Dorothy is a small village situated in the infamous Badlands in Alberta. It was one of the pioneering communities in Alberta at the beginning of the 20th century. Dorothy gained its name in 1908 after Dorothy Wilson, the young daughter of Jack Wilson, one of the first ranchers to arrive in the area. Shortly after a railway was built through the town, Dorothy’s economy soared with a pacific grain elevator that served all the neighbouring rural communities. Sadly, a few decades after, the Canadian Pacific Railways abandoned the rail line going through Dorothy and the economic decline started. The backbone of the local economy, the grain elevator was shut down turning all grain farms obsolete. The ripple effect of that decline shook the community and led to the closure of local businesses, churches, the community hall, and the only school that was available for kids in the village and the surrounding communities. Dorothy slowly gained the reputation of a ghost town although it still maintains around a 10 person population.

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Dorothy exhibits a fascinating relationship between its departing population and its decaying buildings. The current residents and some former residents are trying to revive the town by fundraising to renovate and reopen the two churches and the community hall. However, the natural elements might have a different plan for Dorothy. In 2015, a storm blew the roof of the iconic grain elevator away. Despite the residents' efforts to raise funds or persuade the government to fix the roof to maintain the structure as a historical testament of the village. The elevator's roof is still open and it is no longer the economic vessel for the community but a place of refuge for a few dozens of pigeons. Signs of decay are evident in every corner of Dorothy, most homes are boarded-up, others have danced with the wind, and they forever swayed one way or the other. 

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The story of Dorothy and its people has not been fully told, and it will possibly be lost in the collective memory of the Canadian prairies. However, reading about the residents’ attempts to preserve the village site, to keep the sense of community alive, to commemorate the history of Dorothy, and to honor the memories of the village begs questions about memory, nostalgia, and our cultural relationship with physical decay.

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