When Deloraine was developing its international flag display, Nygard donated money and thousands of t-shirts for sale to help with the park development in the old CPR yard in the middle of town. It was named after him and he attended the grand opening in 2002, hosting a fashion show.
However, the fashion icon has often been followed by controversy. Part of this was from his business dealings and tax concerns. More serious allegations came up in 2019 and 2020 regarding sexual assault, including underage victims, and sex trafficking. He stepped down as head of Nygard International in February after the FBI and NYPD raided his New York headquarters.
Weidenhamer said they took their time, deciding what was the right move for them to make. He said council and the community did not want to get too involved in all that was going on, and made sure they had “all of their i’s dotted and t’s crossed” when it came to the legal aspects.
They were helped by a municipal policy in regards to naming rights. If donations are made, and places are named after donors, it can be revisited after 10 years. This allowed them to make the decisions they felt they had to make.
“We wanted something everyone was happy with.”
Weidenhamer said it was too bad the Nygard situation went sideways.
“It was a real rags to riches story,” he stated. “It was really good for everyone at the time. I’m really sorry to see it balloon into what it has become. It was a really good Canadian immigrant story.”
Of course, everyone wanted to keep the park up and open. Weidenhamer said council turned the issue over to the newly created Heritage Committee to come up with a new name. From this came Prairie Sentinel Park. The idea is to honour the ‘prairie sentinels’, or grain elevators, which are so much a part of rural history in Manitoba. It was an idea everyone liked.
“It is a new start and it was time for something new. It is something everyone is excited about.”
They will be taking down the old signage and removing the old literature, and be replacing them with the newer versions. Apart from the existing flags of the world, they will be trying to connect the park with the history of the area. Weidenhamer said he was not sure when it would all take place, but likely would be planned over the winter and developed in the spring.
He added a big takeaway for their community and others is to make sure there is always a time limit placed on naming rights, so they can deal with any situation that comes up. Right now, Deloraine-Winchester is looking forward to moving forward to the future.
“To be quite honest, we just want to put a positive spin on this,” the reeve explained. “We want to be positive and have a fresh start, to put the past in the past.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff