The Newcastle station, one of six stations which will be located along the Rails to Trails pathway network throughout the Drumheller Valley, has been sponsored by Newcastle residents Wayne and Donna Powell and their family.
Sponsoring the station was important for the family as Wayne grew up in Newcastle, and the station will not only honour and commemorate his own personal family history, but also the rich history and spirit of the Newcastle community.
“Newcastle is in my heart, and I wanted to sort of honour my family who were pioneers,” Wayne says of the decision to sponsor the station.
Wayne adds this was an opportunity for him and his family to give back to the community.
He shares his family has a history connected to the coal mines, his own father having started working in the mines at the age of 14, and his maternal grandmother, Victoria Volney, moved to Newcastle around 1920 from Coleman after she was widowed. Victoria became a pioneer in the community, running a grocery store not far from the tracks to support herself and her five children, and earned a reputation for her kindness and generosity towards transients who would hop off the trains as they passed through Drumheller.
In fact, Wayne points out you can see Grandma Volney’s home on Newcastle Trail from the station’s proposed location near the entrance to the community on 12 Street SW, just off South Railway Avenue/Highway 575.
While honouring his family’s history was important, Donna and Wayne share they are hopeful the rich history of the Newcastle community will also be incorporated into the station. Although Donna did not grow up in Drumheller, she says she is hopeful to see the community booming as it once did, with residents and tourists alike enjoying Newcastle Beach, and the Rails to Trails pathways.
Wayne says he has been in communication with the Newcastle Community Association about ways to incorporate the Newcastle community history and its pioneers into the station, and also the community’s vision for the future.
“This is an idea that we the people will get to use-of course, the tourists are going to come, and they’re going to love it, but we get to love it, too,” he says.
