On our way to visit our granddaughters in Calgary we cross the Prairies in almost a day. We notice the road signs announcing places like Whitewood, Grenfell, Gull Lake, Kindersley, Wynard Saskatchewan. We don’t stop, but whether visiting relatives in Saskatoon, we ended up at the Biggar Hospital with my sister.
My brother and I climbed over the old thrashing machines, and tractors on my father’s uncle’s farm that sat rusting in a field. We didn’t pay any attention to the community except that the water on the farm was undrinkable. It has only been more recently that I have noticed the spring crop greens coming out of the ground with that welcoming green color. And later in July the miles and miles of Canola yellow that glowed as far as the eye could see in any direction and the amazing blue flowers of flax. In the fall, watching the combines raise dust far off and the grain trucks delivering those precious Canadian grain crops to the elevators.
The signs along the trans-Canada direct you to the turns you make to reach the communities. You only actually drive through only a few. I have wondered about those communities and the people that live in them.
But I have a better understanding of the vitality of those small communities that dot the maps of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Judging newspapers from both provinces has given me a glimpse into what continues to keep the communities alive.
The papers I am judging now from Saskatchewan are delivered to fewer than eight hundred households. They are full of information that continues to tell the stories of the people and activities of their communities. The news is all locally generated, and the important lesson is that the information in those papers is of vital importance to their readers.
In Wynard, the Co-op gas station in a campaign called “Fuel Good Days” was giving back to charitable groups in the community a portion of the fuel sold on that day.
The Kinsmen Club had planted 640 acres of Canola and after harvest gave the proceeds to community groups.
I had forgotten about the influence of Ukraine on the western provinces. I should not have with our Ukrainian community in Fort Frances. There was a time when parents wanted their children to retain their Ukrainian Heritage. Young Ukrainian children would attend Ukrainian school to learn the language and learn of the culture and dancing. Many of my friends growing up were impressive Ukrainian dancers. Today many of those prairie communities retain their Ukrainian Heritage and community dance troops travel across the province in their traditional ethnic costumes and compete throughout the summer. That heritage is alive and thriving across western Canada.
We in the district continue to enjoy the benefits of our small town heritages and sense of community that enriches our lives. And maybe someone passing through Rainy River, or Emo, or Nestor Falls or Atikokan will take that extra time to discover what makes the community so special to those living in it.
