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Alderson...4

A few hundred metres east, an old cemetery is a haunting reminder of dreams eagerly sought and then lost amidst desert sand.
Alderson Cemetery Alderson's abandoned pioneer cemetery
©Johnnie Bachusky
Still and quiet. The only sounds that pass the cemetery are from the wind and the occasional driver going to and from a nearby oil refinery.
Less than a dozen graves remain
©Johnnie Bachusky
Over the past five decades, many of the original graves have been moved to other cemeteries. Less than a dozen remain.
©Johnnie Bachusky
Alderson's abandoned pioneer cemetery is about 150 metres east of the former townsite.
Tombstone towers over the horizon Barely standing tombstones
©Johnnie Bachusky
An Alderson tombstone towers over the far horizon. The landscape in this part of southeastern Alberta is as flat and desolate as any section of the Canadian prairies.
Right: Some of the larger remaining tombstones at the cemetery are barely standing upright.
©Johnnie Bachusky
Fence guards the pioneer cemetery Prairie grave marker
©Johnnie Bachusky
One grave marker is nearly lost from advancing prairie grass.
Toppled tombstone
©Johnnie Bachusky
Through neglect and the passages of time, some tombstones have toppled.
©Johnnie Bachusky
A fence guards the pioneer cemetery.
For further information on Alderson, “Empire of Dust”, a 1987 book written by David C. Jones, a professor at the University of Calgary, is essential reading.