Chinook rose and fell with Service Garage

By Jonathan Koch on April 30, 2025.

Source: Forgotten Alberta
Chinook rose and fell with Service Garage
Wow. Has it really been two-and-a-half years since my last post?

Time flies, and I’ll spare you the details, but I am pleased to report that much of my time not almost dying was spent compiling and drafting my newest essay for Alberta History Journal, entitled “Chinook rose and fell with Service Garage”.

This is the story of the former village of Chinook, and the heart of that lapsed locality, the now defunct and derelict Service Garage. The essay chronicles the concurrent rise of both the garage and community, and their coetaneous collapse as drought and the desertion of the of the surrounding districts took its inevitable toll on both.

At present only subscribers to Alberta History Journal are able to read this essay. I would strongly recommend you click the link to get a subscription for future editions, or find someone who has one. Or, you could stop by your local library on the off chance they subscribe to this publication. If they don’t have a subscription, harass them relentlessly until they do.

Many thanks to Harry Sanders, Editor of Alberta History, for accepting my scribblings, and to both Harry and Scott Dumonceaux, Associate Editor, for their patience and suggestions during the editorial process.

I’d also like to thank Ellen Sangster for her efforts to chronicle the history of the Cooley family. The recollections of Ray Cooley were essential in the compilation of this piece. I’d also like to thank Gabrial Logan, David McKinstry, Jim Aitken, and Wayne Cornell for their assistance (and Amanda for her love and support).

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