Naming the West : Stories High River Community

High River Student Story 3:
CIBC bank building

Hi. I’m reporter Bob Weather, and this is Johnny McDonald, here to tell us about the CIBC bank building.

Hi folks.

So is it true that you lived above the CIBC and did something that is incredibly unusual and could you tell me about it?

Yes, I did live in the CIBC building, but before I tell you about it, I would like to tell you about the origin of the bank. A.W.H. Thompson had a large safe in his store and lots of people would use it as a bank. Thompson would take the money into Calgary and do the banking for them.

Very interesting. Can you tell me about the thing you did?

Well, my friend and I worked seven days a week and as you can imagine we got bored at times, so we made a game.

What game was that?

One person went upstairs while I took a gun and shot through the ceiling trying to hit him. One got a little too close for the man upstairs so he hid in a bathtub. I kept on shooting until a manager came. We got fired.

So how did they cover up all the holes?

They covered it up by putting in a fake ceiling.

Thank you for your time and this unusual story. This is Bob Weather reporting from inside the CIBC bank.