Summers he ran and rented his boats, winters he created and maintained the skating rink on the ice of the Bow River, as well as the outdoor curling rink on a backwater of the Bow near the Luxton Museum on Birch Avenue.

An obviously well-trained log man, Bill Mather constructed the sturdy, shaped-timber cabin with its dovetail corners. It served as a home for Bill and his wife, and Mrs. Mather bore one child in the cabin while the floodwaters of the Bow were swirling all around it. The doctor apparently had to wear hip waders during the delivery.

In later years the cabin was wired and provided with plumbing. In the 1940s Captain Jack Standly, who had worked for the Mathers at Lake Minnewanka and its boat concession, lived in the cabin several winters. The small ship’s wheel vent on the cabin’s “annex” attests to his residence in the structure.

Bill’s son Allen and his wife Grace established a cabin court near the Bow. The old residence became a tourist rental cabin for two decades. The small “16” beside the door attests to that era in its existence. In 1977, threatened by progress, the cabin was moved across the river.

Jon Whyte