Besides the Last Chance Saloon and attached Rosedeer Hotel, there’s not much left of Wayne, a hamlet set in a dusty coulee just south of Drumheller.
by Scott Messenger
Coal mining started here in the Badlands in 1912, boosting the population to more than 2,500. Since it stopped in 1957, just 27 residents remain. Nevertheless, Fred Dayman, who bought the place nearly 30 years ago from his mother (making for 62 years, now, of family ownership), sees enough business to fill 18-hour days come summer. Thanks to write-ups in travel guide books, the nearly 100-year-old property hosts a steady stream of international tourists. Despite the relative isolation of the hotel and saloon, neither the curious nor the thirsty seem dissuaded from seeking out this well-preserved vestige of old-time Alberta, an image Dayman happily perpetuates. “It’s the last chance for a drink for about 40 miles to the south,” he says. “That’s about a day’s ride on a horse.”
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