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Innisfree Prairie Bank of Commerce Museum Historical Society Hosts Fundraiser
Innisfree Prairie Bank of Commerce Museum Historical Society Hosts Fundraiser
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
The Innisfree Prairie Bank of Commerce Museum Historical Society hosted its first annual Labour Day Pancake Breakfast on Sept. 3 at the Innisfree Recreation Centre.
Historical Society President Jennifer Johnson was pleased with the turnout as more than 80 people took in the fundraiser. Johnson and a small group of volunteers are trying to keep the museum viable and are planning more fundraisers in the future to assist with ongoing operational costs.
Two big ticket items that need to be replaced include the museum’s boiler and asphalt shingles. “Those are some of the main projects, and we will be working with the village to get quotes,” noted Johnson.
The Prairie Bank of Commerce is believed to be one of only a few former CIBC’s left on the prairies. It is one of 360 sites in Alberta that have the provincial historic resource designation. The impressive two and a half storey building on the corner of 52 Street and 50th Ave gained a lot of attention and notoriety with the filming of the movie Cut Bank, an American thriller whose storyline is based in Cut Bank, Montana. The movie starred John Malkovich, Liam Hemsworth and Billy Bob Thornton. It was released in 2014.
Back in 1906 the Bank of Commerce building arrived by train, and upon completion, was used as a template for other Prairie Branches of the Canadian Bank of Commerce in the West.
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce donated the building to the Innisfree Prairie Bank of Commerce Historical Society on May 27, 1997 following close to 90 years in operation.
