Montgomery is located at the bottom of the present-day flood plain of the Bow River. From its beginnings as a settlement for First Nations People, then later ranch land, to the neighbourhood it is today, Montgomery has seen many physical changes. However, the surrounding environment has always played a large role in residents’ lives!
Bowmont Natural Environment Park was known as the “Cliffs”. This was a wonderful environment for exploration, with a wild river, dangerous cliffs, and some fantastic wildlife. Wildlife sightings, including deer, bear, moose, lynx, coyotes, and cougars, were more common prior to changes in the landscape, such as the removal of trees and bushes and the tops of the slope. Children were often forbidden from playing along the Cliffs due to concerns for safety, but despite (or because of) this precaution many children spent a lot of time there – unknown to their parents!
Ron Kerns remembers that many species of birds inhabited the woods near Bowmont Natural Environment Park. Great horned owls frequented particular trees. Red-tailed hawks were even more common, nesting in the highest trees on the prairie hills. Many species of fish (suckers, mountain whitefish, and species of trout such as rainbow, brown, brook, bull, and even lake trout) were caught in the system before the dams were constructed.
Before the Bearspaw Dam was constructed to maintain the flow of the Bow River at a consistent level, flooding in both the Bowness and Montgomery areas was a yearly concern. Nellie Marschand pointed out that when it rained, it was so muddy, sticky, and gooey it was impossible to stand up straight while attempting to walk in it. Before the roads were paved the community was fondly known as ‘Mudgomery’. The clay base of the roads caused children to become stuck in the mud after a heavy rain. They often needed to be pulled free by a caring adult passing by!
Before Montgomery was fully developed, snowstorms were a threat to lives because it was easy for people to become lost. The Pauls remember one wicked hailstorm that left dead seagulls scattered around. A storm with golf-ball sized hail broke the kitchen windows and forced the Barr family to hide under their kitchen table. Many community members recall the 1981 hailstorm that damaged roofs and vehicles and destroyed gardens.
The top of the hill is an excellent viewpoint to watch the weather come in from the west! Marg E. Brown remembers that during the big thunderstorms she would drive her car up to the Shouldice Home and watch the storm move across the valley from the hilltop. Only one of her children would be allowed to join her each time, so that whoever made it to the car first would be the lucky storm watcher for the evening.
Excerpt from the booklet – A Hunt for History, Montgomery Memories. Copies of the booklet are available in the lobby of the Montgomery Community Centre.
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