Fonds 0545 - Peace River Co-op Seed Growers Association fonds

The first meeting of the Peace River Co-op Seed Growers Association was held on August 16, 1936 at the Beaverlodge Experimental farm sub-station. The purpose of the Seed Growers Co-op was to give farmers a voice regarding markets for their grain. They shared a yearly dividend from the Co-op, as well as ownership in a grain drying machine. Membership in the Co-op was wide spread across the Peace Country, including the communities of Valhalla Centre, Wembley, Nampa, Sturgeon Heights, Bay Tree, DeBolt, Gordondale, Huallen, Calais, Doe River, Cherry Point, Whitelaw, Rycroft, Smoky Heights, Bonanza, Heart Valley, Northmark, Eaglesham, Grovedale, Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Hythe, Spirit River, Poplar Hill, Grovedale, La Glace, Dimsdale, Halcourt, and Elmwoth; and from Dawson Creek, Pouce Coupe, and Farmington in the B.C. Peace. Meetings were held at the Capital Theatre in Grande Prairie and the surrounding communities of Pouce Coupe, Dawson Creek and Beaverlodge. The Peace River Co-op also helped establish the Albright Scholarship Fund and supported local fairs by providing prize money for the grain entries.

The executive in 1943 consisted of P. U. Clubine, President; Arnold Burgess, Vice President; and directors Robert Cochrane, Thomas Jamieson, Uri Powell, V. C. Flint and W.E. Grearson. Growing pains were an issue for this board as their membership numbers doubled in one year and storage and administration space were to capacity. This led to many discussions about the costs associated with purchasing or building a new building. Amalgamation with the Albert Seed Growers Association was also an often discussed topic and, although at first the members were reluctant, by 1950 they were in serious talks about merging the two organizations. There is no record of when the Association ceased to exist.