Continued Progress

The 1920's brought dramatic changes to the small community. Gas lanterns lit the concrete sidewalks. Church congregations were growing, businesses were booming, and it seemed that there was no limit to how much the fertile land could yield. The advent of automobiles demanded better roads, and progress also brought with it telephone service, schools and a hospital. The depression in the 1930's only served as a lull in Altona's rapid growth. Low wheat prices forced area farmers to seek out alternative crops, and soon Altona began to achieve its reputation as the "Sunflower Capital" of Canada.

The postwar years saw Altona in the midst of a baby boom, swelling its population to 2000 by 1960. Times were changing. Area crops became more diversified, farming techniques more refined. Older structures began to silently disappear, replaced by modern visionary projects like the Centennial Park, the Altona Mall and most recently, the Millennium Project.

The Altona of today bears little resemblance to its original namesake. Modern facilities and computer technology are now an assumed aspect of daily life. The small, sleepy hamlet crawled from the 19th century, stood up and walked through the 20th, and breaks forth running into the 21st. Humbly mindful of its roots, clinging to the past, and yet still reaching strongly for the future.