WHO WE ARE

Our History

Plans started in the late 70’s to build a community hall. The first official meeting of the Cluculz Lake Community Recreation Association (CLCRA) was held on February 18, 1985 in the home of Gordon and Ann Meeks. Members of the community banded together to form a group to ensure that the people in the Cluculz Lake community would always have a voice. They formed the association and registered it as such on June 25, 1985.

In 1985 the CLCRA applied to the then Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing for a license to use approximately 5 hectares of Crown Land near the intersection of Hwy 16 and Lund to build a community hall and a fire hall. The License of Occupation was issued to CLCRA in 1985. However, some zoning modifications had to be made.

In the meantime, money was needed before even thinking of building a community hall, ball diamonds or a fire hall. The CLCRA held bake sales, garage sales, canoe races on the creek and yard sales at the Lakeside Resort owned by Eli and Adaline Iantkow. There was a Halloween dance and a Christmas bazaar. At the end of 1985 there was also a small profit.

In 1986, the group doubled their fundraising efforts using members’ homes and the Lakeside Resort to host events such as Easter Egg Hunts, raffles and bazaars, Mother’s Day and Father’s day breakfasts. But by far the three biggest fund raisers that year were the Vanderhoof Airshow concession, the logging to the leased land and the Fall Fair.

CLCRA obtained a permit to run a concession out of one of the hangers at the Vanderhoof Airport. Members loaded up, fridges, grills and tables and fed in the vicinity of 4,000 people in one day. It was a huge financial success for the struggling organization.

The lot leased to the CLCRA had to be cleared. A permit was obtained and logging commenced with the help of Jim Roy. This again filled the coffers. The Martinsen brothers helped with building the Community Hall.  In the fall of 1986, the first Fall Fair was held in a tent on the newly cleared lot. The CLCRA closed the year out with a bang.

1987 saw pony races added to the ever-growing imaginative ways to raise money toward building a community hall. More logging and another airshow followed. That year, the second Fall Fair had a building.  Pat Keyowski generously donated a frame of a building (later to become his barn) for the fair’s purposes. A little bit of plastic wrap and – voila – a home for the fair.

These snippets of the past have been obtained by talking to some of the people that remain from those pioneer days. Ron and Janice Atkins are two such people. With the funds raised over the years and some grant money, the building of the hall itself was started in 1988 and continued to 1989. The Fall Fair became a raging success and was, in its day, the best and biggest fair around. It continued on until 2004.     Locals such as Holly Iantkow Keyowski, Ida Cutler and Marion Switzer were just a few who played a big part of organizing the Fall Fair for the community and getting it started. They had vendors, contests, baking, craft and farming entries.

In 1997, George Garbutt started the Cluculz Lake Bluegrass Festival. That project came together annually for 12 years. Later on Marlene Bernier organized the Cluculz Lake Jamboree which was well attended into 2023. Other forms of fund raising continued with events such as suppers, church services, dances and many other social events.

The hall met its 30 year anniversary in 2018 and has continued to witness many events. It was also used for a base for the Cluculz lake Volunteer Fire Department until they got the new Fire Hall in 2022.  Some people in this community have seen it here all their lives. It has become so much a part of the landscape sometimes we take it for granted. It’s been renovated numerous times and now once again has been refurbished to bring joy to another generation at Cluculz Lake.

Our PURPOSE

The purposes of the society are:

• To plan, develop, initiate and promote recreational resources and activities appropriate for residents of a rural community.

• To support the provision of services that provide security and protection for the people and property in the community.

• To encourage the ongoing sustainability of the natural environment of the lake, waterways and surrounding woodlands in the community.

• To encourage and facilitate a sense of community spirit amongst the residents of the Cluculz Lake community.

What We've Achieved