CALGARY- A piece of Alberta history is back where it belongs.
Residents of Benalto, near Red Deer, are celebrating the return of a CPR station that left home 40 years ago. Benalto was once a bustling farming community, but time slowly robbed the hamlet of its grain elevators and stockyards. Soon, the railway followed suit, leaving the station without a purpose.
It was soon moved to Red Deer County and converted into a home, but four decades later the owners have decided to donate it back to the hamlet. It was an offer that couldn’t be refused.
“It’s just a continuous gift to this community, and we’re ever so grateful,” says Dave More, who serves on Benalto’s centennial committee. “It’s just an amazing story.”
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Built way back in 1928, the station is now set to become an information centre providing a gallery of the hamlet’s history—just in time for Benalto’s centennial next year.
“It left here years ago, I never ever dreamt it would come back,” says longtime resident Richard Padly. “And now look at it!”
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