Grande Prairie History
The Grande Prairie York Hotel was built in 1948, and has been run continuously by the same
Company and the same Family for more than fifty years.
When it was built, the York was one of the biggest things to hit our community.
The Edmonton Journal heralded it as "the finest north of
Edmonton". We entertained a Queen, a Royal Prince, a Governor General
and a Prime Minister: Premiers, Cabinet Ministers, Mayors and Aldermen and Councilors,
M.P.s. M.L.A.s professional hockey players and football players, professional
wrestlers, and first class entertainment artists; all were hosted here. We
had weddings and wakes, baby contests and baby showers, Rotary and Kinsmen, ACT
and Junior Chamber of Commerce, good times and wild parties, the beginnings of
life and the end of life, and, yes, even a ghost!
The Logan Family
They all Drank Scotch
The 1950's business and civic leaders, amongst whom were
Mel Rodacker, Bill Sargent, Bob Miller, Bob Waddell, the Bowes Brothers, Chuck Hucel, Fred Noble, George
Repka, Jack Mackie, Les Longmate, and Mel Howie were, as you can imagine, a
group of characters.
One thing they all agreed on was their
scotch. One of the stories of that era comes from a wake, held at
the York Hotel, following a funeral. The boys all brought their bottle of
scotch, but one brought wine. While not completely ostracized for
this social gaffe, he never really recovered his position in the inner circle.
