If there’s one thing people have learned in 2020, it’s how to adapt to new and changing situations due to the pandemic. Remembrance Day is no exception. The usual services and programs in the schools and communities have been either cancelled all together or adapted.
Community services:
The Deloraine Legion will host a community service, but it will be a pared-down version. The short service will be held outside by the cenotaph outside of the Legion clubhouse at approximately 10:45am. There will be no singing, no remembrance roll call and no luncheon. Community members are welcome to attend but they must social distance themselves on the street.
Residents and visitors to personal care homes in the region will be seeing some changes very soon.
New visitor pods have already appeared in Deloraine and will soon be functional. The idea is for the structures to be an avenue for care home residents to visit loved ones during flu season and the pandemic.
“Visitor structures are designed to enable a single Personal Care Home (PCH) resident to visit up to five individuals at one time,” explained Prairie Mountain Health CEO Penny Gilson, “however, actual number of visitors will be determined by individual PCHs in accordance with screening and safety at the time of the visit.”
She added visits are required to be scheduled to allow structured access to the room and sufficient time for cleaning and room turnover between visits.
It’s a small world after all. Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Mark Pazdzior’s talent and expertise are in demand locally, nationally and internationally.
Pazdzior, a resident of Deloraine, owns and operates Border Aircraft Maintenance Ltd. at the Deloraine Municipal Airport.
In July, Pelita Air Service of Indonesia requested Pazdzior for training, to have its aircraft engineers validated to carry out maintenance towards the Air Tractor 802 FuelBoss. Theoretical training was carried out in Jakarta and the practical training occurred in Tarakan off Borneo, Indonesia. The training is part of the Indonesian National Strategic Program. The goal is to assist in attaining a countrywide same price for fuel program, whether fuel is purchased in populous cities or remote villages in Papua, Indonesia.
Another important piece of Boissevain history has now passed.
Jack Douglas Houston passed away in Kelowna, BC on Tuesday, October 13. Long a part of the Boissevain community, known for his service to the town in many capacities, he will be missed by those who remember his broad smile and friendly manner.
Houston was born to Doug and Ethel Houston on May 23, 1936 in Bowsman, Manitoba. The Houston’s moved to Boissevain in 1945, where Jack finished his secondary education before moving on to study pharmacy at the University of Manitoba. This was following in his father’s footsteps, as Doug had purchased Gamble’s business when moving to Boissevain.
For all farmers, harvest 2020 was a whole different situation than harvest 2019. This was no different for the charitable field at Fairfax.
The Boissevain, Morton and Whitewater Growing Project held their harvest on Thursday, October 1. Organization President Darren Peters said the date came up pretty much at the last minute, but they did get good participation.
“We just had the people driving the trucks and the combines this year,” Peters explained. “We had 12 combines, 12 trucks and one grain cart. We got started about 12:30pm and were done by 4:00pm, so it didn’t take too long.”
Usually, there is a community lunch on the outskirts of Fairfax prior to the combines hitting the field. This year, due to COVID-19, it was scuttled. Peters said it was definitely a little lonelier at the site.
Hopes are high the interest shown in a local equestrian trail system will continue to grow and those involved will get the support needed to keep it in good condition.
Myna Margetts, a local equestrian enthusiast and well-known endurance rider, was involved in creating the Souris River Bend Equestrian Trails between Margaret and Nesbitt in the bed of the Souris River nearly 30 years ago. Although originally created for endurance riding, in more recent years the trails have been promoted to any equestrian riders. Margetts said she is trying to get the word out to more people interested in horse riding.
“I think people are a little intimidated,” Margetts explained. “It was set up as an endurance trail, and there are some tough parts, but shortcuts have been built around some of the trails. There are difficult, steep climbs there, but you don’t have to go on those sections.”
What a difference a year makes!
In almost a prelude to the challenge that was 2020, the fall of 2019 was a disastrous one for farmers. Heavy rain and then snow made decent looking crops impossible to get to. Farmers got stuck in fields, and eventually had to wait until spring to get what was left out of the ground if for no other purpose than to plant another crop. When spring came, the land was wet and muddy, and the hopes were they could get the old off, the new in and the growing and harvesting season would be a little kinder in what has not been a kind year.
Come harvest 2020 and the differences are hard to imagine. As of now, harvest, which was in almost permanent pause this time last year, is wrapping up in many fields. The weather was mostly decent for the growing season, and with a few blips, good for harvest. Jake Ayre, who farms with his father Andrew at Southern Seed in the Minto area, said the change is amazing.
Starting Friday, September 18, the Prairie Mountain Health region will be lowered to the COVID-19 yellow caution level, according to the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System. This is in response to an improved situation in the region.
Masks will still be strongly recommended in public places, but not required. Public gatherings will be bumped back up to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, the same as the rest of the province. Public health officials continue to monitor all the regions with increased cases closely to determine if additional restrictions are necessary.
The province had elevated PMH to code orange on August 24 after a rash of cases in the area.
Everything might not be back to normal, but another part of the community will soon be moving in that direction.
The coronavirus pandemic has been lasting longer than many imagined, and has for a time intensified in our health region. One of the questions on people’s minds was whether youth and adult recreation activities would be able to get going this fall, particularly hockey and figure skating. These sports were cut short last spring and some were wondering if and when they could resume this fall.
In Boissevain-Morton, it will not be too much longer. Head of Council Judy Swanson said they had sat down with Boissevain Minor Hockey, while Recreation Director Sam Dyck had been in discussion with other arena user groups like figure skating and senior hockey. They referred to a larger document from the provincial hockey authority in making decisions.
Deloraine-Winchester is putting any controversy in the past and looking at a new future when it comes to their popular park.
A decision was made earlier this year to take the Nygard out of Nygard Park. The destination point has become a little too tied to its now questionable namesake and so local council and community has decided to move forward into a new era.
“We have probably been communicating about this for about a year,” explained Deloraine-Winchester Reeve Gord Weidenhamer. “There were people who came forward concerned about the controversy and we all thought it was time for something new.”
The park was named after former Deloraine resident Peter Nygard. Nygard came with his family to Deloraine in 1952 from Finland. They only lived in the community for a short while before moving on to Winnipeg, although he would still have some ties to his old hometown. After growing up and going to university, Nygard started working in the fashion industry, eventually taking his life savings and a loan to purchase the company he was working for and changing its name to Tan Jay. He eventually became a major fashion icon, with the name Nygard being associated with numerous products and the man himself becoming one of the 70 richest Canadians. He was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2012.
A project that seemed “in the future” for a long time, is now taking shape before the organizers’ eyes.
Construction of the assisted living facility just south of the Boissevain Health Centre on #10 Highway continues unabated. The form of the structure has jumped from the blueprints onto the site, and according to George Heide of the organizing group, Southwest Seniors Housing, everything is moving in the right direction.
“It’s going really well,” Heide explained. “We have a great general contractor in Gordon Turner and we have pretty much everything working spot on. There have been a few hiccups, but everything is good and moving well.”
At least a few local businesses have been taking an extra step to protect staff and customers as the coronavirus continues to rear its ugly head in Manitoba.
At one point, COVID-19 looked as if it had run its course in the province, with only one active case. However, by mid-July, it began to rage again.
By August, Manitoba Health was reporting several days with high numbers, to the point where by August 20, there were 247 active cases and 12 deaths. Of the 33 new cases announced that day, 17 were in the Prairie Mountain Health Region. On that day, the province put PMH on the restricted list as a part of their new colour coded system.The restrictions include public gatherings being restricted to 10 indoors and outdoors. These numbers do not include workplaces, retail outlets or other sites already covered under other parts or the reopening plan.
Masks will be mandatory for indoor public places and all public gatherings within the PMH region.
The streets of Boissevain will see a unique parade this weekend.
The Past to Present Agricultural Parade will grace the streets of town on Sunday, August 9. The brainchild of organizer Warren Wright, he came up with the idea a while ago, wanting to bring something to Boissevain during difficult times.
“With COVID-19, there were so many cancellations,” Wright explained. “The community needed something to do. With the fair, July 1, Manitoba’s birthday, all being cancelled, I felt it was time to do something.”
Facing the COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba was worrisome enough, but for many people in the province and the country as a whole, first they had to get back to the Great White North.
This was true of Rick and Lori Fraser of Minto. They had been taking what was to be a month long vacation in Australia when things changed and changed fast. This meant a rather harried race to get back to Canada in a time of great uncertainty. They made it, but not without challenges.
Lori Fraser said they arrived Down Under on March 1. They were visiting their daughter Lisa who lives in Western Australia. They were aware of the coronavirus, which had begun ravaging Wuhan, China, but was threatening to move on. However, they were not particularly worried initially, comparing it to another virus that came out of the Chinese nation.
“No, I just felt awful. It just drained me. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
That is the message of Grant Harder of Boissevain. As far as anyone knows at this point, he is the community’s only victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although he has been recovered for some time now, he figures he will always remember his brush with the sickness that has impacted the world.
Harder feels he must have contracted the coronavirus during he and his wife Kathy’s travels in the spring of 2020. They took a trip to Florida from March 3 to 10. This was before COVID took hold in North America.
Luella Noble recently celebrated a very special graduation ceremony.
The Boissevain native was in Brandon on June 13 to visit Lorna Workman. They are two-thirds of the surviving class of nurses of 1945 in what Noble said will be their last reunion.
“We probably started having them about 20 years after, because some of them were working,” Noble stated. “It was really after they retired we started doing the anniversaries. We did them every five years.”
Noble (nee Patterson) said she originally applied for teacher’s training after finishing high school in Boissevain, but when she was turned down there, she switched over to nursing. She was accepted into the training in Brandon General Hospital on her 18th birthday, a week behind some of her classmates. Her schooling began in 1942, for three years of training.
All graduating classes build memories that last a lifetime. The Boissevain Class of 2020 is no different. What is unique is not what they have built for themselves, but what the world has built for them.
What would have been just another graduating class, smaller than many, became the COVID Class. Due to a worldwide coronavirus pandemic, schools in Manitoba were shuttered in March to try to stem the spread. Originally, no one knew for sure how long the schools would be closed, but in the meantime, students went on spring break and remained home while being taught in a remote-learning situation. It was unprecedented, and left June graduation ceremonies up in the air.
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As the province continues opening up from the coronavirus, golfers are hitting the links and enjoying more optimism and better weather.
When the world, including Manitoba, was in the middle of the COVID-19 shutdown, many events and activities were under the gun, unsure of what would happen. Golfing was among them. However, courses were able to open as of May 4 with quite a few restrictions. Boissevain Golf Club duly opened on May 11 for members-only, with no sit-down meals at the clubhouse and a host of other social distancing and hygienic restrictions. Over time, with the province starting Phase II of reopening, restrictions were further eased, although still exist. According to Peter Neufeld, club co-president, everything is running smoothly.
The Class of 2020 will indeed be able to have a graduation ceremony in June, albeit with a few changes.
Allowing the students graduating this spring an opportunity to celebrate their achievement and say goodbye to their school has been a major concern since the middle of March. The coronavirus pandemic shut the schools down prior to spring break, with distance learning replacing traditional classrooms. As the months wore on, and some restrictions began being lifted, as the worst seemed to pass, there were still questions regarding graduation. Social distancing rules and the inability to have large crowds together made many wonder exactly what would happen for grads, and when. This was true for those involved in Boissevain School, as explained by Vice-Principal Allan Hicks.
Although classes will not be resuming as normal this spring, there will be a little more life in the Turtle Mountain School Division institutions in the last month of the school year.
Classes were suspended in March due to the coronavirus, although distance learning continued. Recently, education authorities found there was a limited start up okayed by the province, and TMSD will be taking advantage of it.
“What we have communicated to staff,” explained TMSD Superintendent Tim De Ruyck, “is that effective June 1, they are to return to work on site, no longer to work from home. The remote learning will continue, but we will have the ability to have individual students or small groups come into schools and work with staff.”
In an unusual year, there was no reason to believe the municipal budgeting process would be anything but different. Council for Boissevain-Morton is trying to balance the changes and challenges due to coronavirus with the major priorities that exist in the municipality.
Council held its public budget meeting on May 19. Due to social distancing, only about half the council was on hand, with the rest involved through social media. The budget presented was one that was a little different than what was originally planned.
“It was difficult to do,” said Head of Council Judy Swanson, “because of the uncertainty of the times, but I think it’s fair. I think we’ve done the best we could.”