Celebrate our past

District residents have a unique opportunity this week to literally see our past come to life with the arrival of the David Thompson Brigade—a group of 160 modern-day voyageurs paddling 16 25-foot north canoes from Rocky Mountain House in Alberta to Old Fort William at Thunder Bay.
The brigade was scheduled to arrive in Rainy River today (Wednesday), then be in Emo tomorrow before heading upstream to Fort Frances on Friday, where their welcome at Pither’s Point Park will coincide with this year’s “Relay for Life” event.
Commemorating the 200th anniversary of explorer and map-maker David Thompson’s historic 1808 journey to Fort William to announce his discovery of Howse Pass in the Rockies, the trek offers those of us living in the 21st century a renewed appreciation of a history that’s sadly fading away with each passing generation.
We’ve forgotten—as we zip along Highway 11 in our SUVs or cruise to cabins dotting Rainy Lake in bigger and bigger boats—how the fur trade opened the door to waves of pioneering settlers and lumber barons, and then how their hardships paved the way so we can enjoy a comfortable life here today.
Just how proud are we of our past if we don’t even have a fort here anymore?
As Times’ publisher Jim Cumming noted in his weekly column, the exploits of David Thompson—and countless others—were just as great as, say, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, and Lewis and Clark, but they certainly aren’t the stuff of legends in the minds of Canadians as their American counterparts are south of the border.
The Thompson Brigade won’t change that, but hopefully their aim to rekindle interest in our rich history is achieved as they pass through Rainy River District over the next three days.
After all, keeping our past alive just may encourage future visitors to our area.