A.C. Tetachuk trucking was founded by Alec Tetachuk, who is described by his family as a man with many irons in the fire and a pioneering spirit, which lives on as the family marked the company's 90th anniversary this year.

Holly Tarasoff carries on the business and legacy of her late family members with the hard work of her husband Eugene driving truck, and children Sheldon, Brandon, Taralee and Chanice Tarasoff.

The trucking company is truly a family affair with Brandon's Kenworth on the road in addition to his welding experience, Sheldon as the mechanic of the family, and the rest of the siblings supporting where they can.

Along with spotting their two truck fleet along the highway, most may associate the family name with the historic landmark shop "Alec's Auto Service" along the No. 2A Highway overlooking the village, which was run alongside the trucking company.

According to the family's collected history, Alec's service station was first built in Cayley in 1937, where he purchased the old bank building and then converted it into the service station.

A fire later burnt down the building, and the new shop was built along the highway, which opened in 1944.

Alec's daughter Holly says there was also a coffee shop built on the corner which served truckers travelling along what was the main highway in those days.

She says her father was the second person in Alberta to own a cattle liner.

However, his loads weren't limited to cattle, as the family says he also hauled lumped coal, gasoline by the barrel, grain and hogs.

In a quote collected in the family's archives, Alec said, "I loved my life in trucking. I liked driving around meeting people and seeing the country."

On their website, the family says Eugene and the drivers still work out of the original service station that Alec built in the forties, although the equipment has all been updated.

When looking at the business' 90-year rich history in the community, Holly says it's always been family first.

"It's about family because they're gone, but we would never have met this without our clientele, without the loyal people who are hiring us."

She adds some of the people they serve today were clients of Alec and her brother Carl who have since passed.

"That's all that's left of Tetachuk is what's one the road," Holly said. "To me, to shut the trucks down is just shutting their memories down."

The family has also put a lot of work into preserving the old service shop, which even suffered a fire in April 2017. 

The shop continues to attract the attention of filmmakers, making appearances in commercials, music videos and movies over the last number of years.

Holly and her daughter Chanice both joke the shop is mostly used in "creepy" movies, pointing to one of the most recent films to use the shop as a set called, "In the Tall Grass."

Chanice has spent countless hours collecting the family history to be posted to the A.C. Tetachuk Trucking website to share with the community.

She says the experience has been a great way to learn about her family and preserve their memory by digging through old photos and articles.

"I think my favourite thing is when you met somebody in the community and they can tell you a story about Grandpa, or Grandma (Joyce), or my Uncle (Carl) that kind of makes it close to home, and then you have that connection with the people that you didn't know."

With the new advancements in technology and safety regulations, Chanice says her mother does a great job keeping up with the times when running the business while maintaining Alec's vision and values.

She says the trucks going down the road today are a tribute. 

A 90th Anniversary Celebration was held at the shop last August to show their appreciation to their customers and neighbours. 

Holly hopes her children will keep Tetachuk on the road serving the community in the years to come.