LAC LA BICHE - Some Lac La Biche residents were surprised to see the recent demolition of a local building that has, for decades, served — literally to many hungry concession customers — as an important part of community events.
Construction crews working on the $7.3 million McArthur Park Redevelopment Plan recently tore down the former multicultural centre and concession stand that stood in the former Lac La Biche Recreation Grounds for decades. The building, which included a kitchen, serving kiosk, washrooms and a conference room also served for many years as a meeting place for local agencies, youth groups and the Lac La Biche cadets. The building came down earlier in September, a few months after the Main 1 baseball diamond was also removed to make way for the new park space.
Built in the early 1980s with funds and support from the Lac La Biche Pow Wow Days and Fish Derby Association, the multicultural centre was one of three structures — the others were an outdoor bingo hut and farmers’ market pavilion, and the Pow Wow Hut log cabin — that were built to compliment activities in and around the recreation grounds, including baseball and slow-pitch games, as well as the annual Pow Wow Days events.
Jim Courtoreille was the president of the Pow Wow Days Association when the buildings went up in the1980s. He was sad to see the concession centre and bingo area torn down a few weeks ago.
“It was just smashed down, destroyed,” he said. “No one really said anything about it coming down – they just smashed it all. It’s pretty sad – all that was built with the support of community members, volunteers, and it’s just ripped down.”
Courtoreille, who has also served as a long-standing member of the Knights of Columbus and other local service groups said the concession inside the multicultural centre was always busy on Pow Wow weekends and whenever there was a baseball event. The kitchen was where local groups did their fundraising.
“There were lots of burgers flipped on those grills in there,” he said. “It’s sad to see it all gone.”
With the ball diamonds removed, and the buildings torn down, all that’s really left of the Pow Wow Days legacy on its original site is the Pow Wow Hut — and that building, sold to a private resident for a dollar several years ago, will soon be lifted onto a trailer and moved from the site.
Courtoreille knows that it’s all supposed to be about progress and moving forward, but he’s a little angry about how unceremoniously the local history has been torn down.
“A lot of people have ties to that park and those places. I don’t think those people have been thought about in any of this,” he said.
At the very least, Courtoreille said, the building, with its kitchen, meeting room and washrooms could have been moved and used by a local group.
Despite the fact the multicultural centre had been looked after, the structure itself was not salvageable, says Lac La Biche County’s Manager of Parks and Facilities Gary Harman.
“The building was very old. Although it was well-maintained, it was not worth keeping at this point,” Harman told Lakeland This Week, but added that any items of value inside the building were removed before the track-hoe ripped it down. “Everything in the building that was in good condition (like kitchen equipment) was salvaged, donated, or moved to other County facilities.”
Although some may have been surprised to see the buildings flattened, Harman says the tear-down had always been part of the McArthur Park Redevelopment Project.
The multi-million dollar makeover of the municipal park began in June and is expected to wrap up by the fall of 2025. The project will transform the area from a recreational focus to a more leisure-based theme. Walking trails, greenspaces, a town square, picnic areas, a skate park and a bike track are all expected to be completed by the end of the project. Lakeshore features like a new boat jetty, a boardwalk and new boat launch are also part of the complete makeover.
While the 40-year-old multicultural building didn’t make it into the new plans, Harman did say the County has plans to upgrade the 56-year-old Jubilee Hall, which remains on the property and is currently home to the Lac La Biche Museum as well as the local visitor information centre.
“As per the McArthur Park Master Plan, Jubilee Hall will be renovated for all users, including an indoor/outdoor space and areas for food trucks and vendors,” he explained. “There is already a new concession building at the spray park.”
•• With files from Rob McKinley
