Archief 0112 - Croken Family fonds

Patrick Vincent (Patty) and Gregory Rudoph (Rudy) Croken were born in Emerald, Prince Edward Island. In 1916 they made their first trip into the Peace Country, bringing cattle and machinery up to Bezanson, where they hoped to farm.
Patrick bought his first store in the Bezanson town site from Peterson and McDonald—a big two-storey building with 12 rooms upstairs and a store downstairs. It was the beginning of a long career in the store and hotel business.
When the railway went to Peace River instead of through Bezanson, Patrick and Rudolph sold the store and their cattle and moved back to Winnipeg. Patty married Rose Desiree Fromont of Belgium in Grande Prairie 1919. In 1923, Patty and Rose (known as Daisy) returned to the Peace River Country and rented a store in Grande Prairie, calling it the P.V. Croken General Store. Rudy Croken also returned to work as a U.G.G. grain elevator agent in Clairmont. He married Jennie Tomshak, and in 1954 the couple later built a home on 105 Avenue in Grande Prairie.
Patrick and Daisy had one son, also named Patrick, who received his education in Grande Prairie, and worked as a draftsman in Edmonton. Rudy and Jennie had three sons, Eugene, Dennis and John and one daughter, Betty.