Article Database - Lac La Biche: A Community With a Mission

Do you know where Alberta's first printing press operated? Its first commercial grist mill? How about its first sawmill?

If you answered Lac la Biche Mission to all three, go to the head of the class. Located 11 Km northwest of the Town of Lac la Biche on the shore of its namesake, the mission was established by the Roman Catholic Order or Oblates in 1853 and was in important focal point for industry, agriculture, religious worship and education for almost 110 years.

Lac la Biche mission is also a primary historic site for both Alberta's Métis and French. Now the two communities have joined in a unique partnership to restore the site to its golden era of the 1870s as l'entrepot du nord (warehouse of the North), when it was a key link in the transportation system between the far North and the Red River Settlement.

"It is also called "beautiful Queen of the Lake;" says Tom Maccagno, a board member and volunteer with the Lac la Biche Mission Historical Society, which is spearheading the project. "The ambiance is really quite stunning. Not only does the mission possess a rich historical fabric, it is also of great natural beauty."

The site consists of four major buildings - a convent, a school, rectory and a church- and several smaller buildings. Early work secured the exterior of the buildings but the interiors have not been restored or furnished, Maccagno says. The society plans to raise funds to complete the restoration and operate it as a major attraction comparable to the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village or Fort Edmonton.

"This is not only one of Alberta's most significant historic sites, but one of Western Canada's most significant historic sites, "Maccagno points out.

The mission was designated a Provincial Historic Resource in 1987 and a National Historic Site in 1989.

The Alberta Historical Resources Foundation (AHRF) and Alberta Community Development have provided $160,000 in grants toward preservation work. The mission has also received funding from the federal government for exterior restoration and a visitor's center. The AHRF recently provided funds to assist the society, originally formed in 1980, in developing a business plan.

Staff from Alberta Community Development's Historic Sites Service have been involved with various aspects of the project since its designation. Community Development field services staff recently assisted the society's board in strategic planning. Revising their bylaws, and solidifying their partnerships.

Our president Leo Piquette has worked diligently at forming new partnerships to give the society a fresh direction and at reviving the old partnerships that existed originally between the Metis and French communities, Maccagno says. Other partners include the provincial and federal governments and municipal bodies such as the Town of Lac la Biche, Lakeland County and the Village of Palamondon .

Echoing its history as rendezvous point, the mission has become the focal point for regional Canada Day celebrations in recent years. "We weave in cultural activities and displays and have fish fry", Maccagno says. It's common knowledge here that you go to Lac la Biche Mission on Canada Day.

Tom Maccagno, Lac la Biche Mission Historical Society, , or Leo Piquett, interim president, Lac la Biche Mission Historical Society, .