A piece of High Prairie’s history was demolished July 5 when Richards Lumber was torn down by Alder Ridge Excavating’s Mike Jones and his crew. Starting from the top photo, demolition occurs on the north end of the building – the last piece of the building to go. The bottom photo shows Janis Richards with Jones. Richards Lumber opened in 1958 and closed Oct. 31, 2015. At the time, it was the town’s longest owned family business. Stan Richards and Bob Richards opened the store in 1958. The two first opened a store in Athabasca, then High Prairie. They chose High Prairie in a unique way. They researched the sale of postage stamps in various communities in 1957. High Prairie sales were high so it was decided the town was thriving and they decided to open. Shortly after, they brought over two German carpenters: Willi Bose and Helmut Bose. Willi was a fixture at the store for decades. It was often cited by the Richards family that Willi was the best manager they ever had. Janis Richards says it was indeed a sad day of the demolition, citing so many stories, so many good employees, so many friendships, and so many memories. The final blow came when oil prices crashed in 2015. “We looked at the big picture,” says Janis Richards. “If we can’t make it in summer, we can’t in winter” so the decision was made to close. So ends another era in High Prairie’s history.
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