices to people.
“A person can do it if they just stop and think about what they’re eating and what they should be eating,” she says. “Even though it took me 42 years, I still go there. It’s not like you have to do it all of a sudden.”
Thoreson says she hopes people will hear her message and make time to attend a meeting at a nearby club to see what the organization is all about.
More information about the program can be found at www.tops.org.
I remember when I let my kids walk to school alone for the first time. I stood in our big front window waving, and blowing kisses fighting the urge to jump in my car and follow them. I told myself repeatedly that if I didn’t get a call from the school wondering where they were, they must have made it safely and they did.
The route to school from our home on 54th Ave was pretty calm for the most part except for three crossings. The first was crossing the road that the old pool was on from west to east. There was no cross walk and it had some blind spots. People often picked up speed while driving and I would really hammer it into the kids’ heads “Stop, look and listen! Then get eye contact.” The other two crossings closer to St. Anthony School did have traffic lights, however some drivers liked to make that right hand turn while they were looking left. Again “Eye contact!” I wanted my kids to know the responsibility of being a pedestrian, after all we lived in town and walking was something we did often. I never wanted them to implicitly trust that the driver saw them, or wasn’t distracted. They needed to be predictable and patient for drivers. That first walk happened three years ago and my, how times have changed.
Whereas, before I directed much of my annoyance and outrage at drivers, now it’s the “pedestrians,” who aren’t actually on foot. I’m talking about people on an e-anything who zip and zoom from sidewalk to the roads, and who don’t make eye contact, don’t act predictably and generally are not respecting the rules of the road or the sidewalk.
Do I sound like a Karen? I hope so.
A few weeks ago I was walking to the library from the office, and there was a truck at the fourway stop to my right. I made eye contact, looked both ways and proceeded to walk. Then out of the blue to my left, an electric scooter came off the sidewalk onto the road, cut off my path of walking and zipped through the intersection, without stopping thereby cutting the truck off too. In this one instance not only could the person have hit me, but the truck that was ready to proceed could have gunned it and hit him.
Seinfeld is my mindless pleasure. There’s one episode I just watched where Kramer got into blows with a baseball player over a ball cleaning violation on the golf course. Jerry thought he was being too strict with the rules. Kramer’s response. “Hey, a rule is a rule and let’s face it without rules…there’s chaos.” This is what the roadways and sidewalks seemed to have devolved into, utter chaos.
So despite the fact that the current laws on electric anything are murky, and scooters shouldn’t be used off of private property, here they are. And while I would love to deliver the typical PSA to drivers, that says “Hey it is back to school, please watch out for pedestrians.” I also want to shout out. “Hey it’s back to school, please make sure your kids know the rules of the road, how to be a respectful pedestrian that acts in a predictable manner around vehicles, and non-motorized pedestrians! Please!!! For the love of…”
I am not just being a Karen on this one and I would like to put the general reminder that not more than a few years ago we had an e-scooter death in this very town when a scooter driver hit a pedestrian, knocking him down resulting in injury causing death.
So on one hand I would like all drivers to be aware of the pedestrians out on the sidewalk this school season but also, pedestrians or hybrid pedestrians please also do your due diligence and watch for traffic, and be predictable. Lets make sure everyone gets to where they are going in a boring and uneventful way this school year.
The Drayton Valley Thunder are getting ready to hit the ice for the pre-season, and head coach Jeff Truit says there will be some changes this year.
Truit, who is in his second season of coaching the team, says there were some lessons to be learned last year.
“I knew that this was a tough league coming in, and with a younger group,” he says. “We learned a lot of lessons in how we have to play and how we have to approach things.”
Truit says it wasn’t anything earth-shattering for him; he was aware there could be some improvements the team needed to work on when he started.
There were a lot of first-year players on the team last year, and so there was some inexperience to contend with.
“I thought last year that we got out-competed at times,” he says.
Heading into camp this year, Truit says they are focusing on bringing in more skill and speed, and they are also looking for bigger players.
“It’s going to be a very competitive camp. I think our scouts have done a tremendous job with the quality of players we’ve got coming in,” he says.
The coaches will be keeping an eye out for some of the taller players with more muscle mass this year. Truit says there is a place for every size of player, but he wants a team that’s a balance of players who are six feet or more and have power and the smaller guys who have the speed.
One of the areas that he saw needed to be improved was their game against the boards. He says the team needs to be able to win those battles. When the players head into that situation, there is a mental aspect to the win. Truit says sometimes size can affect how the player acts in the corners.
“We’re not sacrificing skill because these guys do have skill,” he says. “We look at that being a real positive for our team.”
Truit says there is a fire within every athlete regardless of their size, and each one has to work within the team to make it a success.
A lot of the recruits have worn letters on their jerseys from their past teams. Truit says even though these past leaders are coming into a new level of hockey, they know how to prepare for games and are less likely to get overwhelmed.
“They are very mature young men,” he says. “The nice thing about it is they’ve been leaders, they’ve had to take care of their teams and set the example on and off the ice.”
Truit says last year was a tough year, but as the players have come back, he sees a new level of focus. He says their attitudes have always been great, but they are willing to take on the responsibility of taking the team to another level.
“They know we have to improve,” he says. “They know that the pressure is on. They seem to have grasped that, and that speaks to the quality of their character.”
Truit says there is a mental aspect to the game that the players have to master as well.
“[As an athlete] you have to take it upon yourself to raise that level, and that’s a mindset that you’ve gotta come into,” he says. “And it just feels like now they are going to get it done.”
Truit says he sees the increase in the drive from the players, and he’s really excited about what the upcoming season will bring.
While the role of the captain on the team is an important one, Truit says they are all expected to help with the leadership.
“I care about the collective unit rather than just the captains,” he says.
Truit says one of the best things that fans can do to help the team is to fill the seats during games. He says it can be very intimidating for the opposing teams coming in to hear the cheers for the home team.
He says he believes the fans will be proud of the improvements that have been made to the area, including the taller glass, new clock, and screen. The atmosphere will be different.
“The fans here in Drayton Valley can be a very intimidating group when they’re loud and they’re cheering and supporting that way,” he says. “They did a great job for us last year.”
When I first got into the advertising and sales side of the newspaper I didn’t know anything about anything. But I did know I wanted to make sure that we built our clients effective ads specific to newspaper marketing.
“Newspaper friendly” advertising is a stand alone subset of advertising, just like every social network has their own specs for effective digital advertising, and billboards have their requirements, and radio has their requirements. Newspaper ads that follow certain specs are more effective.
Why is this important for you to know? Because with the rise of AI, we have been getting many AI posters as graphic design submissions for advertising. As a jumping off point for our graphic designer this is fantastic intel, however as a carbon copy ad, these posters are not always newspaper friendly.
A few basic tips I share with people when they are considering submitting a draft design are these:
White space! Newspapers need white space. Too much of everything leads to a whole lot of nothing for the eye to focus on. White space allows your prospective clients to see your important messaging from a distance and draws them in closer to see more once interest is piqued.
Font size. The Free Press type font is 9pt. Advertising should be larger than this. In some cases much larger.
Font contrast. A dark font on a lighter background is the easiest to read. This is why newspapers are black font on white paper. Again this takes us back to white space.
These are the basics that I let people know about. This may mean that your newspaper ad is not a carbon copy of your promotional poster.
But our brand! You might protest.
Branding does not mean placing the same identical ad across multiple mediums. Branding requires you to ensure the big picture aspects of your company are included in all advertising such things like: colours, typeface, image themes etc.
You wouldn’t put a very detailed poster on a billboard would you? No. People driving at 70km per hour don’t have time to read all of the information. But you may put the same headline, with the same colour and similar imagery with a big bold company name. Social media advertising favours not just images but videos – branding may appear in the beginning and end of the video.
If you do choose to draft your ad graphics in AI here are some prompts I pulled from Gemini you could use in that will help make your ad specific to the newspaper medium:
Newspaper prompt guidelines from Gemini
1. Demand High Contrast and Grayscale Clarity
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“High contrast, strong key lighting, bold outlines, optimized for black and white print, crisp grayscale separation.”
Note: you can reference the same but in colour, the colour contrast will be more defined.
2. Enforce Simple Compositions and Ample Negative Space
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“Minimalist background, single clear focal point, uncluttered design, generous empty negative space for text overlays.”
3. Choose Graphic or Vector Styles Over Hyper-Realism
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“Flat vector art style, clean graphic illustration, sharp edges, print-ready layout, high-legibility design.”
One of the services the Free Press provides is graphic design. Our graphic designer on staff, has worked in marketing and has a degree in graphic design. She has a keen eye and great understanding of the importance of typeface, layout, and focal point. If you draft your poster initially in AI send it our way to be rendered into a newspaper friendly format. Provide us with a png or pdf file, unflattened so we can adjust to make sure you are getting the best ad that will catch the most eyeballs.
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Last Friday the Evansburg Inn was entered into the annals of history by the Beer Parlour Project, which has been making a photographic documentary of historic hotels across Western Canada.
Chris Doering, Rob Pohl, and Doering’s wife Connie Biggart are the founders of the Beer Parlour Project, which aims to record the history of hotels that were the focal point of their community when they were first built. The group wants to capture the essence of the building using a combination of digital and vintage flash photography of the building and the community of people who use it.
“My friends and I are history photographers,” says Doering. “So we go around and document historic buildings, machinery, or whatever the case may be.”
While they were out in the field working, they were often in rural areas. Often there were hotels in the community, some of which were still original structures from the first half of the 20th century, and they would stop in for lunch.
“Right under our noses is all these really interesting hotels with really interesting stories,” says Doering.
The trio started the project in 2022 and have been to about 50 rural establishments since then. Their goal is to visit 100 older hotels across Western Canada so they can publish a coffee table book. They’ve already secured an exhibit at the Alberta Art Gallery in 2028, which they are excited about.
The Beer Parlour group started their weekend on a Thursday at the Colinton Hotel in Colinton, Alberta. From there they drove to Evansburg on Friday, and on Saturday they stopped in at the Warburg Hotel and Saloon.
Though Doering, Biggart, and Pohl all have full-time jobs, this project is their main hobby. The group is funding their project on their own, though they are looking for some arts grants to help cover some expenses. As such, they try to get as many stops in as possible if they have to travel any distance.
Doering says they pick areas to focus on each time they are planning to work on their project. Once they have the area and have selected the hotels, they look into the history of the building and its relationship to the community. They also consider the cultural side of things and how people are involved in the history of the building.
“They’re really little hidden gems,” says Doering. “Outside appearances can be deceiving.”
Doering’s role in the project is digital photography, research, and handling most of the interviews.
“You hear some really amazing stories,” says Doering. “Some hilarious, heart-breaking — you name it.”
Pohl focuses on taking photos, often on his vintage tri-pod camera, and he also helps with some of the writing for the website.
While Pohl’s camera isn’t the best camera for the project, he uses it because he prefers to develop the pictures in his darkroom. It also provides a great ice breaker as patrons come up and ask him questions about it.
“It’s funny, the expectations of people now, especially the younger generation. [They say] ‘Can I see the back of the camera? What does the picture look like?’” says Pohl.
He says people are often shocked that it will take a month for the picture to be developed, but they always offer to send them a complimentary picture when it’s ready.
Pohl says now that they’ve been to a few different bars, had their stories told in the paper, and have been interviewed for television and radio, they can show that they are credible and have a legitimate project that they are working on. This could make it easier to secure grants to help cover some expenses, and it could also make it easier for them to get their work published in a book.
It hasn’t always been easy for them to get people to trust them. For the most part, owners have allowed them to come in, take some photos, and talk to people; however, some have turned them away.
“There is always a little suspicion because they think we’re either gonna portray their place as a dump and try to make fun of it, which we’re not. We’re trying to celebrate it, get people aware of these [places] and out there to enjoy them,” says Pohl. “We don’t use any images or take any pictures in a way to portray it in that light, so we’ve got to get that understanding in place.”
The other suspicion owners sometimes have is that the Beer Parlour Project is going to charge them for the work they are doing, which has never been the case.
The owners of the Evansburg Inn, Christine and Diane Maskell, say they were happy to participate in the project because they believe it’s important for small towns to be recognized and supported.
“Some people don’t even go off of Highway 16, and when they go to these small communities, they’re amazed at what they can find in them,” says Christine.
Christine and her mother-in-law, Diane, have owned the Evansburg Inn for nearly 26 years, and it was only recently that Christine decided to close the bar down on Sundays. Prior to that, she had been working every single day to keep the place going while raising five kids.
The best memories Christine and Diane have are of the people they’ve met along the way. The history of their time running the bar is tied to their memories of their patrons and friends.
Currently, Christine, Diane, Christine’s daughter Lindsey, and her daughter-in-law, Jacey, run the place.
“We do get along really good, honest to God,” says Diane. “They say that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law don’t get along, but we do.”
The family run business has seen its ups and downs. Their family lost a grandson, son, brother, and husband when Robbie Maskell passed away in 2022.
But still, the women have continued to serve their loyal customer base. Christine is a Jill-of-all- trades, but she doesn’t touch the electrical. She does, however, handle the maintenance for the rest of the building.
“If it’s broken, she’ll fix it,” says Diane.
Over the years, their bar has been known as a place of respect.
“I say, if you respect the place, then I’ll respect you,” says Christine.
In the time they’ve owned the place, there have only been a handful of fights.
Diane recalls a time when Christine had to step in to keep the peace one night.
“There was going to be a fight — this was a few years ago. There was a regular sitting at the bar, and [Christine] knew he was going to go after [another patron]. She jumped over the bar and grabbed him, and hung onto him like you wouldn’t believe,” says Diane.
The bar has become a memorial for some. A bench outside the Inn was placed there in Robbie’s honour, and inside, there is a column filled with messages for a loyal patron who passed away.
“He used to sit in that spot,” says Christine. “He did a lot of plumbing work and help for us over the years we were here, and he suddenly passed away.”
They held a memorial service for Jerry Lee, and his family asked if they could write messages on the wall. Christine pointed them to the area where Jerry always sat, and Jerry’s family and friends left messages for him there.
Several years later, those messages are still preserved, and Jerry is still remembered.
“He had some nieces and nephews that were five or six years old. They’re 18 now and they come in, and they so appreciate that we still have [the messages],” says Christine. “A couple of weeks ago his daughter came in, and she brought her daughter in and they were talking about it. It’s kind of nice.”
Pohl and Doering’s only regret with this project is that they didn’t start sooner. Many old hotels have been closing down in recent years.
“We’ve kind of missed the boat in a way. We should have started a decade sooner and we could’ve gotten a lot more, but we’re going to have no problem hitting 100,” he says.
The group is also really enjoying working on the project, and Pohl thinks they might push past 100 simply because they enjoy it.
More information about the Beer Parlour Project can be found at www.beerparlourproject.com.
Download your Brazeau and Beyond Experience Guide
If you’re tired of trying to watch live performances from the balconies with binoculars, which is often the case at the large venues found in the city, then the intimate settings of the Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre and the Max Centre are just the ticket.
The two facilities have a full calendar of performances throughout the fall and winter months and they offer two completely different experiences.
The Max Centre is located in Frank Maddock High School and offers a wide array of “dinner and a show” packages featuring performances by tribute acts showcasing the work of some of the world’s best known musicians. When you book a ticket at the Max you get your money’s worth. An evening can last anywhere from three to four hours and includes a catered meal, a live performance and well priced drinks. By the end of the night there are almost always people on the dance floor or singing along with the performers. This is an excellent venue to get out with a group and have some fun.
The Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre is another performing arts venue that packs a punch.
The arts centre, formerly known as the Cardium Theatre, was the entertainment anchor in downtown Drayton Valley at the height of the mid-century oil boom. In recent years it was purchased by the local municipalities and refurbished into its current form, where it now acts as a venue for live music, comedians and other entertainers.
The Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre is the largest stage in this part of Alberta, is managed by a group of dedicated volunteers and works to bring in up and coming and independent artists to the area.
A night at the theatre includes moderately priced beverages and snacks, comfortable theatre chairs, and there is no bad seat in the house. If you are working dinner into your evening I would recommend going out for supper at one of the 40 different restaurants in town, and heading out for after-show drinks at nearby lounges and bars.
Upcoming performances at both venues are regularly advertised on social media or in the Drayton Valley and District Free Press.
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Please be a predictable pedestrian
I remember when I let my kids walk to school alone for the first time. I stood in our big front window waving, and blowing kisses fighting the urge to jump in my car and follow them. I told myself repeatedly that if I didn’t get a call from the school wondering where they were, they must have made it safely and they did.
Thunder look to balance size, speed and mentality
The Drayton Valley Thunder are getting ready to hit the ice for the pre-season, and head coach Jeff Truit says there will be some changes this year.
Truit, who is in his second season of coaching the team, says there were some lessons to be learned last year.
Project takes snapshots of historic watering holes
Last Friday the Evansburg Inn was entered into the annals of history by the Beer Parlour Project, which has been making a photographic documentary of historic hotels across Western Canada.
