Bye-XL

When we were thinking about the look and feel of Medhatblog’s makeover this past summer …we wanted to capture the “history and culture” of our community.  Something to tie together our past to today.  Everywhere we looked, from  pictures of historic downtown, to futuristic drawings of the proposed events center it was obvious how IXL’s brick was woven so tightly into our Hat identity that we might almost take it for granted.

In brainstorming we realized that to have an “authentic Medicine Hat” look it simply had to include a look at the city with its trademark brick.

The oldest running Alberta business, one that helped  industrialize Medicine Hat  at the turn of last century…its going away.  With it will go one of the communities most civic minded businesses.  Most people don’t know this, but IXL has had a program for downtown businesses to redo the fronts of their building with their historic red bricks and IXL donated the bricks.  IXL donated the bricks used to build the Esplanade.  They have employed 5 generations of Hatters who built homes, settled our region and raised their families.  It might not be like Flynt Michigan losing GM, but its along those lines.  In a free economy businesses will come and go, but no competitor can take their place – the connection from then to now will break in 2010.

When the shock of the news passes though, I am sure I will be awestruck by the amazing commercial run this literal pillar of the community had.  If there was a Medicine Hat business Hall of Fame – or even an Alberta business Hall – IXL would have to be a first ballot shoe in.