History By Timeline

In the early 1950s, parents of handicapped children in the Grande Prairie area were faced with the prospect of raising their children in isolation, with very little information and virtually no support in terms of education and community resources.

In the early 1950s two pioneers in the history of the Association, Sadie Edgar and Bill Campbell, organized the Association for Retarded Children. The Association applied for federal registration and was approved as a charitable organization. Mrs. Edgar and Mr. Campbell were instrumental in making the Peace School of Hope a reality for the handicapped children in the Grande Prairie area. The school opened in the basement of the Masonic Hall, a space that was donated and, without which, the school would not have been possible. The first teachers were a group of dedicated volunteers who ran the school as best they could with the few resources available to them at the time.

As the Peace School of Hope became established in Grande Prairie, residential accommodation for its students became necessary. Increasing numbers of students were attending from surrounding communities and in 1962 Barrydale Dormitory, a twenty-bed residence for children, was built beside the school.

In the early 1970s the philosophy of integration became a topic of discussion provincially in Alberta. The Association began to look for ways to integrate disabled children in to regular classrooms. Students from the segregated Peace School of Hope moved into the Public School System for the first time. The move was very controversial, with opposition from teachers and parents alike.

Swan Industries began in 1973 as a small woodshop designed to meet the employment needs of the maturing students from the Peace School of Hope. One of its major community supports came from Bert Tieman, who was known to some as the “Father of the Association.” The woodshop ran out of the Association offices, producing hobby product such as picnic tables and ceramics.

New Generations is a second hand retail store that has been serving Grande Prairie and area since the early 1980s. In 1985 New Generations branched out to include Daisyfresh Diaper Service, which operated until 1999.

In the 1970’s and ‘80’s, day time services to persons with developmental disabilities were of two types. “Vocational”, aimed at teaching work skills, and “Pre-Vocational”, which aimed at teaching fundamental, underlying skills needed to work.

Both approaches rested on the belief that the basic value of a day program was for a person to achieve a paying job. A job is, in our culture, seen as a fundamental definition of self worth and having a “normal” life. Whether it “fit” as a sensible objective for the individual or not, was secondary.

Recycle Plus operates a regional recycling program based out of Grande Prairie, currently serving 58 communities in an area exceeding 200,000 square kilometers. In fact it serves the largest regional geographical area in the world using an igloo type drop off depot system. Recycle Plus provides services to communities with populations as small as 250 to a municipality with a population as large as 45,000. This program secures five-year contracts with the individual communities in order to achieve long term sustainability. The program has seen continuous growth in both the numbers of communities it serves and the material diverted from landfills in its 11 years of operation. Recycle Plus employs on average throughout the year about 38 employees and 5 of which have developmental disabilities.

Recycle Plus operates a regional recycling program based out of Grande Prairie, currently serving 58 communities in an area exceeding 200,000 square kilometers. In fact it serves the largest regional geographical area in the world using an igloo type drop off depot system. Recycle Plus provides services to communities with populations as small as 250 to a municipality with a population as large as 45,000. This program secures five-year contracts with the individual communities in order to achieve long term sustainability. The program has seen continuous growth in both the numbers of communities it serves and the material diverted from landfills in its 11 years of operation. Recycle Plus employs on average throughout the year about 38 employees and 5 of which have developmental disabilities.