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Percy Ward was one of two sons born to Charles and Charlotte Ward who settled in Lewiston, later renamed Perryvale, AB. Marion Lewis married Percy Ward in 1925.

Shirley Backstrom (neé Coleman) was born in Amber Valley, Alberta on July 7, 1934 and her parents were Isaiah and Velma Coleman (neé Adams).
Shirley’s great, great grandmother was Jane Bowen, born February 18, 1844 in Alabama, USA. She was half Black and half Cherokee. Her maiden name was thought to have been Thigpin, but discovery of her marriage license shows that her family name was actually Gregory.
The family myth is that great, great grandmother was the daughter of a chief; however, the most likely scenario is that great, great grandmother’s father had enslaved her mother, as the Cherokee Nation is known to have kept Black slaves at that time.
Great grandfather Columbus Bowen’s parents were “Big Daddy” and Jane Bowen. Descendants of this family have been unable to establish Big Daddy’s actual name. This is understandable given the fact that Big Daddy was most likely a freed slave. Slaves were sold from one owner to the next and took on the names given them by their respective owners.
Columbus was the first of eight children born to Big Daddy and Jane in 1870 in Pine Flats, Butler County, Alabama. The remaining children were twins Martha and Mary, Lulu, Silas, Ollie (known as Aunt Miss), Frank and Nellie.
Columbus’ wife, Martha Watts, was born in 1872 in Butler Springs, Alabama and he and and Martha were married in 1887 in Butler Springs. They moved to Montgomery, Alabama where four of their eight children were born: Minnie, Etheline (Ethel), Forest and Columbus (Lummie).
They left Alabama via Lee County, Texas for Guthrie, Oklahoma. They had four more children:
Willa, Ilean, Herman and Lovetta. It appears they remained in Guthrie for approximately 11 years from 1899 to 1910. Their second daughter, Ethel, born in 1888, received her teaching certificate from the State of Oklahoma in 1910. They moved yet again to Chandler in Choctaw County, Oklahoma to join a group who were immigrating to Canada.

The family arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1911 where Martha unfortunately passed away in 1912. Columbus moved his family to Pine Creek, Alberta, Canada (NE 15-66-20-W4) in 1912 where he and his cousin Willis Bowen would eventually settle. Pine Creek later became known as Amber Valley. Ethel taught school in Amber Valley at the Toles School, District #2895.

Ethel Bowen married Percy Adams in Vancouver, BC. Percy was from Cape Town, Africa, born in 1894. They moved to Amber Valley. They had two children, Shirley’s mother Velma Adams, born in 1916 in Amber Valley, and uncle Chris Adams, born in 1918, also in Amber Valley. Percy Adams was a porter on the Northern Alberta Railway from Edmonton to Fort McMurray for many years.

Velma Adams married Isaiah Coleman (born 1910) in 1932. They had six children: Corene, Shirley, both born in Amber Valley, and Ronald, Rodney, Jeanette and Carol, born in Edmonton, Alberta.
The family lived in Edmonton from 1935 to 1946 and then moved back to Amber Valley, the children attending Toles School until 1951. When the family moved to Edmonton, Isaiah Coleman got a job as a porter on the Canadian National Railway going from Edmonton to Prince Rupert.

Shirley married Sylvester Hinton of Amber Valley on April 30, 1951 and they lived in Edmonton. They had four children: Nadine, Terry, Randolf and Leon. September 7, 1957, Shirley and the children moved to Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.

Shirley lived in Fort Smith for 11 years, moved to Pine Point for 12 years, then Hay River for 11 years for a total of 34 years in the Northwest Territories. She was the Supervisor at the Information Centre at the Alberta-Northwest Territories border for six years. While living in Hay River, she worked as a highway transport officer at the weigh scale from 1982 – 1991. Shirley was Secretary for the Union of Northern Workers Public Service of Canada, Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis Workers from 1983 – 1990.

While in Fort Smith, two foster children were added to the family. Wilbert Boucher was two years old when Social Services asked if she could keep him until they found a place for him. He was born on June 03, 1963. In 1966, Shirley got Shawnee Mary Ruth when she was six weeks old. She didn’t find out until Shawnee was six months old that she was Wilbert’s biological sister.

When Shirley lived in Pine Point, NWT, she was the Secretary for the Mothers for Minor Hockey Club, Secretary for the Legion, and Craft Teacher for the Sanavisik Guild, teaching knitting, crochet and ceramics.

Shirley joined the Royal Purple in Pine Point on February 1, 1968 and held dual membership in Pine Point and Hay River until 1988 when Pine Point closed down. She received her 25-year-pin in 1992 from the Hay River Lodge. She received her 30-year-pin form the Athabasca Lodge. She received her Life Membership Pin from the Athabasca Lodge on April 15, 2000 and her 35-year-pin from the Barrhead Lodge in 2002. She received her 40-year-pin from the Lac La Biche Lodge in 2007.

Shirley moved from Hay River, NWT to Colinton, Alberta in July, 1991. She was a member of the Athabasca Native Friendship Centre (ANFC) since March 1991 and was elected to the Board of Directors in June 2007. She became Vice-President in 2008 and Board President in 2010. In 2010, Shirley represented the ANFC at meetings held in Edmonton, and youth and Elders gatherings in Jasper. She attended an Elders retreat at MacEwan University in 2011.

Shirley started the Drug and Alcohol Program at Athabasca’s Landing Trail Intermediate School, the Hutterite Colony School, and Rochester School in September 1993 for the Elks and Royal Purple of Canada. She ran the program until June 2010. The last year of the program she had 273 entries from participating students. Shirley also worked with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Program in the Athabasca and area schools. The Elks and Royal Purple donated education kits on teasing and bullying as unacceptable behaviours to Smith School, Rochester School, the Hutterite Colony School, Whispering Hills Primary School, Landing Trail Intermediate School and the Athabasca Native Friendship Centre.

The Vagina Monologues, by Eve Ensler, was produced by a group of locals for the benefit of PRAAC, (Prevention of Relationship Abuse Action Committee) from the official script for the 2017 V-Day Campaigns. Twenty-two actors were involved and rehearsals were held at the NCoR train station in Athabasca started in January, 2017. The show was performed on Feburary 25, 2017 at 7:30 pm at the Nancy Appleby Theatre in Athabasca,

Maureen Harvey, née O’Neill, was born in Edmonton, Alberta on April 24th, 1939 and attended St. Joseph’s High School. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and obtained her BA majoring in Arts on July 7th 1962. Her studies included scientific drawing as related to anatomy and life studies. She married Dr. John Harvey in Edmonton in 1963 and the couple bought a farm in Athabasca County in 1973 as a weekend retreat. Harvey has an art studio at the rural property. Her work includes two books, “Basky” written by Athabascan, Dorothy Lane, and “The Silver Chain,” written by Edmontonian, Gerda Bako. She has also created murals on themes of heritage, pioneers, dinosaurs, and people, birds and plants of the Bahamas. The murals are in Alberta communities including Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Slave Lake, Calgary (Ferguson School), and Grande Prairie.

David Shalapay Sr. was born 6 August, 1909 in Litoviscz, Ukraine to Sawa and Fevronia Shalapay and emigrated to Canada in 1929 with his parents and brother Mike. The family homesteaded in the Richmond Park area, David Sr. died 8 August, 1989 in Athabasca, Alberta.

Mattie Kathryn (Katie) Morgan (nee Burge) was born in Hushburg, Tennessee in 1906 to parents Jose Braxton Burge and Morindie Louis (nee Conatsar). Her parents and their six children came to Edmonton, Alberta in 1915 and to the Meanook, Alberta area in 1918. She met Cecile Morgan at a local dance and they were married on July 15, 1928. They had four children, John, Tom, Morindie and Shirley. Cecile died on November 29, 1945.

Athabasca Clay Products was a business that operated in Athabasca, Alberta from 1964 - 1968. All items were made from local red clay. Pottery was distributed from numerous gift shops in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, including one on Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta.

A weekly and/or seasonal Athabasca and area Farmers Market was researched in January 1978 and this included a local survey of interest and attendance at an Alberta Agriculture Farmers’ Market seminar in Edmonton. The first Farmers Market was organized by volunteers just prior to Christmas, 1978 and was held in the basement of the Athabasca Community Centre. It may also have been held at the Athabasca Arena at various times during the day on Fridays. It was sponsored by the Athabasca Agricultural Society and one of the early managers was Theresa Keith. Early promotional efforts included cake decorating contests, door prizes and the mention of new visitors in a regular column published the Athabasca Advocate newspaper. Early members include Staffie Rypien, Grace Stychin, Mildred Haggith, Shirley Berezowski, Lilo Sanftl, Pennie Hunter, Otto Christensen, Lorraine Schultz, Joy Richards, Pat Williamson, Dorothy McCue, Maria Muller, Maureen Weymouth, Gwen Wolstenholme, Loreen Dagley, Liz Lamoureux, Mary Bart, Mary Schmidt, Mr. and Mrs. Stellmaker, and a BC fruit producer from Westlock. Annual membership was $10.00. Board positions were president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. All vendors set their own prices and a percentage of sales was given to the Market. Items for sale included fresh baking, farm fresh eggs, hand-made clothing, frozen foods, household items, seasonal bedding plants and crafts.
In 1984, the Farmers Market moved to a retail location on the main floor of Dr. Wright’s building at 4902 – 49 Street, Athabasca and was open six days a week from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. The store was staffed by volunteers. The store location closed on December 19, 2001 due to a number of factors including volunteer burn out and changes in health regulations which made it more difficult to operate in the same way; specifically, food items that were baked in home kitchens and not on site. The Farmers Market Board donated the remaining $4,000.00 in their bank account to the Athabasca Health Care Centre Ladies Auxiliary.
The Athabasca Farmers Market has always operated with the designation of “Alberta Approved Farmers Market.” This means that 80% of good sold are produced in Alberta. It was billed as the only full-time, year-round farmers’ market in Alberta during the years it was located in Dr. Wright’s building.
There was no Farmers Market in Athabasca between the years 2001 and 2004. It was then brought back under the sponsorship of the Athabasca District Chamber of Commerce and again held weekly/seasonally in the basement of the Community Centre. Due to scheduling difficulties at the Community Centre, the Farmers Market was moved to the basement of the Royal Canadian Legion #103 in 2006.
In 2011, a new organization, the North Country Community Council, sponsored the Farmers Market and it is now held every second Saturday from October to May at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex. During the spring and summer months, it is held weekly on the Athabasca riverfront. The Town of Athabasca donated a one-time start up grant of $2,500 in 2012. During the months of January through November, the market has between 25 – 30 tables and peaks with as many as 65 tables in the month before Christmas. The Farmers Market executive has made donations to the Good Samaritan Food Bank and the Athabasca Santas Anonymous annual campaign.

The Magnificent River Rats Festival Society (MRRFS) was formed in 1997 in Athabasca, Alberta. It grew from Canada Day celebrations, starting in 1987, that featured canoe races from Smith to Athabasca on the Athabasca River, and finished with a bonfire, local entertainment and fireworks. Canoeists paid an entry fee and were also sponsored to raise money for various local charitable groups. Local groups who organized the annual event included the Rotary Club and the Athabasca Chamber of Commerce. Supporters included the Athabasca Metis Association and Blue Heron Enterprises. The MRRFS was formed to formalize the annual event and take advantage of grant opportunities available to a not-for-profit society. They obtained Canada Revenue Agency charitable status in 2005 and received grants from the Alberta Foundation of the Arts, among others. The annual event grew in size through the years, expanding from a one-day event to, at times, two- or three-day events with children’s’ activities, food vendors and nationally-recognized entertainers.

The first mention of an Athabasca figure skating club is a photograph of the February 1973 Krystal Karnival. The club president was Evelyn Begoray and the professional coach was Anne Spencer. The Athabasca Arena opened in February 1972 and closed in 2008 when the Athabasca Regional Multiplex was opened. The ASC continues to operate and is an entity of Skate Canada. Related photographs: 16133-16193.