The Old Crow
Athabasca’s Famous Little Store
(The Old Anglican Rectory)
4812-49 St., Athabasca, AB,
T9S 1C4, Canada
Telephone: 1 780 675-4400
Custom Picture Framing – Books,
Cards and Prints – Pottery – Knitwear – Tea and Coffee - Rocky Mountain Soap -
Local Products - Antique Furniture Restoration
Books: The Long Way to Los Gatos
Take
the Tour (link)
Contact Us
Who we are
We are Trish and Charles Bazalgette.
Trish does the framing and runs the business.
She has taken a professional framing course.
She also has master’s degrees from the
University of Alberta in History, and in Library and Information Science, and
often wonders why she is running a quirky little store in a small town, but
that is what she decided she wanted to do.
Charles has worked in the IT industry for 40
years, but is hoping to retire from it soon.
Any of his spare time is spent working on the house, but he plans to
devote more time to restoring antiques as soon as possible. He wants to build up the antiques side of
the business again. He tries to help
with the business but mainly succeeds in getting in the way.
Custom Picture Framing
Framing is the main part of our business at present, and we provide top quality advice, materials and workmanship. All materials we use are acid-free, and our glass resists the effects of UV light, which would otherwise fade your pictures. Our prices are very competitive, and we have a large choice of materials. We are honoured to have been asked by Athabasca University to frame their large art collection, and this is an ongoing task. We also assist local artists to present their work as attractively as possible, and there is no doubt that this helps to sell their pictures. We do not sell standard-size frames, e.g., 5x7, 6x8, 10x12 etc., off the shelf, because these are readily available at drugstores, but we will make frames of any shape or size, and of course the quality is much higher than the bulk-store variety. We always have frames of odd sizes for sale, which result from cancelled orders, mis-sizing and the using-up of surplus mouldings, and these are very reasonably priced. Canny local artists often buy these and then paint a picture to fit them. We provide additional services such as stretching canvases and cross-stitches, but do not now make shadow-boxes, which are so labour-intensive that we cannot charge a realistic price for them. Ready-made shadow-boxes for hockey sweaters etc can be found at outlets like Costco, at a much lower price than we could make them. As well as conventional framing, we also undertake drymounting and plaque-mounting.
Antiques and Restoration
Past customers will remember that we started as an antiques business before we began to frame pictures, but we retain our business name because we plan to ramp up the antiques side again. We have managed to clear the centre bay of our Carriage House, and we have some antiques on display there. These are mainly items that we have had in storage for a while, and they are mostly as found. Please ask in the store if you would like to view anything. The Carriage House needs a great deal of structural work, but it has quite a lot of workshop and warehouse space, which we will ultimately be able to expand into. We are not in a position to restore antiques at the moment. We are always interested in buying antiques, but bear in mind that we use the old-world definition of an antique – namely, a decorative and functional article, craftsman-made, which is at least 100 years old. In common with other dealers, we will not pay for an item more then half of the price which we expect to get for it. This means we may ticket it even higher. This does not include the cost of restoration, if that is needed, which will of course further reduce the price we can pay.
Books
We both love collecting books, and have long
experience in the business. We have
been selling them in aid of our cat shelter for some years and these books are
mainly donated.
However, we also have a selection of new books,
mainly of local and provincial interest, and an expanding stock of second-hand
books, mainly non-fiction. Charles also
sells books online, via Biblio. You can
search his online catalogue here, but it is mostly
obscure non-fiction. Still, if you happen
to find a title you want, you can collect it at the store and save on
postage. We are always happy to accept
saleable books in very good condition, either as donations for the shelter, or
as job lots for sale. We will find any
book you want, if it is available anywhere online for sale. Please enquire and we will do our best to
help you. If we get a book for you, the price will include the cost of
shipping, plus 15% commission.
This is a partial list of new books that we have in stock at the moment:
(It is still advisable to call us if you are travelling any distance, so that we can reserve a copy for you)
Books by local authors or which have local content
All I Need Now Are Some Chickens,
a Cow, and a Wife
The letters of Hans Armfelt, compiled by Richard M. Armfelt
Baz - The Biography of Squadron Leader Ian Bazalgette, VC, DFC,
by Dave Birrell (new revised
edition)
Under the Hunger Moon – The Saga
of an Alberta Homesteader, by Carl J. Buchanan
(Edited and signed by his
daughter, Ruth Buchanan)
Suitable for the Wilds: Letters
from Northern Alberta 1929-1931,
by Mary Percy Jackson, edited by
Janice Dickin.
North to Slave Lake: The
Biography of Ted Morton, by Stan Morton
The Tin Box, by Holly Kennedy
(signed first edition hard cover)
The Penny Tree, by Holly Kennedy
(signed paperback)
The Silver Compass, by Holly Kennedy
(signed paperback)
The Athabasca Ryga, writings by George
Ryga, edited (and signed) by David Gregory
The Prairie Novels, by George Ryga
The Other Plays, by George Ryga
Basky, by Dorothy Lane
Pete the Puddleduck, by Dorothy Lane
The Emperor’s New Climate (signed), by Bruno
Wiskel
Athabasca Haiku, by Christine Nelson
and Merilyn Peruniak
Backdoor to the Yukon, by Otto Lahser
Athabasca Seasons: A Memoir, by Audrey Weldon
Reid
Bright Baubles, Tarnished
Trinkets, by Audrey Weldon Reid
Victorian Songhunters, by David Gregory
We sometimes have second-hand
copies of Athabasca Landing, an Illustrated History
Alberta authors or Alberta content
The Way It Was: Vignettes from
One-Room Schools, by Edith Van Kleek
The Long Trail: Story of a
Pioneer Family, by Beulah Baldwin
I Am Albertan: a Photographic Essay, by Tim Van Horn and
Kristen Wagner
Back Roads, by Ted Ferguson
With Unshakeable Persistence:
Rural Teachers in the Depression Years, by Elizabeth McLachlan
With Unfailing Dedication: Rural
Teachers in the War Years, by Elizabeth McLachlan
We also have a selection of
Alberta and Western Canadian fiction, including some early editions by James
Oliver Curwell, Robert Service etc.
We are always looking for books
about Athabasca or by Athabasca authors.
Any such authors are requested to
contact us, but we will not stock a book if it is for sale in a local grocery
store or drugstore.
The Long Way to Los Gatos
We have the last case anywhere of new, signed, copies of The Long Way To Los Gatos, by Verne R. Albright. Verne is probably the leading authority on Peruvian Pasos in North America, and now lives in Calgary. He is also married to one of Trish’s sisters.
Pottery
Locally-made pottery is one of our best lines,
and is very popular as a quality gift.
We are proud to offer the beautiful stoneware
made by Linda Buhlmann. We have a few
left of the stunning majolica-style pieces made by the late Lillie Els. We had to go as far as Fort McMurray to find
the best colour-glazed pottery and porcelain.
This is made by Barb Howe of Clay Necessities, and is of unsurpassed
quality, with fantastic glaze colours.
We always have some pieces in genuine red Athabasca clay, made for us by
Deb Lucas. We are always looking for
quality pottery made locally.
Art and Prints
We have always displayed work by local artists, but at present we have very limited wallspace. Places to see local art include the Riverhouse Eatery on East Hill, and the Red Roof Gallery. We have a variety of limited edition prints by Alberta artists, including a few examples by the late Georgia Jarvis, which are becoming very scarce on the primary market. We always have a choice selection of antique hand-coloured engravings and etchings for sale, the earliest being from the 1730’s.
Cards
Our exclusive range of Athabasca Archives artcards, showing views of old Athabasca Landing, should now be well-known. We had them printed by permission of the Archive, which receives a portion of the proceeds of each sale. We have a choice of locally-made cards, including those made from watercolours by Joan Sherman.
Knitwear
We sell gorgeous handmade sweaters, gloves,
bags etc in wool and alpaca, imported by a local company on a fair trade
basis. Their full range can be seen on
their wholesale site at http://www.buffaloimport.ca/
We do not stock all of their lines, but if you
see something you would like please call us and we will get it for you if it is
available.
Rocky Mountain Soap
We are delighted have been chosen to be the
only local supplier of the popular range of soaps and beauty products made by
The Rocky Mountain Soap Company.
See http://www.rockymountainsoap.com/
Briwax
We have been selling Briwax, ‘The British Antique Restorer’s Friend’ for some years, because we use it ourselves. It comes in a variety of colours and is great as a finish restorer or on new wood. Next time you decide to slosh on some lemon oil, which will do your furniture no good at all, think of Briwax!
Foods
Our food items consist of either local products, like wild rice, or imported products from the United Kingdom, which are not available here, but which we ourselves cannot do without. These include the most satisfying tea we have ever tasted – Yorkshire Gold, Cadbury’s genuine Drinking Chocolate and also a gourmet Guatemalan coffee selected for us by our kinsman, coffee expert David Twentyman.
Gifts
We do not sell gifts. In other words, we do not buy or sell the generic items which gift or drug stores sell. However, you will find plenty of things which would make a unique gift, and which could only be bought in our store.
Local Products
We strive to sell as many local products as we can, and are always looking for suitable items. Potential customers are always asking: “Is it local?” – this means they are looking for something unique and different. This is what differentiates us from other stores in Athabasca. Our policy is: if we stock a product, it means in almost all cases that we are the only retailer in Athabasca who sells it. If you are thinking of offering something to us to sell, consider whether it fits in with our existing merchandise, and with that policy. We are picky, but we are always open to ideas. We usually do not handle ‘craft’ items, but there are exceptions.
Consignment
When we opened we used to take a lot of merchandise on consignment, but this is rare now. This is because we did not charge a high percentage, and issues with inventory control, maintainance of supplies and the bookkeeping work involved made it uneconomic. We are always prepared to consider it for a trial period in special cases though.
Our Terms
We normally take
about two weeks to fulfill a frame order, and to have it ready on a
Friday. If the promised date cannot be
met for any reason we will always let you know if we can. Since we are a small business we do ask you
to pick up and pay for your orders promptly.
After all, we have already bought the materials and done the work. If you are a corporate customer we will ask
you to pay on collection, since we are not resourced to offer a ’90-day
purchase order’ approach. Orders not
collected after a month will incur storage charges of $2 per week or part of a
week. If you ask for a written quote,
we will charge a fee of $25, which is deductible from your order. Rush orders, if agreed to, may also incur a
$25 surcharge at our discretion.
Our House
We are very proud to be the owners of the Old
Anglican Rectory and we think it is a lovely house. We have had our eye on it for years, so were very please to be
able to buy it finally in August 2006.
The Bishop of Athabasca originally owned all of the lots from the corner
of 49th Avenue up to the Falconer house lot. Our two-and-a-half lots is what remains of
that property, which explains the presence of the Carriage House, an extremely
rare building to find in a small Alberta town. So many people we have talked to
said they also wanted to buy it, but most say ominously: “It’s a nice big lot.”
This made us even more determined to save the
house, as it was too tempting for a buyer to demolish it and put up a condo
complex. It is our conviction to see that this never happens. The house was erected during the period
1910-1914, though the carriage house is from the 1920’s, and the Rectory was
originally used, from what we can gather, as a hostel for travelling
missionaries and others. It only became
the Rectory in the 1920’s and was sold, when it was regarded as ‘unsuitable’,
in the 1950’s to Aubrey and Edna Lewis.
We bought the property from the Lewis family after their parents had
passed on.
We are having a lot of fun restoring this
house. We have recorded the work in many photographs and it will have its own
website some day. Briefly, the work so
far has included the installation of a new heating system and new wiring and
plumbing.
We have re-roofed the leaky extension at the
back and added a small porch to it. The
existing front and back living rooms have been returned to their existing
wall-covering (burlap), and very nearly their original colours, and the fir
trim, which was almost all missing, has been replaced. This part of the house was done first, so
that we could open the store, and we added a new door at the north side of the
house for access to it. We have built a
deck along the side, to satisfy the requirements of wheelchair access. The house originally had a full verandah
along the front, of which only the small porch remains. We shall be replacing this, except that it
will wrap around the sides of the house a bit.
Our current project is an addition on the south side, which will look
less like a sore thumb when we had added siding and put the verandah on the
front. This year we have also had the
roof reshingled, which was sorely needed.
Payment
We accept cash, cheques, debit, VISA and Mastercard
Business Hours
Our opening hours are:
Monday-Friday – 11 to 5
Saturday – 11 to 3
(Sometimes we do not open on Mondays so it is
as well to call if you plan to come)
Contact us
Address:
Old Crow Antiques and Framing
4812-49 Street
Athabasca, Alberta
Canada
T9S 1C4
Phone:
780-675-4400
Email:
(Remove the ‘x’ before sending – we put it on
there to stop the spammers)
Directions:
If coming from Highway 55, turn up 49th
(Skinner) Street and cross 49th Avenue. We are on the left, after Venture Place and before Lifestyle
Fitness. You can’t really miss our lot
– it has massive old spruce trees on it.
© Charles
Bazalgette 2009