On the final day of 2022, I drove from Lethbridge in southern Alberta to High Level in northern Alberta, a long fourteen- to fifteen-hour journey. As a return drive, I had started early, reached Edmonton just after noon, and continued northward through the day. In that time, I concluded my listening to an intriguing audiobook, ‘The Splendid and the Vile’ by Erik Larson, about Winston Churchill written recently and with access to documentation from previously unavailable sources; the book compiles memoirs and correspondences into a more intimate view of Winston’s world – Britain and its people, colleagues, family, friends, brokered loyalties, and royalty – all at a time of war, World War II.

Near 9:00 p.m., my drive brought me to Manning, Alberta, where I fueled my Corolla, got snacks and began the last leg of my journey home. Northward, cresting the hill leading out of Manning, clouds in the night sky reflected bright, red-orange light. As I drove toward the Manning airport (ahead, on my left), flames reached high into the sky.

A building was burning, not at the airport, but at a farm on land immediately preceding the airport. The building was one I had considered photographing through the years. But it had been dressed down. While the overall shape and architectural style held interest, the building’s windows were boarded up, and the structure had been painted a dark chocolate brown.  It was more a dark brown brick than architectural interest worthy of a photograph.

 

A week later, driving south, the building was absent. Nothing remained. The area, where the building had stood, was flat, cleared of debris and now offered a clear, unimpeded view from the farm home out to the service road and highway. Winter likely had been the safest time to burn this farm building, and burning the structure may have been the most efficient way to remove it.

 

Listened to: Erik Larson’s ‘The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz.’

 

Quotes to Inspire (1) ‘I walk, I look, I see, I stop, I photograph (Leon Levinstein).’ (2) ‘Photography must be integrated with the story (James Wong Howe).’