Falher, Alberta
Encyclopedia
Falher is a town in the Peace Country
Peace River Country
The Peace River Country is an aspen parkland region around the Peace River in Canada. It spans from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where the region is also referred to as the Peace River Block.- Geography :The Peace River Country includes the...
area of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is located in the Municipal District of Smoky River
Smoky River No. 130, Alberta
The Municipal District of Smoky River No. 130 is a municipal district in north western Alberta, Canada.It is located in Census Division 19. The municipal seat is set in Town of Falher. On Jan 01, 1952, the name was changed from Municipal District of Fillion No...
, along Highway 49. Falher is one of the earliest agricultural communities in the Peace Country.
History
The area was known to missionaries before it was surveyed in 1909 as an Indian Trail that led to British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and later where the railway laid its tracks. In 1912, the settlement of "Mission St-Jean Baptiste de Falher" was opened 5 km from the current location of the town of Falher. When the railway came to the area in 1915, the settlement was named after Father Constant Falher, a Roman Catholic Oblate
Oblate
An oblate spheroid is a rotationally symmetric ellipsoid having a polar axis shorter than the diameter of the equatorial circle whose plane bisects it. Oblate spheroids stand in contrast to prolate spheroids....
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
who was born in the town of Josselin Brittany, France in 1863, arriving at Grouard, Alberta
Grouard, Alberta
Grouard, also known as Grouard Mission, is a hamlet in northern Alberta within the Municipal District of Big Lakes. It is located north of Highway 2, approximately northeast of Grande Prairie....
in 1889. The origin of the majority of local colonizers were from Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
; some arrived in the area via the United States of America (French American), such as Robert Goulet
Robert Goulet
Robert Gerard Goulet was a Canadian American entertainer as a singer and actor. He played the role of Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot of 1960.-Early life:...
's family, who settled in the nearby town of Girouxville
Girouxville, Alberta
Girouxville is a village in northern Alberta, Canada, located south of the town of Peace River.- Demographics :According to the 2006 census:* population of 282 living in 139 dwellings, a 7.8% decrease from 2001.* land area of...
. The town still remains a dominantly Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
community.
The colony was divided into two; what is now the village of Donnelly and the town of Falher. In 1919, the town consolidated a school district and the first parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
, parish Ste. Anne was established. The first post office was opened in 1923 when the settlement became a hamlet in 1923, in 1929 it became a village, and in 1955 Falher was incorporated as a town. It is also home to a French-language radio station, CKRP-FM
CKRP-FM
CKRP-FM is a Canadian French language community radio station that operates at 95.7 FM in Falher, Alberta. The station was established in the early 1990s-via several temporary on-air samples-and signed on October 1996...
.
Demographics
According to the 2006 census:- population of 941 living in 465 dwellingsHouseA house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, a 15.1% decrease from 2001. - land area of 2.87 km² (1.1 sq mi)
- population densityPopulation densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 328 /km2.
Economy
The principal industries in the area are agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and gas.
Established in 1973 as a private business, Falher Alfalfa (an alfalfa
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
processing facility) was sold to a group of producers and farmers in 1978 with the same company. Under normal circumstances, Falher Alfalfa employed a staff of about 35 full-time employees in the spring and 110 at the busiest time of the season. Falher Alfalfa went under the Company Creditor Arrangement Act in June 2007, protecting the company against any legal action taken by creditors and gave the company a chance to sell its product to be able to repay creditors. In spring 2008, Falher Alfalfa declared bankruptcy due to production costs.
Education
There are two public schools in Falher:- École Héritage School is a FrancophoneFrancophoneThe adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
school that was built in 1951. École Héritage currently has students in grades K–12.
- École Routhier School is the primary educational institution in Falher. Routhier is an AnglophoneEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and FrancophoneFrancophoneThe adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
Elementary School which includes grades K–6.
Students in grades 7-12 attend classes at École Georges P. Vanier School in nearby Donnelly, Alberta.
Attractions and Events
Main Street Falher includes a large honey beeHoney bee
Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...
statue, as Falher is known as "Honey Capital of Canada". The statue's overall length is 22 feet 8 inches (6.91 m), and its diameter is 7 feet 7 inches (2.31 m).
Every year, a "Honey Festival" is held to pay tribute to the beekeeping industry which has created an impact in the Smoky River region and throughout Canada and the United States. The honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
in the area is derived largely from clover
Clover
Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...
seed operations. At its peak, more than 48,000 hives in the region produced 10 million pounds (4,500 t) of honey annually. Today the honey of the Smoky River
Smoky River
Smoky River is a river in western Alberta, Canada. It is a major tributary of the Peace River. The descriptive name refers to the presence of "smouldering beds of coal in the riverbank" noted by the Cree Indians....
Region is known worldwide.
Falher attracted national attention in 2006 due to its high standing in the "Kraft Hockeyville
Hockeyville
Kraft Hockeyville is a Gemini Award-winning Canadian reality television series developed by CBC Sports and sponsored by Kraft Foods, the NHL and the NHL Players' Association in which communities across Canada compete to demonstrate their commitment to the sport of ice hockey...
" contest, a coast-to-coast competition to elect the municipality that most embodies the spirit of Canada's national pastime.