A Look Back - "The Men Who Run This Town"

It's been a while since I posted the last episode of World Report with Clete Roberts and unfortunately this is the last clip I have.

In this episode Clete talks with "the MEN who run this town." That's my emphasis on "men" but if you listen Clete says it pretty much that way - which I think is a little bit of a throw-back, I can't help but think of it as a little bit of a sign of the times.

Anyhow, Clete mentions the population of Grande Prairie right upfront and then talks with Mayor Robert Wadell as well as J.C. Mackie who would become mayor just before GP became a City. There's a park named after J.C. on the west side of the city now, it was a legacy project of the 50th Anniversary committee I chaired in 2008.

So, without further adieu, here's your final helping of Clete Robert's World Report.....

A Look Back - "The Last Frontier, At Least In Canada"

Clete Roberts is back in Grande Prairie. In this clip he speaks with a local farmer about the richness of the farmland in the area. Mentioned in the video is Herman Trelle from the Wembley area who was known as the "Wheat King of the World". Herman is also mentioned in this TIME Magazine article from the December, 1927.



Maybe now you'll think of Mr. Trelle whenever you listen to The Hip.

By the way, is "potentiality" a word? ... yes, it appears it is. We may have to start putting that one back in to use!

A Look Back - Good Times In the Pub

Even a hard working World Reporter like Clete Roberts likes to kick back and relax now and then - just like the rest of us. Check out what happens when he sits down for a cold one in the Grande Prairie of the 50s.



Seems like a pretty good rule.

A Look Back - Visitors from the East

In this instalment of World Report Celte Roberts conducts a coffee shop interview with another visitor to Grande Prairie. This "Jaunty Alouette" from Montreal seems to have a pretty good opinion of Grande Prairie but Celte finds out that he might need to fork out a bit more than he expected when he offered to buy the coffee!



Interesting that even back in the 50s there were people coming out to see just "what's going on here". I love the comment "...because the Easterners don't know the Westerners very well."

A Look Back - Child Rearing in Grande Prairie

I was going to wait a bit to post this but the feedback from everyone was so positive that I couldn't wait. I've got two more sections from this World Report that I've uploaded, I'll post them tonight. There's also another section that I still have to convert before I can upload it, I'll do that over the next week. So until then, here's another look back at Grande Prairie in the '50s:

In this instalment of World Report Celte Roberts interviews a Grande Prairie taxi driver, Chester Miller. Watch to hear the story of how the Miller Taxi company was involved parenting!

If you visit the Grande Prairie museum's Heritage Village you can the Miller Taxi building that Chester's company operated out of for years.



I don't think that would pass as parenting today.

A Look Back - World Report Visits Grande Prairie

In the '50s Clete Roberts brought his World Report program to northern Alberta to have a look at a happenin' little town called Grande Prairie. Check out part one of Clete's visit to GP:



I'm a fan of the history of our community, I think it's cool to see how the city has changed over time. I also think it's important to know where we came from. I'll be posting more of the video over the next while as I'm able to upload it.

Sprinkler System Failure Floods Museum

2009 ended badly for the GP Museum, there was a on December 29th that has forced the closure of the main exhibit area. It sounds like major trouble was averted and I hope none of the museum's collection was badly damaged.

The City media release:

Museum Closed Due to Flooding

The Grande Prairie Museum main exhibit gallery is closed temporarily because of flooding that occurred December 29.

A rupture in the sprinkler system of one of the southwest storage trailers showered artifacts and storage trunks. Fortunately, an alarm alerted Security and Fire personnel, who notified Museum staff. The affected items were quickly removed and laid out to dry in the safety of the main gallery.

Damage is being assessed.

“This was such an unfortunate and potentially disastrous event,” said Heritage Resources Manager Trenton Perrott. “Thankfully, quick actions were taken to aggressively reduce the amount of damage.”

Clean-up and renovations to the storage area are expected to take several weeks and the exhibit gallery will remain closed until the end of January. The archives, rental area and reception are unaffected by the flooding and will maintain regular hours.

Media enquiries may be directed to:
Trenton Perrott
Heritage Resources Manager
(780)830-7083
tperrott@cityofgp.com

Construction Pictures: Library/Gallery & Rotary House

There's a lot of change happening in our community. In fact change has become such a prominent feature of Grande Prairie that sometimes I enjoy just driving around to see what new building has popped up or what new business has opened! I've often thought that it was a shame no one was documenting these changes.

One of the fun things about being on council is that we know where things are about to happen. On the private sector side we approve plans for neighbourhood designs and commercial developments. In the public sector we see the project proposals, often help find land for them and sometimes even fund them directly.

I decided to put a little of this knowledge to use in the summer of '07 by taking "before pictures" of sites that I knew would see some massive changes shortly. I should point out that I was really inspired to do this by the work of Beth Sheehan. Mrs. Sheehan documented much of the community in the early eighties by taking pictures of businesses and street corners all across the city. Beth's photos are at the South Peace Regional Archives.

So, here are photos showing the development of just a couple of the new public buildings being constructed:

Summer 2007

This site is directly south of City Hall, just behind the Care Centre and Aberdeen Place.

Fall 2008

Today construction is in full swing on the land city assembled as a site for Rotary House - the replacement for the aging Wapiti Dorm homeless shelter.

Summer 2007

To the West of City Hall earth-work is just underway on the site of the former Montrose Junior High School.

Fall 2008

The new Montrose Cultural Centre is nearing completion and will be ready for it's grand opening in 2009 when this replacement for the Library and expansion of the Art Gallery will host the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards.

Full Schedule for Homecoming Weekend

This weekend is Homecoming Weekend in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Grande Prairie attaining City status. I've mentioned a few of the events before but I finally got my hands a full schedule and I thought I'd pass it along to you. Read through it, plan on attending what you can and when you make it to the bottom of the list I have a little surprise for you...

Homecoming Weekend August 1-4, 2008

Regional Municipalities Reception (hosted by City Council)
When: Friday August 1, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Where: Crystal Centre
Who: Regional Municipal Councils and Senior Administration
Cost: Free

Welcome Reception
When: Friday August 1, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Where: Centre 2000
Who: Open to General Public
Cost: Free
RSVP: by July 25 to (780) 538-0384
For further information contact: Lois Harper (780) 538-0384

Homecoming Golf Tournament
When: Saturday, August 2 starting at 10:30 am
Where: Grande Prairie Golf & Country Club
Entry Fee is $125 per person. Fee includes Lunch, Welcome Gift, 18 Hole Golf, Shared Power Car and Range. Prizes & Presentations Immediately Following play. The first 144 paid entries will be accepted.
For further information and to register contact the Grande Prairie Golf and Country Club at 532-0340

Heritage Tours & Tea
When: Saturday, August 2 starting at 2:00 pm
Where: Grande Prairie Museum in Muskoseepi Park
Who: Open  to the General Public
Cost: Free
For further information or to RSVP please contact: 532-5482

Homecoming BBQ & 50’s Dance
When: Saturday August 2, starting at 6:30 pm
Where: Crystal Centre
Cash Bar available
Cost: $30.00/person
Tickets available at the Crystal Centre box office by calling (780) 538-0387 or on-line at www.muniportal.ca  and click on Crystal Centre Box Office – Event Ticketing

50 Years Anniversary Breakfast
Where: Grande Prairie Royal Canadian Legion, 9912 – 101 Avenue
When: Sunday, August 3, 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Who: Open to the General Public
Cost: $7.50/person
Tickets available at the door

100 Flags/Heritage Festival
When: Sunday, August 3, 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Where: Muskoseepi Park
Who: Open to the General Public
Cost: Free
For further information contact: Grande Prairie & District Multicultural Association @ 532-8220

Hometown Heroes Parade
When: Sunday, August 3 starting at 1:30 pm
Where: leaving from Harry Balfour School along 102 Street to Muskoseepi Park Amphitheatre
For further information contact: Downtown Association @ 538-1909

Re-Enactment of the Delivery of the City Charter
When: Sunday, August 3 at 2:00 pm
Where: Muskoseepi Park
Anniversary Cake provided by New Horizon Cooperative Ltd.
For further information contact: Lois Harper at 538-0384

Drive-In Movie Theatre
When/Where: August 3 @ Grande Prairie Airport
                       August 4 @ Centre 2000 (bring a blanket or chairs to this one)
Pre-booking is required.
For further information and to obtain passes contact the Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association at (780) 539-7688


So there you go, your weekend should be all planed out now! Oh, and that little surprise I had for you? This isn't actually being released until Friday - but you can have a sneak peak. ... you're welcome.

Mackie Park Taking Shape

Just a quick note tonight ... I had to share my excitement with how J.C. Mackie Park is coming along. In case you hadn't heard, the park is named in honour of Mr. J.C. Mackie who was mayor back in 1958 when Grande Prairie became a city. It will be GP's first fully accessible playground - meaning it can be used by people in wheel chairs as well as those who have full mobility. It's pretty cool and I am very excited to see it take shape.

I've been cruising by every now and then. About two weeks ago it looked like this:


How happy was I when I popped by not much more than a week later and it looked like this:


The park is a project of the 50th Anniversary Committee and should (hopefully) be ready in early August.

* In response to a question in the comments: Mackie Park is at 111 Street and 106 Ave. that's just north of Emerald Gardens, behind Home Depot. It's an area with lots of high density housing and little green space so I'm sure the park will be a welcome addition.

Homecoming BBQ - Aug 2nd

The homecoming BBQ promises to be a great family night on a weekend full of fun.

The entertainment will be suitable for everyone and will provide the perfect atmosphere to catch up with old friends. In fact, while I'm talking about the entertainment - I have to point you to the website of the evening's headliner: The Sensational Hot Rods . The Hot Rods have travelled throughout Canada and the US performing. From their website:

"... a high energy 5 piece band playing 50’s rock'n'roll. The Sensational Hot Rods perform auditoriums, outdoor concerts and special events. Their stage antics radiate to the audience that fun is the order of the day and just try to keep your feet from dancing. You'll have a hard time doing that when you enjoy 'The Sensational Hot Rods'. "

It's going to be a unique night and a lot of fun so even if you have moved away from Grande Prairie, consider this a personal invitation from me to you; join us for the night. We'd love to have you back!

You can purchase your tickets online by going here.

Regional Archives Debuts History Book

On April 26th I popped by the Museum for a book launch and the opening of a new exhibit, both entitled Flying High. The South Peace Regional Archives (SPRA) had just wrapped up their AGM and were unveiling their book detailing the history of Grande Prairie from 1958 to 2008.


Flying High is a full colour book packed with pictures and information from the SPRA, Isebel Campbell's book Grande Prairie: Capitol of the Peace and the Daily Herald-Tribune archives.

The Archives are of course launching the book as part of the City's 50th Anniversary celebrations and they have printed a fairly limited run. If you are looking to pick up a copy (which I'd really recommend you do) you can get one at the museum for just $15 and also take in the exhibit of the same name.


Any, when you pick up Flying High on you museum visit you might as well also pick up the SPRA first publication; "Grande Prairie City" A Pictorial History from 1906-1958 ... after all you want to have the whole set right?



If you can't make it down to the museum you can probably contact the archives and ask them to send you one. All the contact info you'll need is here: www.southpeacearchives.org

50th Anniversary Photo Contest

Here's another chance for you to win a $100 gift certificate good at any down town business - all you have to do is identify this location and what stands on the site (at the centre of the picture) today. The contest is part of the City's 50th Anniversary celebrations and is meant to encourage people to think about how our community has changed over the years.

This month's pictures comes courtesy of the Daily Herald Tribune archives. Darrell Winwood helped me dig back through all the photos to find this one from 1983:



The photo will also be published on the City of Grande Prairie page in the April 18th paper with information on how to submit your entry. Or, if you like, you can email me with your entry and I'll forward it along but make sure you include:

• Your Name
• Your Daytime Phone Number
• A Description of Where in the City the picture is from
• A Description of what stands at that site now

The winner will be chosen from a random draw from all the correct answers submitted before the deadline, so hurry!