This summer, the Western Standard will be hitting small towns across Alberta. If you’re a fan of small-town rodeo in Alberta, there’s a good chance you’ll see our Western Wagon there promoting the value of independent, bailout-out free journalism..In the summer of 2017, I bought a used, broken-down and beat up 30-foot camping trailer for my young family to enjoy on our time off. It was a mess. It came with massive body damage to the front from a collision, which led to expensive water damage..In the summer of 2020, a friend and I ripped the roof off and rebuilt it entirely. It at least stopped water (and people) from falling through the ceiling, but it still looked like hell..But in February 2021, a small accident led to new body damage to the front end. After some home-made fiberglass work, I managed to repair the damage, but the trailer looked worse than ever.. Picture2 . Picture3 .Then I got a call from a former Western Standard employee, Darryl Logan. Since his time with us, he had started King Skinz, a new auto decaling and wrapping company in Calgary..He took our trailer — which looked like it had been hit by a Tomahawk Cruise Missile — and made it look like new. He put a wrap of our red, white, and black company colours around it that covered up the bad weather damage. He used alternative products over the areas that had rough surfaces from my own amateur fiberglass repair work. He did it all quickly, and inexpensively.. Picture5a . Picture6 .The bloody thing looks like new..Now we’re set for the road..Our first rodeo was a rather infamous one. During one of the Kenney government’s many COVID-19 lockdowns, rancher Ty Northcott near Bowden, Alberta decided enough was enough, and put on an illegal rodeo. The event was a huge success and attracted a large crowd, and sent the mainstream media writhing in panic about a “super spreader” event. As it turned out, Alberta Health Services (AHS) couldn’t link a single case of COVID-19 to the rodeo..The Western Standard was only one of a very small handful of media allowed into the event, while the CBC and other government-funded media stood in ditches by themselves wearing masks, despite the only other creatures in their proximity being cows..The reception we received at the illegal Bowden rodeo convinced us that growing membership in the Western Standard would come much more successfully if we got out of our Calgary headquarters from time-to-time, and physically got where our kind of people are. We decided then and there that we needed some kind of trailer or RV to hit these kinds of events, and plans started for the Western Wagon.. Picture7a .As described above, my own trailer was not up to the task at the time. So we sat on the idea until this winter when the opportunity presented itself to give it a big facelift with King Skinz..I fancy myself an aficionado of small-town Alberta rodeo, and so I’m looking forward to a busy summer on the road. From the Calgary Stampede, to the Strathmore Stampede, from the Brooks Pro Rodeo to the Patricia Amateur Rodeo, we’ll see you there..Derek Fildebrandt is Publisher of the Western Standard
