On November 17, 2025, demolition crews started the process of taking down the Old Hartney Town Hall, a yellow brick building that has been a fixture of the community for 119 years. After years of declining use and structural concerns, the building was deemed unsafe.
A piece of kitchen equipment on order by Cherry Creek Place will serve them well now and into their growing future.
The active living home in Boissevain has ordered a Suzy Q Food Service Cart. They recently received a grant of $11,000 from the Boissevain and Morton Foundation from their undesignated funds. Cherry Creek Manager Heather Garden said this would pay for the entire unit.
For David Smith, the maker behind Wooden Incantations, his relationship with wood has been one of fascination, and almost reverence.
His grandfather taught him woodcarving when he was around eight or 10 years old, and eventually introduced him to woodturning as he got a bit older, leading to him getting his first lathe at the age of 12. Life took over for a while, he said, but around 20 or 25 years ago he got back into woodturning and eventually his hobby turned into a business.
If Boissevain-Morton is going to be able to house workers in the future, they will need some help from people in the local housing industry.
That was the message of a meeting held on November 13. Lorri Matthewson of Matthewson & Co. alongside Head of Council Judy Swanson met with a few members of the Boissevain construction community to discuss housing needs and opportunities. The idea was to present what grants and land were available and get ideas to solve the issue.
With another large disbursement to community groups, a new funding source and some fresh blood on the board, the Boissevain-Morton Foundation continues to help Boissevain now while growing for the future.
The Foundation held its annual granting evening on November 13 at the Boissevain Curling Club. Including both designated and undesignated grants, as well as others, a grand total of $224,454 was given out to many community groups in 2025. It was another big year, and the Foundation continues to work for the future.
On November 9, Turtle Mountain Métis Local unveiled its newly finished monument memorializing local Métis veterans past and present.
In addition to Remembrance Day on November 11, November 8 is now officially recognized as Indigenous Veterans Day after the Manitoba government passed Bill 210, the Indigenous Veterans Day Act.
On October 29, 10 banners honouring World War One and World War Two veterans were hung up on light poles around Deloraine. The project started last spring after locals brought up the idea to Bob Carlson, president of the Deloraine Legion, having seen them in Melita.
“We drove to Melita to check them out and stopped in at the Legion there to see what was involved,” Carlson said.
Once everyone becomes used to the new parking system at Boissevain School, the hope is they will see the improvements to student safety.
People who drive around, or pick up and drop off kids at the building on the north side of town, will have seen a few changes to the area. This includes new signs, some shifts in the speed limits and a little less parking availability. According to Boissevain Principal Landon White, this was a while in coming.
On October 14, Liza Park, formerly of Deloraine, was sentenced to two years’ less a day house arrest after admitting to stealing more than $53,000 from Deloraine Minor Ball Association and Prairie Gateway Tourism in Virden.
Park, 45, pled guilty to two counts of Fraud Over $5,000 and was sentenced to two conditional sentences in the Killarney provincial court, one for 18 months and one for six months, with the total sentence ending up at two years less a day.
Although the process is not yet completed, Boissevain-Morton and the Turtle Mountain Ag Society have both committed to the intention of transferring land that can be used by the community for recreational purposes, including a new arena.
A letter of intent has been recently signed that says the Ag Society plans to sell 21.5 acres of land to the municipality on the northwest side of Boissevain, while retaining 9.3 acres. Some might say this deal has been in the works for about a decade, but this specific movement gained momentum in the spring, when the Ag Society membership voted in favour of a proposal from Boissevain-Morton. Head of
“Thank you for inviting me. It’s good to be home.”
Theoren Fleury celebrated his connection to small town Manitoba during his time at the Boissevain Legion on October 18 for the arena fundraiser. The NHL star comes from our province, and he was thrilled to come help raise money for a new rink in town, saying he had the greatest minor hockey experience any kid could have growing up in our province. Although having a great career in the highest hockey league in the world was important and was celebrated in his speech, other experiences, sometimes connected, would perhaps play a bigger role.
“It’s a sad moment, but it’s not an ending, just a new chapter,” said Reverend Brennan McCurry, Rector of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Deloraine, along with Killarney, Boissevain, and Cartwright.
The Anglican faith has been practiced in Deloraine since 1886, but like many long-standing institutions, it must change with the times and in this case that means closing the building that has been a place of worship since the 1960’s.
This fall marks the ninth year for the Half Section Fundraiser put on by the Deloraine 2000 Club.
On October 8, Andrew Bell, Darcy Nestibo, and Carson Schoonbaert took to the field in their combines to harvest a quarter section of wheat, and a quarter section of beans, grown on rented land. Calvin Bolduc, Russ McMechan, Jeremy Perriman, and Jordan Vanrobaeys were on hand to haul the harvest away and Trevor Hartel provided the grain cart. Despite the ground still being fairly soft after a bit of rain, they managed around 45 bushels per acre for beans.
First Nations artifacts collected by a family who farmed near Whitewater Lake have been returned to the people whose spirit, knowledge and stories they contain.
The family of Barry and Lois Dickson of Boissevain were part of a ceremony with the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCOINC) in Winnipeg on September 22. They returned 161 items to the group that were collected over decades by their parents and grandfather Earl Henderson, who farmed on the northeast and east ends of the lake, located between Boissevain and Deloraine. According to Glenn Dickson, who made the donation along with his sisters Dianne, Janet and Alison, the decision was made to keep the collection alive.
After an ongoing labour dispute between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and the Government of Canada, CUPW has elected to strike, effective September 25, 2025. The strike was triggered after the Government of Canada announced major reforms for the organization, including ending neighbourhood mail delivery and even closing some post offices. Despite Canada Post losing $10 million per day on these services, and $448 million overall this year, it was "outraged by the attack on our postal service and workers". Because of this action, mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered, including our newspaper. Some of our local post offices (Deloraine and Boissevain) have agreed to sort local mail in the time being, however, many subscribers will not receive their paper.
In the meantime, The Recorder will be available for free on our website while this national strike continues.
Click here to view this week's paper.
We sincerely hope that this dispute can be concluded quickly.
October 7 was the day to celebrate the success of the first phase of the Boissevain School playground project before moving forward into the future.
The middle school playground went up in the summer of 2025, and has been a major and well-loved addition. One of the contributors, BASF were out for the day to present their cheque and celebrate with a barbecue. According to Heather Janssens, who chaired the playground committee with Susan Jackson, it was a big milestone.
The Turtle Mountain area has long been home to the Métis people, and continues to be today. The population that has grown since four Métis men and their families settled near Lake Metigoshe has formed two locals of the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF): the Cherry Creek Local and the Turtle Mountain Local. Both are active and growing, and while Cherry Creek, with newly appointed Chair John Goodon, seems to focus on events in Boissevain and surrounding area that bring awareness to First Nations and Métis issues, Turtle Mountain Local has been putting their efforts into creating a fruitful space in nature and a place for Métis citizens to get back to the earth.
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A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one’s leisure time. Nora Teetaert of Deloraine has been crocheting for many of her 95 years.
Those who have known the challenges and mysteries of Whitewater Lake will have the opportunity to experience it in a new way on October 29.
“Whitewater Lake: The Beauty and the Challenge” will have its film debut at the Boissevain Community Theatre. This is the third film created by the Turtle Mountain Souris Plains Heritage Association, working this time with Street Media in Brandon. Telling the story of the unique body of water, the picture will delve into it from many directions. David M. Neufeld of the TMSPHA said he was happy with what was produced.
The definition of the word auxiliary is to provide supplementary or additional help and support. The Melita Health Auxiliary has done just that for 70 years. The group hosted a luncheon to celebrate this milestone on September 26.
Although only 16 years old, Abigail Halloran is already an equestrian veteran as proven by her performance at the highest level last month.