Couple’s trucking museum sold off

GRIMSHAW, Alta. — One of those small town museums chock full of local history and lore, the Mile Zero Museum of Grimshaw Alta., is no more.

The museum and its collection of photos, memorabilia, and antique trucks was sold at auction recently.

The museum was to be a retirement project for owners Fred and Bernice Lorenzen, but it soon turned into a full-time endeavor, and in the end proved a bit too much for the couple, now in their eighties.

Fred was a former trucker who helped build the Mackenzie Highway. His love for trucks and trucking led to a collection of more than a dozen trucks similar to the ones he drove while working in the highway — mostly K-Model Internationals and GMCs.

Bernice Lorenzen is an avid collector of stories and memorabilia. She put a lot of work into the couple’s other project, a 45-ft trailer converted to a traveling interpretive centre. At age 77, she has just written and self-published a book, People, Places, and Predicaments, detailing local lore.

The museum collection was sold off to buyers across Canada and the U.S., while the town of Grimshaw agreed to take the contents of the trailer and work it into its collection of artifacts.

Everything, it seems, has found a good home, and Fred and Bernice are finally enjoying a quieter and well-deserved "retirement." But don’t count on it.

 


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