VALHALLA CENTRE, Alta. – It took a jolt from outside for the people of Valhalla Centre to realize their tiny northern Alberta farm community was in trouble.
Fifteen years ago the school board wanted to close the local school. At the same time the board of the Co-op store in Grande Prairie, Alta., said it was no longer interested in operating the smaller Co-op store in Valhalla Centre.
“Suddenly we realized the community was in really big jeopardy,” said Emily Loberg, president of the Valhalla Heritage Society that was formed to help save the community.
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“We wanted to find some way to keep our community viable,” Loberg said during lunch at the local café with her husband, Gerald.
The school closure was avoided and a local group kept the grocery store open. Through it all, the people of this hamlet 45 minutes northwest of Grande Prairie decided a community centre was needed. The plan was to renovate the old general store and post office, at one time operated by Gerald’s grandfather.
Few people could visualize how the old run down building could be transformed into anything worthwhile.
“It was in pretty bad shape,” Emily said.
The original plan called for a large meeting hall in the back of the building, a small kitchen in the middle, a museum in the front and a few tables for coffee.
Shortly after renovations were finished in 1995, a woman approached the heritage society asking if she could operate a restaurant in the building. It quickly built up a large and loyal customer base.
“It’s been amazingly successful,” Emily said.
Eventually the heritage society took over the restaurant, which relies heavily on oilfield workers. One oil executive from California, who was in the area for a week, insisted on eating at the café every day.
The meals are all freshly made and include homemade bread and desserts, and soups from scratch. For the past two years the restaurant has taken part in the Dine Alberta program featuring local food such as buffalo and saskatoons.
It’s a rare day when 4-H clubs, wedding showers, meetings, painting classes and overflow from the restaurant aren’t using the back meeting room.
“By and large now it’s viewed as a good thing for the community,” said Gerald, who farms just outside Valhalla Centre.
The museum displays that hang on the restaurant walls feature a local family history exhibit. Every four months a local family sets up a display of its pioneering history.
“The families seem to be very keen on doing it,” Gerald said.
Because the restaurant has taken up so much of the heritage board’s time, developing the museum has slowed down. The group wants to move an old ice house, the only remaining building from the Valhalla Centre creamery, as part of its museum development.
Creating a central meeting place and café is something hundreds of small villages and hamlets across the Prairies could easily replicate to enhance their community, Gerald said.
Added Emily: “It’s grown into something we’re very happy with.”
