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Heritage signs coming down

Some familiar icons will be removed from the landscape in Okotoks’s downtown area in the next couple of weeks.
According to Kathy Coutts, a member of the Okotoks and District Historical Society, the informative signage for town’s historic buildings will be coming down, and will
According to Kathy Coutts, a member of the Okotoks and District Historical Society, the informative signage for town’s historic buildings will be coming down, and will likely be replaced in the future.

Some familiar icons will be removed from the landscape in Okotoks’s downtown area in the next couple of weeks.

The red and white Heritage Walking Tour signs, which have dotted Elma Street, McRae Street and North Railway Street since 1999, are coming down after almost 20 years.

Okotoks and District Historical Society member Kathy Coutts said the decision was made for safety, because some signs had sustained damaged leaving behind sharp edges, but also because they were beginning to wear and some were out-of-date.

“They served their purpose, but they are looking their age though,” said Coutts. “Some are very faded, but the biggest concern is some of them have been vandalized over the years.”

She said a few of the signs appear to have been attacked with hacksaws or blowtorches, with jagged edges left behind. The damage is also unsightly, she said.

The Historical Society has asked the Town of Okotoks to remove the signs, as most of them are installed on the Town boulevards outside walking tour homes, she said.

There are a few signs on private property, either hanging on buildings like Heartland Café or Rumpled Quilt Skins and Bistro 1882, or on fences of some homes, she said.

“The society will talk directly with those property owners to arrange to have the signs removed,” said Coutts. “Or in some cases, they may prefer just to have it up as an informative plaque.”

The plan is to replace the signs eventually, but it will be done over time and after the walking tour has been revisited, she said. The original tour includes some buildings that don’t exist anymore, or who’s history is no longer accurate.

For instance, the Creamery is no longer standing on Riverside Drive after a fire in 2015, St. James Church was moved to a private property out of town years ago. The old United Church building is no longer used by the church, but is now the Rotary Performing Arts Centre, she said.

The signs themselves will be changed to include street addresses, something many people reported as lacking on the original signage, she said.

“There were numbers on the signs that linked to the walking tour brochure, but unless you had that walking tour brochure the number in the corner didn’t mean anything,” said Coutts.

There is no timeframe for having the signs replaced, she said. It will depend solely on time and resources, because the Historical Society is limited in both members and finances, she said.

The society intends to work with the community to develop a walking tour and corresponding signage so residents are satisfied with the result, she said.

The walking tour and interpretive signs are important to have in town because they give Okotoks the chance to show off some of its history, she said.

“We have wonderful historic buildings in Okotoks, and we want to share their history – the people who lived there, interesting architectural elements of these buildings 0 so they’re really historical buildings of interest,” said Coutts. “I think it’s important to celebrate our history and share the knowledge with the community and our visitors.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the Okotoks and District Historical Society or helping with projects is welcome to attend a meeting on the first Wednesday of every month, starting at 7 p.m. at the Okotoks Museum and Archives

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