NAR Station Museum Curator Anne Haycock and former Coop president Dale Campbell (also a former Mile 0 Park president) were there to help celebrate the legacy station’s addition to the Walter Wright Pioneer Village.Tom Summer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Original Published on Jun 29, 2022 at 14:06

By Tom Summer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It takes a community to build a village – the Dawson Creek Co-op celebrated the grand opening of their legacy service station today, marking 100 years of being a staple business of Mile Zero. Live music and a BBQ accompanied the event at the Walter Wright Pioneer Village.  

Former Co-op president Dale Campbell, who’s also a former Mile 0 Park Society president expressed his appreciation for the installation of the legacy station. The building is truly the result of cooperation from the community, with students from Northern Lights College using their carpentry skills to put it together. 

“It’s really great to see an asset created by cooperation – with the Northern Lights College, NDIT funding, the Dawson Creek Co-op, and the MIle 0 Park Society, we’ve got an asset that’s very valuable for the whole community,” said Campbell. 

First founded with six members in 1921, the Co-op has grown to 14,000 members across the South Peace over the past century. Current Co-op CEO Rod Hillary thanked everyone for coming out to help celebrate on behalf of the board and their members.  

“Without everyone’s commitment and loyalty to our co-op, we simply could not be standing here today,” said Hillary.  

The Groundbirch Historical Society donated a vintage gas pump to make the station authentic, while the North Peace Museum donated several artifacts for the interior of the building. Volunteers with the South Peace Historical Society were also on hand to document the event. 

This item reprinted with permission from Alaska Highway News, Fort St. John, British Columbia