W.A. (Bill) Philpott (1882-1956) and his wife Mary, arrived in the Brooks area from England in 1912. Bill came to Canada to work with the Duke of Sutherland, to break new farm land in the Brooks area.  

 

Later that year, Bill’s brother Harry Philpott (1888-1956) travelled to Brooks for a visit and to help his brother.  Harry had previously served in the cavalry during the Boer War in South Africa.  When war broke out in 1914, Harry returned to England, joined the army and served in the motorized division.  While in England, Harry met and married his wife Elsie in 1917, before returning to Canada again.  Harry and Elsie made a homestead at Steveville for a few months before returning to Brooks.

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Bill and Harry Philpott did have other jobs; Bill was the head carpenter for the C.P.R., and Harry was a mechanic. But both brothers started keeping bees about 1919. For a time, Harry operated Morgan Bees with a business partner, but later he went into business for himself. Bill and Harry had two separate businesses and separate identical buildings next door to each other. But they bought and sold together and were called Philpott Bros., later to be called Philpott Honey Alberta Queen Honey. 

 

The original location of the honey houses would be where the center of Brooks is now, on the corner of 5th Avenue and 1st Street West.  In about 1952, they moved the business out to the edge of town, to the end of Fairview Avenue. 

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