"Reaching Out" was created by Eldon Neufeld and erected in 1999. It was commissioned by Rotary Club of Red Deer to mark the club's 75th anniversary, and depicts a brother reaching out to his sister, who is wearing a leg brace for her polio, the cure for which was largely funded by Rotary internationally. It is located outside the Red Deer Recreation Centre. Here, tour guide Nicole Leidl shares its backstory with walk participants on Aug, 13, 2022. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

red deer museum and art gallery

Ghosts of the Past Walking Tour takes participants back in time

Aug 13, 2022 | 2:58 PM

Ghosts of Red Deer’s past pepper the city’s downtown sidewalks in the form of statues.

However, a walking tour from the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery (MAG) isn’t meant to be overly spectral or spooky.

“I’ve had comments from people who say they drive by these statues so often, but don’t realize what they represent, so I tell them and it makes it that much more interesting of a drive for them,” says Nicole Leidl, Museum Associate and Ghosts of the Past Walking Tour guide.

“I love the questions people ask, and seeing where I’ve sparked their curiosity.”

There are 11 statues in the Ghosts series, nine of which are included in the tour, as two of them — Faceoff at Servus Arena, and Mickey the Beaver in Coronation Park — are slightly more out of the way.

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“I always say Francis the Pig has the best story,” says Leidl, who’s completing her After-Degree in Heritage Resource Management at Athabasca University. “Francis is a crowd favourite because it’s such an oddball story. I love telling it, especially to kids.”

If you don’t know, Francis the swine escaped death and made national headlines in the process in the summer of 1990.

The oinkster, who would later come to be known as Francis, hopped a wall at a local slaughterhouse, and made his dash for freedom. He wasn’t caught until November.

Francis was immortalized as part of the Ghosts tour in 1998 adjacent to the downtown spray park; which came four years after the first Ghosts statue of Reverend Leonard Gaetz — at Ross Street and Gaetz Avenue — started the trend.

“Sound the Alarm” was commissioned in 1999 and sculpted by Robert K. Spaith. It is located outside the Red Deer Public Library and depicts firefighters being called into action as the driver throws his coat on. Its wooden wagon was donated by Sunnybrook Farm Museum. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

Attending this and other similar tours offered by the MAG is by donation, a recommended $2. But if you’re thinking of attending, Leidl encourages considering all the good the MAG offers.

“It’s important to support the museum because our team is sharing people’s history back with them,” she says. “You get a better appreciation of where you’re from when you know the history of the place, and learn about the different people and cultures that make up our city.”

The tour rdnewsNOW attended on Aug. 13, like all of them, begin with a land acknowledgment that Red Deer is on Treaty 6 and Treaty 7 land, and is the historic home of the Métis.

The MAG also notes the roles of Pat Matheson and Janet Pennington in initiating the Ghosts sculptures and other public art works over the years.

A full calendar of MAG events is available at reddeermuseum.com, though the Ghosts tours typically take place on Saturday and Wednesday evenings, starting from the MAG. There is also a Red Deer Revealed Walking Tour which focuses on historic buildings and other things.

These tours are happening through the end of September, and you’re encouraged to call the museum to book a spot, or register through the tour’s page on the MAG website.

Donations to the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery can also be made through its website.