The N.A.R. Station celebrates 100 years!

The Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway was incorporated by Dominion Statutes 1907. Its purpose was to run north from Edmonton “by the most feasible route, to a point at or near the town of Dunvegan.” Of course those were the days when it was believed Dunvegan would amount to a great centre instead of the iconic crossing we know it as today.

In the early 1900s, railways were the veins of the country. Across them, from coast to coast, steam engines carried the nation’s manufactured, agricultural, and raw materials. Such an efficient system contributed millions to the nation’s economy. It allowed people to travel more frequently and with greater ease, and also opened the way for better national communication systems with the telegraph lines which often ran parallel to the tracks. It was a time when if you were ‘an-up-and-coming town’, a place with a good future and not just ‘any old town’ you were on the railway – it was your link to the outside world, to investors, to product markets, to labour forces. No better example could be found than Peace River and Grouard. Both were small communities that started as service points. Both were of a comparable size, and offered the same sorts of services. However, when Grouard was by-passed by the railway in 1914, and Peace River received its own station, Peace River prospered, while Grouard gradually declined.

The railway made it to Judah Hill in 1915, and passengers and goods could disembark and embark there for trains to Edmonton and Grande Prairie. Railway workers were busy erecting the Heart River Trestle (completed May of 1916) and others the railbed from the Heart River, across Pat’s Creek to where the station is. A spur line was also in the works for the warehouse district near the river. Trains were anticipated to be running to the site of the station as early as the end of July – right around this time of month. The station that was to be erected was meant to “be the largest and best building of the kind erected on the lines of the company.” And was it! It was on par with Grande Prairie’s, McLennan’s and later Fahler and Spirit River. It was expected to be in use by the end of the summer.

The N.A.R. railway station shortly after Northern Alberta Railways
was formed in 1929, awaiting the arrival of Lord and Lady Tweedsmuir,
the Governor General of Canada and his wife. From the Cruickshank
Family fonds, F044.002.103.

The E.D. & B.C. was optimistic in 1916. Surveying crews worked on establishing future routes from Peace River to Fort Vermilion via Battle River (Manning). Can you imagine how different Fort Vermilion might be had they been successful?  

The railway continued west with the completion of the Million Dollar Bridge in 1918, reaching Berwyn in 1921, Whitelaw in 1924, Fairview in 1928, and Hines Creek in 1930 when the railway movement had run out of steam and the Great Depression began. 

The station building was enlarged in the late 1930s, and passenger service ceased in May of 1960. It was designated as a Provincial Historic Resource 29 Apr 1988. Rescued in 1992 and restored to its former glory (and thankfully repainted from the N.A.R. colours) the building is a lasting reminder of our proud railway heritage.  Thankfully Peace River is lucky, and the lovely simple Edwardian building is still with us today to celebrate 100 years. 

Join us for a BBQ, pie and ice cream Saturday Jul 30^th from 11 to 2pm at the NAR station in Peace River to celebrate its 100^th birthday. Details can be found on the Peace River Museum Facebook page or on the town’s website: http://bit.ly/2auivuf . The museum has also issued a series of archival postcards commemorating the community's milestones including the NAR Station, Heart River trestle and the D.A. Thomas – these are available for sale in our giftshop.

The postcard available for sale in the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre commemorating the NAR station's 100th birthday. Drop by and browse our selection of other anniversary postcards.

Peace River Warehouse District 100th Year

It seemed fitting to take a stroll throughout the Warehouse District of Peace River, which served so many communities – people – in the Peace Country North during the Warehouse District’s and Jane Jacobs’ 100th birthday. Staff of your Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre, along with members of the Heritage Places Committee, hosted the stroll on a beautiful, sunny Sunday, April 10.

The stroll began with a gathering at Athabasca Hall (built 1936) and a tour, by Lorne Mann, owner of the former Crown Building, under his renovation direction. Following a tour of the building by its passionate renovating owner, the group continued on its way – not exactly following in Jane Jacobs’ footsteps, but nevertheless, observing the essence of her encouragement – to look and listen – observe, absorb, appreciate our surroundings – value them – be willing to change when community and people will benefit, but willing to not, when the sense of community would diminish.

Yes, she advocated for not only smelling the roses, but, also taking time to see the roses’ surroundings – environment – the bees – other insects – the effect of the wind stirring the petals – their affect on you – the community – and so much more.

• PRMA1980.1150.001 – The Warehouse District on east side of Peace River showing the Midland & Pacific Elevator on the left and the S. S. Athabasca on dry dock on the right of the photo. The exact year unknown, but believed to be prior to 1919.

 Jane is quoted: No one can find what will work for our cities by looking at … suburban garden cities, manipulating scale models or inventing dream cities. You’ve got to get out and walk. That’s what the April 10 stroll/walk/conversation/sharing memories/gathering did.

 She refers to cities, but we in rural communities, would do well to take note. Her credentials are immense – one only needs to research them to appreciate this multi-awarded American-born Canadian resident woman’s accomplishments pertaining to community – people comprising that community – people and their need to be part of a viable, comfortable place to live for generations.

“Under the seeming disorder of the old city, wherever the old city is working successfully, is a marvelous order for maintaining the safety of the streets and the freedom of the city. It is a complex order. Its essence is intricacy of sidewalk use, bringing with it a constant succession of eyes. This order is all composed of movement and change, and although it is life, not art, we may fancifully call it the art form of the city and liken it to the dance – not to a simple-minded precision dance with everyone kicking up at the same time, twirling in unison and bowing en masse, but to an intricate ballet in which the individual dancers and ensembles all have distinctive parts which miraculously reinforce each other and compose an orderly whole. The ballet of the good city sidewalk never repeats itself from place to place, and in any one place is replete with new improvisation.” – Jane Jacobs, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities"

Its Wildlife Week! And Canada Celebrates an Important Anniversary!!

Canada is celebrating a very important centenary this week! The year 2016 marks the 100^th anniversary of the signing of the Migratory Birds Convention between Canada and the United States. This treaty embraces the important need to conserve our wildlife, as well as their habitats, and focuses on all of the wonderfully winged birds (that is, if it does not include insects and bats who also have wings) that inhabit our skies. And it just so happens that the week of April 10^th is Wildlife Week!

This conservation work began with John Thomas Miner, also known as Jack Miner, or the ‘Father of North American Conservationism.’ Growing up in Ontario, Jack’s careful observation of the migratory bird path began when he noticed that Canada geese were stopping on ponds on his property in the spring on their way northward. From this, Miner had seven clipped, tame Canada geese and created ponds on his property in 1904 to attract more wild species of birds. By 1913, his entire property became a bird sanctuary for all creatures with wings. Three years later he pioneered the banding (the process of attaching a small metal or plastic band around a bird's leg in order to identify individual birds from the band's unique number) of migrating waterfowl. The data that was collected through this was instrumental in the establishment of the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1916 between the United States of America and Canada as no government banding programs had been in existence until that time.

Coming forward to today, gathering baseline data in aid of further understanding breeding birds is the mandate of the northern Alberta Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation (BCBC). The BCBC is the only educational and research facility in the world strategically located to study boreal birds on their breeding grounds. Located in Lesser Slave Lake, the BCBC also contributes to the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory.  This project monitors landbird migrations using daily mistnetting (capturing birds in nets using a procedure developed at the Manomet Bird Observatory), visible migration counts (recording every bird species observed within a defined space at set intervals) and casual observance.

The Peace River is an important stopping area
for many migratory birds in the boreal.
PRMA. 2008.082.013

Yet another organization in our area that is not only concerned with birds, but all wildlife in our boreal forest is the internationally acclaimed project called EMEND (Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbance). EMEND is a forest research centre located north of Dixonville dedicated to improving our understanding of how the western boreal forest ecosystem responds to disturbances, natural ones (such as fire or pest infestation) and human ones (such as harvesting).

Wildlife Week is celebrated each year around April 10^th, Jack Miner’s birthday, to honour Jack Miner and to celebrate conservation successes as well as bringing awareness to issues still challenging the survival of our wildlife.

If you want to learn more about EMEND, the museum is hosting EMEND 101, exploring how the research gathered through EMEND impacts our environmental stewardship.  We will see you on April 14^th 2016, 7pm at the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre.