Ending the Year in Sunshine

Frosty Morning on Main St

A Frosty Foggy Morning

A Foggy Day ...

A Skating Oval Kind of Day ...

Merry Christmas

Christmas Lights on a Silent Night

Snowy side street scene

Courthouse Undercover

A study in white

Three Months Later

Click HERE to see what the same tree looked like back in September ...

More from the Skating Oval

Winter Road

Night Time at the Oval

Iced by Nature

View from the South Hill ...

The road less taken.

Skating Circles in Downtown Minnedosa

Almost always open

Husky at Night

One Bright Light

Keeping Watch at Night

The Silver Lined Cloud:

Mohawk's Ethanol Plant is FINALLY online.

With spin off enterprises it could bring

economic, community and social

development to Minnedosa.

Too bad none are lined up nor ready to go.

Fresh Food on a Cold and Sunny Afternoon ...

The Morning Clean Up

The Aftermath of the storm

Two F'r Tuesday - During AND After the storm.

Winter Winds

First Sunday of Advent ... Christmas is Coming!!

Main Street's Windows are taking on a Seasonal look.

Co-op On a Saturday Night...

Memory Lights ...

Last night the Local Kinettes hosted a bonfire party at

Tanners' Crossing Park just off Main St by the river.

They served cookies and hot chocolate and offered

a ride on a horse drawn sleigh,

while they lit the lights on the Memory Trees.

This is a local custom started by a couple of young women

as a way of honouring thier mom following her untimely death.

Other years a big crowd gathered in Downtown Minnedosa

to light the tree and to hang out over hot chocolate and snacks.

This year the crowd was small, but a good time

seemed to be had by all who were there.

In the meantime, a lovely set of lights illuminated

the cold dark winter nights.

Thanks to the gals at Kinettes for taking this task of care on

and for helping to keep the memories of loved ones

burning brightly in the December darkness.

It's Beginning to Look A LOT like Christmas ...

A Marshmallow World in the Winter ...

One Big Ice Rink ...

With the bitter cold our lake has frozen over,

next stop will be fishing huts to the north,

and skating rinks for the Skate the Lake

tournament in February to the south.

Somewhere over the next hill ...

Stairs in the Snow ...

Iced with snow ...

A Snowy Sunday Morning ...

Success in a Dying Town ...

An anonymous comment has been left that I have opted to delete rather than post ... it takes exception to the emphasis here on the losses that Minnedosa has been experiencing and asks why we haven't heralded the successes.

It's a fair question that not only deserves a reply, but also necessitates an answer.

But first there are some questions that must be offered in response:

How many hair salons does a Main Street in a town of 2400 really need?

How many restaurants can that town support without other businesses to attract people to the town?

How long can Minnedosa expect to survive when you see MOST of Minnedosa in Brandon shopping on Friday and Saturdays??

When will people realize that EVERY dollar they spend outside of town is a dollar lost FOREVER to the local economy?

When will they actually look at the prices they are paying and STOP perpetuating the MYTH that everything is cheaper in Brandon?

And when will they OWN the fact that you don't save money when you factor in the gas, the time, the extras and the snacks you buy when you're out of town?

And MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL:

When will our Town Fathers OWN the simple undeniable fact that our town in a death spiral that MUST be stopped if we want to have more than hair salons, a gas station, a couple of restaurants, and a WHOLE LOT of "woulda, shoulda, coulda" dreams blowing down a deserted Main Street?

There are some wonderful success stories on Main Street. Chipperfield Coffee Company is one of the most notable. Ross and Bonnie Mackling identified a neglected niche and have, over the last two and a half years set out to not only fill it, but to fill many OTHER neglected niches as well.

Tonight a small venue concert provides an evening of non-Hockey entertainment here at home for those wanting to go out for a couple of hours without heading into Brandon. Ross saw a need and has offered something in response. (Next week the High School Jazz Band will be playing)

Additionally, their huge selection of gift items offers something for almost everyone. The gourmet coffee, tea and fresh baking continues to satiate appetites while offering a place to sit a spell with family and friends.

So, there are indeed a number of wonderful examples of success in Minnedosa. Chipperfields is but one. HOWEVER, the reality that MUST be owned - and so far it's not even being named - is that a town begins to die when it loses it's Main Street businesses. And you see it by just walking down the street.

The sucking sound we hear daily of people shopping (Personally, I have a problem when I see a town employee with a shopping cart laden with groceries in W---M-rt in Brandon, rather than shopping locally) outside of town trying to save a few pennies, while pulling real dollars out of our economy is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG !!!!

That needs to stop.

AND, the town fathers and their employees needs to take seriously the losses this town has been experiencing and open their eyes to the simple fact that if THEY themselves won't shop here, why should any of us???

Our Golf Course is beautiful, the Beach is exquisite, and the Ski Hill is sublime - but without good quality accommodations, and something for folks to do in between, the town WILL DIE!!!

These are harsh words. But the truth that is not being faced is harsher still. I for one love this town, but I marvel at the inability of folks around me to look over the verge of the valley and see the real world that exists beyond us. Until that changes, the success stories will be a mere flash in the pan.

If we're not vigilant and careful Minnedosa will, in a couple of years consist of a whole lot of vacant businesses punctuated by a couple of hair salons, a store or two and a handful of restaurants, and NOT MUCH ELSE!!! And I for one would like that NOT to happen.

So to the anonymous poster: I agree wholeheartedly that we need to herald the successes. But they are not yet enough to slow the decline of our beautiful community. AND that is the REAL ISSUE! We may well have passed the tipping point for our town.

Meanwhile, I will happily celebrate the beauty of this community one photo at a time.

I know this town is SOMETHING very much worth celebrating. But I honestly feel like I am a lone voice in the wilderness. I hope others will dare to join the chorus of "Save Minnedosa!" before it's too late.

Full Moon

Winter's Icy Grip ...

Book Fair ...

Tanner's Crossing School's Parent Advisory Council

is holding their annual Book Fair this week.

Their majory annual fundraiser, it places books

and resources in the hands of the students,

while promoting the gift of reading and literacy.

Best Wishes to all !!

And HAPPY READING!!

The Dominoes fall ...

For the first time since 1883, Minnedosa will be without a Jewellery Store when Zeke's closes in the new year. It will be a significant loss to the community on many levels. And unfortunately for the economic health of Minneodsa, this closure is just the latest of many that has left several glaring vacancies on Main St.

Winter Part Two ...

It was just a whiff of snow, but it left its mark!

For Now.

Winter's Arrival:

And SO it begins ...

A Mobile Wall ...

Lately the grain and tanker trains have been supplemented

with mobile walls as long rows of train cars carrying

stacks of shipping containers wend their way through town.

These monolithic monstrosities are

nothing short of impressive to behold.

Stretching along the tracks for hundreds of metres,

they pass through town in long ribbons moving

east and west, carrying unknown cargo to distant markets.

Friday Afternoon ...

The Fleet is arriving to ferry the children home for the weekend.

The first of seven buses pull into the parking lot at Tanners Crossing School.

Soon the air will be rent with the cacophany of children

charging headlong to the buses and cars for the ride home.

Then a few minutes from now, silence will reign until

the fleet returns on Monday morning to disgorge its cargo

and passengers for another week of learning.

Past and Present ...

Tucked at the end of the street where the Cenotaph and the Memorial to the 12th Manitoba Dragoons sits, stands the cairn to the homesteaders of Minnedosa and District.

Topped with an old plough, the river rocks and the assorted pounding stones connect our past and our present as a reminder that the only way to ensure the future is through co-operation, vision and hard work.

Maybe we'll have the courage to heed these lessons before cairns, memorials and momuments are the only things left to see in town.

Sign of things to Come??

This week's local paper carries the story that YET another local business is closing its doors and shutting down - for the first time since 1883, Minnedosa will be without a Jewellery store!

No big deal say those from outside; jewellery is a luxury item. But one of the MAIN reasons that there was a Jewellery store on Main St for all the years there has been a town called Minnedosa is because of the Railway line that runs through our town. Until the digitial age broke upon us, the need for acccurate watches in the hands of the conductors and managers who kept the trains running on schedule was a necessity. So, generations of Railroad men took their watches in regularly to the local Jeweller, and he in turn kept them (if you'll pardon the pun) running on time.

But now, like so much of what once was, the local Jewellery store slips into the sands of time and becomes nothing more than a memory.

In January on Main St we will have two vacant lots, two vacant restaurants, one vacant hardware & Building supply store and adjacent lot, one and no less than two vacant store fronts! It's getting harder and harder to be optimistic about the future of our little town.

The new Economic Development Officer wants to bring people down to Main Street, but the only thing drawing people today seems to be the bright lights of stores in Brandon. If this doesn't turn around soon we will have only cafes, hair stylists, a couple of grocery stores, a gas station and a WHOLE lot of space on Main St. And if we're lucky and committed to our town, we'll still have a few of the businesses that linger in out midst. But if things don't turn around the empty Lee's Chinese Restaurant will be simply a sign of what is to come:

Closed signs and For Sale sign.