It wasn’t until 1957 that Thanksgiving became a permanent holiday in Canada. Yet Thanksgiving had been celebrated from as early as Sir Simon Frobisher celebration in 1578 after landing on Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island after losing a ship in the search of the Northwest Passage. They gave thanks for their safe landing. It was far earlier than the celebration of the pilgrims in the United States. Indigenous peoples around the world have had traditional Fall harvest celebrations.
As I look out from our kitchen window this Monday afternoon, I can’t help but think of all the things to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving weekend. When I was growing up seldom did we ever see a Bald Eagle soar across Rainy Lake, or a Great Blue Heron gently lower itself into the water of our beach and remain still as a statue waiting to catch a single minnow that might swim between its pencil thin legs. But through conservation and banning some chemicals, we have seen the return of those two species to all parts of the lake. So is the return of loons and the pair that nest out front on a spit of rock and every year produces one or two offspring. It is something to be thankful for.
The walleye fishery on Rainy Lake had virtually disappeared in the 1970’s. Yet through tougher regulations and sanctuary areas, the species has returned to new levels. The rules may have been painful, but the results are bearing results. It is something to be thankful for.
Growing up on Third Street, with only bush growing up from once was the Shevlin Clark Sawmill wood yard, we never ever saw a deer in the neighborhood. Today herds of deer now roam freely through Fort Frances. I witnessed an hours old fawn, nestled beneath my cedar hedge this past spring. It is the third time a doe has dropped her fawn in the yard. It was a wonderment, and yet for the balance of the year I do everything possible to discourage the deer in my yard. They are a nuisance, yet I must admire them for adapting to urban life.
When our district hospitals need financial support to acquire new equipment, district residents reach down into their pockets to fund those acquisitions. I am reminded of how quickly the funding for the imaging equipment occurred this past year and how the district continues to support the Riverside Foundation, the LaVerendrye Hospital Auxiliary. Emo Hospital Auxiliary and the Rainy River Auxiliary. We must be thankful for the generosity of the citizens of the district. Modern equipped hospitals make it easier to attract doctors to our communities.
I smile with a sense of pride at the Campus of Seven Gens Education Institute on the Couchiching reserve. It is a far-sighted look to the future to have a post-secondary facility joining with Confederation College in our area. Together they are bringing more educational opportunities to the district.
As I look around and see the changes in my lifetime, I realize how fortunate we are to live in the Rainy River District and give thanks for our life here.
