Beaverlodge 100 Years of Settlement Anniversary

Beaverlodge, located 43km west of Grande Prairie, celebrates its 100 Years of Settlement on August 14 and 15, 2009. The centennital celebration offers many exciting events including parade, trade show exhibits, free BBQ, heritage tour, agricultural fair, farmers market, horse, oxen, pet show, and many many more.

Beaverlodge Centennial Anniversary

Bill Bernard, the earliest settler, arrived in 1907. Oliver H. (Rutabaga) Johnson accompanied the Rede and Robert Stone families in 1908. The extended Johnson and Pool families, numbering fourteen, came in April 1909 and opened the first trading post west of Lake Saskatoon at “Stony Point”.

The first wave of settlement came in July 1909 in a thirty-one member party known as the “Bull Outfit” because of the thirty-six oxen they used. Included were such names as: Lossing, Flint, Smith, Sherk, Gaudin, Crabbe, Shisler, McNaught, Truax, Drake, Cranston, Pierce, and Sargeant. Almost all were members of the “Christian Association” from Ontario and their arrival in Beaverlodge Valley constituted the first successful attempt at group settlement in the Peace River Country.

Source: Monument at Beaverlodge Culture Centre

I was a volunteer for 2010 Arctic Winter Games parade float. If you were there, you probably saw me holding the Team Yukon Flag and waving at the crowd. The parade was awesome, better than Grande Prairie!!! No kidding!!! It sure drew a huge crowd along the parade route. After the parade, I went to Ag Plex to see the exhibits and horse show. Of course, the most important event of all was the birthday cake cutting for this historical event at 12 noon.