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P02132 – Muth & Sons in the 1950’s.

P05154 – Walter Muth circa 1960.

Muth and Son's

Ralph and Bertha Muth moved to Albion in 1944 with their sons Walter and Fred, and their daughter Elnora with her new husband Bruce McEachern.

Elnora and Bruce were married in the summer of 1944, and after a few years of earning their living through fishing on the high seas, the couple opened Bruce’s Market, now a well known feature in Albion.

The family purchased a 17 acre farm at the corner of what is now 240th Street [formerly 17th Ave.] and Lougheed Highway. The farm originally included: four long chicken houses, numerous brooder houses, 400 chickens, a cow and horse barn and a pig sty. The farm had two houses, a larger farmhouse that Bertha and Ralph moved into with their two sons, while the small three-room caretaker’s cabin became the home of Elnora and Bruce.

Ralph opened the first of his garages in one of the chicken houses. Later on, he constructed a real garage on the corner of his property. A Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News article from 1996 notes that “there have been several different buildings for R. Muth and & Sons Ltd. as the business has grown during the past 50 years.”

Ralph Muth passed away October 2, 1962 at the age of 76. Ralph lived in Albion for 17 years and most definitely made his mark on the community.

A few years later, in January of 1966, the garage, service station and machine shop moved to a new cement built structure. The building that they were previously using, a frame building at the corner of 17th Avenue and Lougheed Highway, was then removed.

Over time, the store changed hands, but did not wander away from the family—rather, Ralph’s grandson Gord has taken over. Another family member, David Muth, is considered the shop’s “resident water pump expert.”

Now, the shop repairs lawn tractors and other outdoor power equipment.

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