It looked like rain for much of the morning and the temperature had dipped well below reasonable for late summer, but the sun managed to make an appearance and cracked through the smoke as Westlock County celebrated three quarters of a century of incorporation.
Fittingly, the Canadian Tractor Museum hosted Westlock County’s 75th anniversary party Aug. 25, with dignitaries from around the region coming to congratulate the county for its longevity and its success.
“I’m going to brag a little bit,” said reeve Lou Hall. “What do we have in our boundaries? We have a total land area of 3,172 square kilometres. The county maintains over 2,100 kilometres of gravel road and 13 kilometres of paved road. We provide services to nine hamlets and five subdivisions.”
“The county has 300,000 hectares of black and dark grey soil, the majority of cultivated land, with pasture and hay land making up the remaining acres. Cereals, oilseeds, pulses and forages are the focus of cultivated lands throughout the county. Dairy, purebred cattle and commercial beef producers can be found throughout and there’s a few large hog, poultry and feedlot operations and a few sheep and bison operators within the county as well.”
Aside from the prominence of agriculture, she also recognized an abundance of acreage and subdivision development and the county’s strong commercial sector.
“Our goal by setting this day aside is to remember the past with fondness and I’m sure there’s many stories told by long-time residents around the kitchen table or over coffee at McDonald’s, A&W or Tim Horton’s about Westlock County’s history, the good times and the hard times. Because of strong and endearing community spirit we will be able to move forward and continue to make this county a thriving area for our residents for years to come,” said Hall.
Town councillors Murtaza Jamaly and David Truckey presented deputy reeve Brian Coleman with a gift from the town — a clock with an inscription commemorating the special day.
Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken was in attendance along with neighbouring Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater MLA Colin Piquette, who each said a few words to the crowd of well over 200 ratepayers, residents and well-wishers.
“I’m very proud to be the MLA for the Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock constituency, but I’m also very proud to be a resident of Westlock County,” said van Dijken. “It’s important to mark these types of milestones and recognize where we’ve been and also understand that where we are today has a lot to do with the work of the people that have gone before us.”
van Dijken pointed out the county was born out of a spirit of cooperation, as five smaller municipal districts came together in 1943 to form the Municipal District of Westlock, which became Westlock County in 1998. While the county has, of course, evolved in 75 years, he recognized that one thing has remained consistent — the people.
“One thing that doesn’t change though is the fact that the strength of a community is built on the people within the community. Strong, healthy families build strong, healthy communities and we see that in Westlock County where these strong families building strong communities have networked together and have built a strong municipality. With strong municipalities we build a stronger province, so it behooves us to continue to recognize that we need to continue to support strong, healthy families,” said van Dijken.
Jerry Keane, the mayor of the Summer Village of Larkspur, shared a few words, as did Westlock town councillor David Truckey who spoke on behalf of the town. He also presented reeve Hall and the county with the gift of a large clock, with an inscription of kind words from the county’s closest friend.
After the dignitaries spoke, free hot dogs, hamburgers and salads were served and those in attendance had an opportunity to tour the tractor museum and socialize with their friends and neighbours.
ake, Ella, and Connor King pose in some of the wooden cut-outs available for the children at Westlock County’s 75th anniversary celebrations at the Canadian Tractor Museum Aug. 25.
There were also activities for the kids in the form of mini-tractor races and a scavenger hunt. Three ‘Planting for Pollinators’ sessions also took place that saw eager builders construct bee hotels, with a variety of flower seeds, for their gardens.
Long-time resident and retired farmer Frank Petryshyn said he came to celebrate the 75th anniversary milestone as he was born and raised here. He remembers much of the history of the county because he lived it. He was born a resident of the area in 1931, more than a decade before the county even came to be.
“I’m just going to visit with the neighbours and have a look at a lot of that old equipment. I’m familiar with it because over the years I worked with a lot of it. That 1530 tractor, I put a lot of miles on that,” he said of his plans for the day.
Another long-time resident, George McMillan, said he used to farm in the county, but is now retired and lives in town. His grandfather homesteaded in the Pickardville area in 1902. As for the future of the county, he sees its agricultural base growing even more.
“It has been agriculture and that will continue to be the mainstay of the county,” said McMillan, who added he enjoyed the program of speakers in the morning and was looking forward to visiting with neighbours throughout the day.
