INNISFAIL – George Washington (G.W.) West was a man of important firsts for the Town of Innisfail.
He was the first Innisfailian to open a full general store in town. G.W. did that on July 1, 1891.
By doing so G.W. was also the first to promote a Dominion Day (now Canada Day) celebration in the new frontier village, one that reportedly included horse races on what is now known as Dodd’s Lake.
And G.W. was the first mayor of the Town of Innisfail, noted Sheri Griffith, acting historian for the Innisfail and District Historical Village.
“He was the one that actually got the town incorporated,” said Griffith.
And 120 years later, the anniversary of the town’s incorporation will be celebrated.
G.W. West is one of many pioneers whose families will be showcased in July of 2023 for the special festivities now being planned to mark the Town of Innisfail’s 120th anniversary of incorporation.
Anna Lenters, president of the Innisfail and District Historical Society, said a final list for pioneer families for next year’s celebration has not yet been formalized.
However, G.W. is the first name released, and on this year’s Canada Day, and for the following two weeks, a special G.W. West display was created in the historical village’s Tea Room. Most of the G.W. West artifacts in the display were donated by today’s descendants.
“He was also instrumental in trying to get our town to be the prosperous and vibrant town that it is today,” said Griffith, noting G.W’s downtown store remained open for 77 years until it’s closure on Dec. 24, 1968.
The recent G.W. West display is not the first for the historical village.
In 2010 his granddaughter Donna Chadwick donated dozens of G.W. business artifacts for a general store mock-up project in the restored Bowden Train Station as part of historical village’s 40th anniversary celebration.
Chadwick, who was the driving force behind Innisfail’s local history book The Candlelight Years, passed away on Jan. 25, 2021 at a long-term care facility in Olds at the age of 92 years.
For this year’s Tea Room display, G.W.’s great-great-granddaughter Shelly Mitchell and her two daughters Hailey Mitchell, 20, and 13-year-old Oryonna Lee, enthusiastically agreed to support the new tribute for their legendary pioneer family member.
They found many more artifacts at the family home and donated most of them to the historical village’s collection.
“I'm really happy that we were able to find all this stuff. I wasn't familiar with all the things that were important to him,” said Mitchell. "I didn't always listen to all the stories because everything was just always there.
“Our family is so small that we are all in agreement that we like to see it here so everybody can enjoy it,” she added.
Her two daughters are G.W.’s great-great-great-grandchildren and proud of his legacy. Hailey has especially taken a keen interest in her family’s past, adding it’s vital that communities embrace it to ensure its longevity for future generations.
“In small communities a lot of the history gets kind of lost and hidden behind closed doors because a lot of it doesn't have a place to be donated,” said Hailey. “So, it's really great for people that may just be entering the town or have been here for a long time to know a bit more about the history of what this town has been built up from.”
