MEMBERSHIP
Member Letters
Deep thoughts: the Canmore "Big Head" sculpture. | PHOTO: GLENLARSON/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
LETTER TO AMA CEO MICHELLE CHIMKO
My name is Juanita Weller, and I have been an AMA member since the fall of 2009. The Camrose AMA centre is where I go to do my AMA business. On January 21st, my mother (who lived in Napanee, Ontario) passed away. It was rather sudden, as she had entered hospital the Friday before. My husband brought me right over to the Camrose AMA office to see the travel agents. Your staff were so kind, warm, caring and compassionate. My mind was not in a good place due to Mom’s passing. The compassion they showed was just awesome. We got it all worked out. It is so important to be able to come to a place, even in a time of sadness, and know we are going to get the assistance we need and will be taken care of. Thank you so much. –Juanita W.
“It is so important to be able to come to a place, even in a time of sadness, and know we are going to get the assistance we need and will be taken care of.”
Good morning, Juanita,
Thank you so much for the kind recognition you shared regarding the staff and your experiences at our Camrose centre. It truly means a great deal to us. We will certainly pass along your thoughtful words, as hearing such recognition is incredibly important for both our leaders and employees. It reinforces the impact of their hard work and dedication, especially as we strive to serve our valued members under happy and, unfortunately, sometimes sad conditions.
We are deeply sorry to hear about the passing of your mother. We can only imagine how difficult this time must be for you, and our hearts go out to you. We’re glad that we were able to provide some support during such a challenging period, and we hope it made things just a bit easier for you.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s anything else we can do. Again, thank you for taking your valuable time to provide your story to us! With heartfelt appreciation.
–Michelle
CORRECTION
One of our member letters we reprinted in the Spring issue stated that Stewart Steinhauer’s exhibit was in Saddle River. The stone sculptures and his studio are both in Saddle Lake. We apologize for the error.
–AMA Insider
WHERE IN THE WORLD?
We reached out to artist Alan Henderson to learn more about Canmore’s “Big Head.”
I will often respond to a request for art on a particular theme in two ways. I dig into research, in this case, about the town of Canmore. While this is going on, I also pay attention to what I think and feel about the thing being considered. So, Canmore felt like a place of calm and great mass. Canmore also has a history, and its name came from some of the people involved in that history. So, I thought about all of that. Ceann Mór seemed perfect: a fun fact (the nickname of an ancient Scottish king), a bit of history (Scots were involved in the creation of the town), and a bit of fantasy (the sense of place manifested in this great head).
Sculpting in clay took several months. A friend served as my model, and he would come to the studio for a few hours each week to sit for me. The stone carving, which was executed in China, took less than a year. The whole project took a little over a year to complete. The sculpture weighs 7.5 tons, 14,700 lbs.
This has got to be one of my most successful artworks, judging by public interaction alone. I don’t live in Canmore, but I am always getting photos of people dressing the "Big Head" up and posing with him. I never know how a work of art will be received. The audience really does add something to creative things, which is completely out of the artist’s control. –Alan Henderson
PHOTO: GLENLARSON/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
When things quiet down [at Canmore Fire Rescue Services, my dog Moho and I] slip outside for what I call a “snafari” — a short stroll to the “Big Head,” where we both take a breath, recalibrate, and remember why this place matters. In a town where mountains meet story, the “Big Head” isn’t just a sculpture — it’s part of the heartbeat of Canmore. Kind regards. –Jacqueline H.
On our recent mother-daughter trip to beautiful Canmore, Alberta, we came upon “Big Head” while walking the misty trails. Needless to say, Blakely was happy to spend time with him, filling his ears with pebbles, secrets and sweet nothings. –Joanne, Jaida, and Blakely
Your summer 2025 issue held a many-layered whammy for me! Having lived in Calgary for many years, Canmore was our favourite get-out-of-town spot, to the point that we stopped taking pictures of ‘the head’ near the beginning of Canmore’s Main Street. I have never, though, tired of capturing the Three Sisters on film! Many wonderful memories stirred through visits to Ireland, Montréal, the Banff Centre, and Jasper, and I’m so glad to hear of restoration efforts after the devastation of wildfires. The icing on the cake was your article on the Medicine River Wildlife Centre! We have recently moved to historic Markerville, and have been delighted to discover this centre so close to our new home. We took our grandsons for a visit a couple of weeks ago, and Hayden fell immediately in love with Otis! Keep up the good work! –Chris J.
My dad is a geologist who is fluent in Irish. On our road trips through Alberta, he would teach us about geology and our Irish heritage at the same time. One of our favourites was Ceann Mòr, or Canmore, which he explained was so named because one of the peaks looks like a big head. He’d tell us about drumlins (“little backs or little ridges” for the hills that look like giants sleeping), which you could use to figure out which way the glaciers had travelled through. And uisce beatha, or the “water of life,” which is the root of what we now call whiskey. There are many town names and geological terms that have roots in Gaelic, and how lucky we were to learn about them from our own personal tour guide! –Christine O.
Have a story or comment you’d like to share? E-mail us and you could be featured in an upcoming issue. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.