BONNYVILLE – The legacy of a self-made man, known beyond the region for his entrepreneurial spirit and quality meat cuts, was recognized for his contributions to the community more than four decades after his passing.
Josephat Hamel (1906-1978), known as Joe, is the second recipient of Lakeland Credit Union’s legacy award, joining the late Victor Ringuette on the financial institution’s Wall of Distinction in both Bonnyville and Cold Lake.
Members of the Hamel family were on hand to receive the award on behalf of their father and pépère (grandfather) during an intimate ceremony held at Lakeland Credit Union’s (LCU) Bonnyville location, June 1.
“There are individuals who continually show their dedication and love for the community they live in through their leadership, their contributions, and their overall attitude towards giving back,” said Salman Arabi, chair of LCU board of directors. “We want to celebrate and honour those individuals, and the amazing impact they have.”
Last year, LCU established the Wall of Distinction to recognize inspiring members from the community – past and present – who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication to the communities in the Lakeland region.
Joe Hamel, the second inductee to the LCU Wall of Distinction was described as a pillar of the community, making Bonnyville and the surrounding area a vibrant place to live.
In 1929, Joe founded Hamel’s Meats and Slaughterhouse. He was also a founding member of the Lakeland Credit Union Board of Directors in 1940, formerly St. Louis Savings and Credit Union.
“Joe was also a part of a group that discovered a natural gas field within town limits that supplied the community with a convenient and stable source of natural gas and created jobs. Allowing Bonnyville to enter into a new stage of growth as an energy center,” continued Arabi.
The hard work and achievements garnered by Joe throughout his 72 years has carried onto the next generation. Joe and his wife Jeanne Norbert (1907-1994) had six children, five sons and one daughter.
In 1965, Joe sold Hamel’s Meat Market in Bonnyville to his two youngest sons Reginald and Joffre.
“We had 80 head of cattle between the two of us. So, my dad said, ‘I'll take the cattle and you guys can have the business’,” Joffre told Lakeland This Week, following the unveiling ceremony.
Now 81 years old, Joffre was just 22 when he took over the business with his brother, who would pass away shortly after in a drowning incident.
Through the continued labour of his children, Hamel’s Meat Shop in Bonnyville continued to thrive and a second location was opened in Cold Lake by Joe’s son Gaston in 1962.
Hamel Meats in Cold Lake was later passed down from Gaston to his sons Greg and Rob Hamel, Joe’s grandsons. The fourth generation is now preparing to take over the operations of the family business with Joe’s great-grandsons Gabriel, Jacob and Andrew getting ready to take the reins.
Arabi noted, “The families in both communities have continued the Hamel tradition of giving back to the community through fundraising and donations, supporting charities, sports clubs and many more [organizations] for close to 100 years.”
The legacy award ceremony was an important way to celebrate a gentleman who helped build the Bonnyville community, shared Arabi. “He will not be forgotten.”
Moving forward, Lakeland Credit Union will open nominations for inductees in the fall and each spring a recipient will be chosen by the board of directors.
“This wall stands as a permanent representation of our commitment to our communities and to our members,” said Arabi.
A self-made man
When Joffre first learned that his father was chosen to be LCU’s legacy award recipient earlier this year, he thought it a bit odd so many years after his father’s passing.
“It had never crossed my mind,” he acknowledged. “But I started going back over the history and remembered some of the things that he told me and taught me. He lived by example – he worked hard. Then all of a sudden, I thought well, why not my dad? He was tough, he was honest. He respected people, but if he had an opinion, he would say it.”
Joffre described his father as a hard-working self-made man who was community minded throughout his entire life.
Pinpointing what he believed was his father’s greatest contribution to the community was a bit of a challenge, admitted Joffre.
“My dad had a lifetime of contributions to the community,” he said. “He was a Town councillor for more than 30 years. He was a founder of the Bonnyville Gas Company. My dad was busy all the time.”
However, there were three things that Joe prioritized above all else, said his son, “It was family. It was church, and it was French.”
After 56 years of running Hamel’s Meat Market in Bonnyville, Joffre retired from the business after selling the operations to new owners in 2020.
