Dog River (aka Rouleau)

Location: Rouleau, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address: Main Street
Date: Oct 2014
Website:  www.cornergas.com

  The fictional town of Dog River, Saskatchewan is where the television show Corner Gas takes place.  A set was built for the show in the very real town of Rouleau, Saskatchewan.  The set which consisted of the Corner Gas station and The Ruby Cafe was recently torn down.  All of the other buildings used for filming are real places that are still standing in this small prairie town (well, maybe not the FOO  MAR  T).  Anyway, let's pay a visit to Dog River.

The Grain Elevator

  Most small towns proudly have their name painted on the grain elevator as this is the first thing you see as you approach the town.  The Rouleau grain elevator has been re-painted so that it reads Dog River.  Despite the show ending in 2009, the grain elevator was never painted again.  On the show, you can see the elevator in the background just behind the Corner Gas station and The Ruby Cafe.

The Howler

  Most of the Corner Gas action takes place on Main Street in Rouleau.  The Dog River Howler is the town's newspaper and is sort of a hard hitting tabloid with bad spelling.  Some example headlines are "New Tree Attracts Boozy Element", "Cattle Killed By Werewolfs" or "Cop Nabs Barely Thief".  The Dog River residents rely on the Howler to get the real scoop on what is happening in town.

The Dog River Hotel

  The Dog River Hotel is home to Phil's bar.  The residents of Dog River hang out here to enjoy a drink after work.  In Corner Gas: The Movie, Brent buys the bar in order to help try and save the town.  Wanda once threw herself a birthday party in the bar because she convinced everyone else that she hates parties.  The Dog River Hotel is located directly across the street from The Howler.

Dog River Municipal Office

  A little further along the road is the Dog River Municipal Office.  This is where local law enforcement, Davis (Lorne Cardinal) and Karen (Tara Spencer-Nairn) can usually be found.

  According to the sign on the door it is home to Mayor Fitzy as well as the Police Office and Public Works.  It was just outside of these offices where Lacey filled in a pothole and speeding became rampant on Main Street.

Oscar and Emma's House

   The main character of Corner Gas is Brent Leroy.  Oscar and Emma are Brent's parents.  They are played by Eric Peterson and Janet Wright.  Oscar is always getting worked up over one thing or another and Emma is the one who takes charge.  Their house is located just a few blocks away from Main Street. Davis and Oscar spent one entire episode stuck up on the roof of this house as they kept letting their ladder fall over.
  We enjoyed our visit to Dog River (aka Rouleau) and it reminded us of how much we enjoyed watching Corner Gas.  We hope you found our blog post informative.  Now we don't know the same things you don't know about Dog River.

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Map of Our World
Dog River Grain Elevator , The Howler , Dog River Hotel , Dog River Municipal Office , Oscar & Emma's House

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Post # 146

Corner Gas Set

Location: Rouleau, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address: 1st Ave. & Weckman Drive
Date: Oct 2014
Website:  www.cornergas.com

  You think there's not a lot goin' on?  Unfortunately, there seems to be even less with each passing year.  As fans of the television show Corner Gas, we are glad that we paid a visit to the town of Rouleau, Saskatchewan when we did.  The show aired from 2004 to 2009 and was very popular all across Canada.  In the summer of 2014 they filmed Corner Gas: The Movie in Rouleau.  We arrived in the fall of 2014 after filming of the movie had finished and before the movie was released.

   Many of Rouleau's actual buildings were used for the filming of Corner Gas and make up the fictional town of Dog River.  Just one month before we arrived, the building that was used as the "FOO  MAR  T"  (that's FOOD MARKET with a few letters missing) burnt down.  You can see the damage in the photo above.

  The FOO  MAR  T isn't the only building that no longer stands in Rouleau.  On November 4th 2016 the long standing set from Corner Gas was torn down.  This building was erected specifically for filming of the show.  It consisted of the gas station that was run by Brent Leroy (Brent Butt) and the Ruby Cafe that was run by Lacey (Gabrielle Miller).  When we visited, the main signs and embellishments had been taken down and all the windows were boarded up. 

  You could see from the back that this building was never intended for longevity.

  The gas station scenes were filmed on location. You can often see vehicles heading down the road in the background while Brent, Wanda and Hank are having discussions in front of the cash register.  Brent is the owner of Corner Gas and Wanda (Nancy Robertson) works there, or tries not to.  Hank (Fred Ewanuick) just always seems to be hanging around.  Thankfully, there is an actual gas station in town just in case the set fooled a driver into pulling off of the highway.

  When the residents of Dog River are not at Corner Gas they seem to spend all of their time inside the Ruby Cafe.  The show's success comes from its writing. The characters are all likeable and their banter back and forth is hilarious. As the theme song, by Craig Northey of Canadian band The Odds, says
"And that's why you can stay so long where there's not a lot goin' on."

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Map of Our World
Corner Gas Set , FOO MAR T

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Post # 144