Stan Reynolds is a successful businessman and dedicated collector who’s generous contributions to the province have helped to preserve Alberta’s aviation, transportation, industrial and agricultural heritage. 

Stanley George Reynolds was born in Wetaskiwin, Alberta in 1923. He inherited his love of collecting from his father, Ted Reynolds, a pilot and collector.

“My father, Edward Reynolds, was something of a collector.  When he died in 1966 he still had possession of the first car he owned.  It was a 1905 Oldsmobile and it is on display in the main gallery. In 1928, he purchased a 1918 Curtis Canuck biplane which is on display in the main entrance hall.”   

(second from right)

In 1945, Mr. Reynolds was discharged from the air force and returned to Wetaskiwin, where he started his own business selling used cars. He built this business into one of the most successful automotive dealerships in Alberta and led the development of Wetaskiwin into a major automotive sales centre. 

With a rapidly growing business, Stan Reynolds expanded his operations and began selling new and used cars, trucks, farm machinery, industrial equipment, horse trailers and airplanes.

Recognizing the growing importance of air transportation, he built the Wetaskiwin Airport and operated the facility until he transferred it to the city and county of Wetaskiwin in 1969. The airport attracted a number of aviation companies that continue to operate in the city. Stan Reynolds also served the people of Wetaskiwin as an alderman from 1952 to 1960.

During the late 1940s, after his business had grown, Mr. Reynolds was able to pursue his interest in collecting antique cars. His first acquisition was a 1911 Overland touring car, which he accepted as a trade-in and decided not to sell. Becoming concerned that Alberta was losing a vital part of its heritage, Mr. Reynolds extended his collection to include tractors, steam engines and airplanes. 

“The first antique car I received was a 1911 Overland Touring Car.  It was traded in on a 1947 Monarch Sedan. This car is the first car on display in the main entrance hall." 

Soon after I took on trade a Taylorcraft airplane that was dismantled and stored in a barn in Calgary.  When we went into the barn to pick up the airplane we noticed a 1912 Locomobile touring car partly covered with hay.  We purchased the Locomobile from the lady that owned the car and it is now in display in the main gallery.  The original owner of the Locomobile told us it was the first car to arrive in Alberta with electric lights…

"…At the entrance by the driveway to this museum you will see a 1910 Avery undermounted steam traction engine.  This steamer was located in the bush near a farm in a remote location in northeast Saskatchewan.  When the word got out that it was available the roads to the farm were snowed in and you could not drive to the farm.  I took an airplane and flew out to the location of the steamer, flew over it several times inspecting it from the air then landed the plane in the snow near the owner’s house.  I purchased the steam engine and a Mogul tractor and an Eagle tractor from the farmer.

After I finished dealing with the farmer I wasn’t able to take off in the airplane as it was on wheels and the snow was over one foot deep.  I hired the neighbor with his tractor with loader to plow a strip in the snow and was able to take off.  During the summer we sold a late model D7 Caterpillar tractor to a contractor in Manitoba.  During the trip to Manitoba our truck driver stopped at the farm near the steamer, unloaded the Caterpillar tractor, drove it to the steamer and towed the steam engine across a creek and out of the bush and into the farm yard.  The truck driver reloaded the D7 Caterpillar, delivered it to Manitoba and picked up the Avery on the return trip…

…One time I landed at a farm in Alberta and gave the farmer an offer for his tractor.  He said “Stan Reynolds offered me more than that!”

In 1981, Mr. Reynolds made a substantial donation to the province that included 850 important artifacts. This generous gift was the foundation for a new public facility operated by the government of Alberta that opened in 1992. It was named the Reynolds-Alberta Museum to recognize the Reynolds family. 

Mr. Reynolds has given additional gifts to the museum over the years and in 1999 made a second major donation of 60 historic aircraft, the largest and most significant collection in Canada outside of the National Aviation Museum.   

Mr. Reynolds has received many honours, including a Heritage Canada Foundation Community Service Award in 1980 for heritage preservation and a Reilly Award from the Alberta Aviation Council in 1987 for his remarkable contributions to aviation in the province. The Wetaskiwin Chamber of Commerce named him Citizen of the Year in 1986 and in 1999 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.

Stan Reynolds continues to make contributions to the Reynolds-Alberta Museum and offers guidance to the facility as a founding member of its advisory board. He remains active in his various businesses and continues to collect, restore and preserve important artifacts. His brother Bert lives in Kelowna, British Columbia, while Stan Reynolds and his three daughters – Susan, Judith and Dianne – live in Wetaskiwin.

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* Mr. Reynolds received the Alberta Order of Excellence in 1999. This biography has been excerpted from the program of that induction ceremony.