The Reynolds- Alberta museums are a major tourist attraction in central Alberta and a great tribute to the Machine Age.

Built around the collection of Wetaskiwin businessman Stan Reynolds, the $22.5-million facility features more than 100 restored artifacts ranging from ancient fire engines to vintage automobiles, many in perfect working condition. Opened in 1992, the museum uses glossy exhibits, hands-on dispays, videos, fascinating film archive material and interactive computors to tell Alberta's history of mechanization in three areas: Transportation, Agriculture and Industry. - But above all, it's a monument to the Car in Alberta.

Consider what motorists endured at the begining of the century, when the automobile was introduced to Alberta. Back then, roads followed old trails, railway allowances, ruts in farmers fields, and even river and creek beds. By the 1920's, the roads were usually good when dry but boggy or totally, trecherously slippery when wet.

One solution to all this, tried near Edmonton in 1923, was to appy a layer of bitumen to the road. The experiment worked, but the cost of transporting the bitumen from distant oil sands near Fort McMurray was prohibitive. Instead, a gravel surface, graded and crowned to shed water, continued to be the easiest way to improve dirt roads. Many of these improvements resulted from the lobbying of early auto clubs such as the Alberta Motor Association, which also published the first road maps.

Despite such difficulties, the car provided unprecedented personal freedom and changed the way people lived and especially the way they played. The car opened the way for people to go to Banff or Sylvan Lake for weekend outings. It also led to the introduction in the 1920's of summer villages and of campgrounds, in which motorists slept in bungalow tents attached to the sides of their cars. These were hardly primative outings. Campers often came equipped with folding chairs, tables, camp stoves and even portable phonographs. A later convenience was the bungalow camp, a forerunner of the motel, which featured a cluster of modest cabins around a central lodge.

These and other stories in the annals of the automobile industry are told at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum. Did you know that in the early years of the 20th century, there was a race for supremacy between the three means of powering motorized vehicles; steam, electricity and the ultimate winner; the internal combustion engine? - Indeed, Alberta's first recorded car was a steam-powered locomobile brought to the Calgary area by William Cochrane around 1901.

There was also a battle for supremacy between the car and the horse. In Alberta, early automobiles were held responsible for all accidents with horse- carriages. Later, they were still compelled to slow down or stop when passing horses. The first Provincial Motor Vehicles Act of 1906 restricted speeds to 10 miles per hour in settled areas and 20mph elsewhere. And it was'nt until 1915 that cars were allowed into Banff National Park.

The real automotive boom came after World War Two, when affluence descended to the middle classes and the province began a major road-building program. By 1955, there was one car for every five Albertans.

The Reynolds Museum relives that era by recreating period service-stations, car dealerships and drive-in theatres. It also tells the parallel story of how agriculture was revolutionized by the gasoline-powered tractor and motorized truck.

Next to the Transport museum here in the little town of Wetaskiwin is the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame and a large aviation hanger. Founded in 1973, the hall recognizes Canadians who made a significant contribution to our aviation history. The hanger displays 70 vintage aircraft - Canada's second-largest collection - including transport, sport, military and northern bush-planes.

The word Wetaskiwin means; "the place where peace was made." its refers to the legend of two braves from the warring Blackfoot and Cree nations who fought and then shared a peace-pipe.

- Writen by Bill Corbett.

Photographs to follow soon.