Remember When?
Fredric Algar and Harry Finch opened a tiny store in the vacant Ponoka station house next to the new Canadian Pacific Railway line in 1896, bringing their supplies in from Edmonton by sleigh. Business was so good that they built their first store in 1902 at the corner of 50 Avenue and 51 Street, which burnt down a few years later. After Algar bought out Finch he constructed this magnificent brick and steel structure, which stayed in the family for many decades and has continued to serve the town and district from several businesses to this present day.
Photo courtesy of Fort Ostell Museum