Featured Photograph: First Wedding in McQueen Presbyterian, 1918 (SPRA 1986.24.1)
Love is in the air. This weekend, hundreds of brides-to-be from around the South Peace flocked to Entrec Centre for the “Ultimate Wedding Show.” The annual event brings together local wedding vendors and engaged couples, looking to make the most of their big day. Here at the South Peace Regional Archives, we are preparing for wedding season in our own way – by composing the latest issue of Telling Our Stories!
The March issue of Telling Our Stories will reflect on weddings and wedding traditions throughout the history of the South Peace. The Archives is currently seeking photographs or stories from weddings in the McQueen Presbyterian Church, preserved in the Grande Prairie Museum Heritage Village. The McQueen Presbyterian was the first Protestant Church to be erected in Grande Prairie. It was founded by Rev. Alexander Forbes in 1911 and served until 1925. Gertrude (Trudy) Bezanson and Herb Mattinson were the first couple to wed in the McQueen Presbyterian Church on June 18, 1919. Gertrude later reminisced that “the wedding was the talk of the town for years” (DHT, 20 June 1986).
The McQueen Presbyterian Church continues to serve as a wedding venue in its current location in the Grande Prairie Museum’s Heritage Village. Each year, approximately 8 couples say their “I do”s in the historic Church during the months of June, July, August & September. We would like to hear from couples who married in the McQueen Presbyterian Church – at any time during its history! Your stories and photographs could add to a long history of joyous nuptials in this historic Church. If your photograph(s) are chosen for our March issue, you will receive a complimentary one-year subscription to Telling Our Stories for you or a friend.
Contact Director@SouthPeaceArchives.org for further information.
McQueen Presbyterian Church (SPRA 1969.39.960.06)