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McAlister Garage  

If a building can have lives, then McAlister Motors Garage has had many.

In 1932, Bert McAlister purchased the land on Railway Ave. where McAlister Motors now sits.  The same year, he purchased and moved the "Fraser's Men's Wear Shop" building (left front section of building) from its Main Street location to the land.  This was the start of McAlister Motors, a garage and Ford dealership.  Owing to the need for more space, in 1933 Bert bought another vacant building (left rear of building) and moved it onto his property behind the existing structure.  He then built between the two using scarce depression era materials.  Finally, in 1938, Bert hired a contractor to expand his business space resulting in the largest addition, the arched portion of the structure (right section of building).

By 1954, Bert had moved to Stettler to start a new car dealership but still retained control of McAlister Motors in Big Valley.  Over the years, the building continued to be used as a garage and then as a base for a trucking firm.

The Big Valley Historical Society purchased the property from Bert in 1993 at a cost of $6,000.  The society's intention was to use the structure as exhibit space for machinery/automotive artifacts and as the main museum office. 

Now, McAlister Motors is about to start its newest life.  The original parts of the building were not salvageable and were removed.   A new addition was added in its place and made to resemble the style of the old structure.  This new part now houses our main museum displays and archival area.    In the summer of 2006 we opened it for viewing and in the winter of 2006 installed a heating system.  The arched part of the building  has been renovated to fix the leaky roof and improve the sagging walls.   It now houses some of our antique cars and tractors.  We just received a Model T on loan from the Red Deer car club, and our rare Gray Dort is quite an attraction.  The society is pleased to have breathed new life into this long time Big Valley landmark.