A talented Boissevain student athlete will be participating in a prestigious hockey coaching program this year.
In late September, Hockey Canada and U SPORTS announced the cohorts of 22 participants in the 2026-27 Creating Coaches Program. Grace Glover of the University of Alberta, a Boissevain native, was one of five Manitobans who will be on the ice learning more about coaching this time around.
The International Peace Garden will be celebrating the 90th anniversary of its earliest structure by giving it the face-lift it needs.
The CCC Historic Lodge will hit that birthday in 2027, and according to Peace Garden CEO Tim Chapman, this important structure needs some work.
“The lodge will be 90 years old next year,” Chapman explained. “Its bones are in good shape, but it needs some work. We want to make sure it is as up to date as possible.”
The lodge is not only historical for the Garden, but part of a larger story. The “CCC” in its name stands for the Civilian Conservation Corps. This was created in the depths of the Great Depression by newly elected US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Like other related agencies like the Tennessee Valley Authority, the CCC was created to give jobs to the great number of unemployed under the New Deal while developing key infrastructure. The CCC focused on areas like roads, bridges and parks, which is where the Peace Garden fit in.
As Chapman said, about 200 members of the CCC worked in the Garden from1934 to 1941. As well as the lodge, completed in 1937, they also built roads, fire pits and the lake later called Lake Udall. Although it was an American government project and therefore only worked on the south side of the area, they did use lumber from the Duck Mountains for the building.
The fits and starts of harvest this fall continue as the pattern of problematic weather the southwest has seen all growing season is ongoing.
Earlier this past week, farmers in the area were able to get back on the fields after more delays. Sun and wind meant slightly drier conditions. In a version of the phrase “make hay while the sun shines” producers headed out to their fields to take off what crop they could before the next shower.
The problems with harvest are the latest in a long line of weather issues. Early on, there were a couple of heavy-duty dust storms. On May 14-15, the area was hit with winds of up to 119 kms an hour, which pushed dust across roads and fields. As well as damage to trees and power lines, it filled ditches and moved soil from one field to another. It was a harbinger of more to come.
At the end of June, parts of the area were hit with massive rain, which created flooding situations. In Boissevain and area, for example, on June 29 more than six inches of moisture fell in less than two hours. The community was flooded out with plenty of water damage. Deloraine and other communities faced similar situations. This of course extended outside of the communities, swamping many fields.
Then in early July, the hail hit. Golf ball to baseball sized ice fell for around ten minutes in parts of the area, wrecking roof and vehicle alike. Again, this took a toll on crops in some spots, particularly as the storm headed east.
With motor oil in his blood, and plenty of experience, Mike Atchison found the time was right to open a garage in his hometown.
Nor-Del Ventures opened its doors on September 1. The proprietor was happy to put a dream into practice.
“This was something I always wanted to do,” Atchison explained. “I finally took the plunge.”
Atchison, a Deloraine native, said mechanics was something that was always a part of his life. His father Dale was a mechanic, and so he grew up around vehicles. He began in the trade after high school in 2001 at Maxwell Motors, where he worked until 2016. He later spent time at RC Auto & Repair in Hartney. He said it was time to go on his own.
“Sometimes you just have to go for it.”
There was wind, but thankfully no rain for the sixth annual Boissevain Street Fest on September 12.
The annual fall event does showcase Manitoba’s ever-changing weather. Some years, it is blazing while others it is very cold. In 2026, temperatures were different depending on whether or not the sun was out that moment. Nonetheless the show went on, and as Boissevain-Morton Administrative Executive Melissa Perkins, one of the organizers said it was another fine event.
“While there were a few weather-related curveballs, overall the event was another great success celebrating for showcasing Boissevain,” Perkins said. “The wind and wind gusts certainly did affect things and cause some set up reconfigurations but we were grateful it was dry out. Given the rain experienced before and the forecast for more rain after, thankfully it did not rain during Saturday’s festivities. With Saturday being the only dry day in awhile that was good for the farmers who have had some very poor weather and conditions to contend with this harvest season. So while we certainly missed those busy working in the field during Street Fest, we absolutely understand. This year the weather was also chillier which definitely had more of a fall festival kind of feel and thankfully limited the wasps.”
The town wide garage sale, vendor market and Lions Soapbox Races got the day started. The children’s carnival and kid’s zone brought people out, especially early in the day. Perkins said the turtle clay creation station went over well, and there was a big crowd out for the pie eating contest, which included a youth category this year. The bingo was well attended and 130 came out to the Boissevain Community Theatre for the matinee. The Get Local Art Show and live demonstrations, held by the Arts Council was popular, with the gallery providing a space outside of the wind.
New events like the speed puzzling competition in the library and the downtown scavenger event were also fun and well attended.
It might be 25 years ago, but for those who lived through it, 9/11 memories become raw in a hurry.
This was obvious at the ceremony held in the International Peace Garden on September 11. In front of the wreckage of the Twin Towers, transported to the Garden in 2002, dignitaries and the public remembered that fateful day in 2001, when airplanes smashed into the World Trade Centre in New York City, the Pentagon outside of Washington DC, and another crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. It was the marking of a poignant quarter century since the Islamic terror attack.
One of the memories focused on throughout the day was the heroism of first responders in New York. This made the choice of emcee for the event poignant. David Pankratz, MLA, was a firefighter. He said there was something about having that experience that gives a greater understanding. When a siren goes off, you go.
“You don’t know what you’re going to or what you’re going to find, you only know someone needs help,” Pankratz stated. “On September 11 of 2001, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, military members and ordinary people as well ran toward danger while everyone else ran away.”
He said they gathered at the Peace Garden to remember not only 3,000 lives lost, but also those who responded with great courage.
High school rodeo continues to be a big part of the lives of local riders, with at least one moving on with the sport this year.
Nine riders from the different communities in our area participated in the last season of the Manitoba High School Rodeo Association, with most coming back this time around. The new season has recently kicked off for this year, with plenty of events coming.
Also, many young people have also participated in higher-level events, and had success when the gate was pulled.
From Boissevain School, there are sisters Abby and Riata Dalby and Lexi and Kaity Janssens, as well as Zoe Vorster and Reid Armstrong.
Kesley McGee has competed from Deloraine, Jett Lockie from Waskada and Grace Cole from Goodlands.
Building a lagoon might not be the most romantic infrastructure project, but in Boissevain-Morton it is long awaited and seriously needed.
Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard was in town on Tuesday, September 8 to break ground on the lagoon construction. Located on the old site southwest of town, practical work began this summer after a lot of planning and some frustrating periods. Simard recognized the importance of the project.
“These projects are huge for rural Manitoba communities,” Simard stated. “They are important to help towns like Boissevain grow into the future.”
The work on the new lagoon is progressing, although weather might be slowing things down presently. The municipality is handling the project in an unusual way. When they put out tenders earlier in 2026, they found the estimates came in $2 million over the $10 million budget. They decided they would be their own general contractors and hired sub-contractors like Dougall Excavating, Power Baron and Copperman to do the work. Engineers and the Water Services Board have been on and off site while the work has been ongoing.
A major manufacturing centre and employer in Boissevain received the go ahead for more expansion by the local council.
Boissevain-Morton held a public hearing into By-Law 2026-05 on September 1. This was to close two blocks of Buckingham Street on the north end of town and sell it to Western Archrib.
In speaking in favour of the move, Meeghan Paterson Canada of Western Archrib explained the company has been in contact with the community for several years about their plans. The moves they have made, she said, would allow the company to continue to grow. The purchase of the Buckingham property would allow workers and community members to stay safe while operations continue.
Western Archrib owns property on both sides of Buckingham and for decades has moved lumber and finished products back and forth across the street. Two years ago, in what amounted to a swap, Boissevain-Morton and the company changed properties on the north side of the street. This meant a trailer court was relocated, and the new Western Archrib property on the east side was open for further development. The closure of this portion of the street was long proposed.
After more than three decades, T&S Recycling will be picking up their last blue bins at the end of the month.
The business, owned and operated by Tina and Scott Patterson of Boissevain, started home and business recycling pickup in July of 1993. Tina Patterson said it was just time to give it up.
“After 33 years, we decided it’s just time for a change for us,” Patterson explained. “Life on the farm is busy, and now with grandkids to enjoy we’ve decided we are ready to have the extra time back.”
She said they had originally noticed how much their own recycling piled up and knew people in the city had curbside pick up. They figured it was something people in Boissevain would also enjoy. There were originally 25 customers who signed up for the service, and some of them remained to this day. Currently there are around 80 residents and businesses.
“I enjoy learning both the technical and artistic aspects of photography, some of which can be challenging. Seeing how light brings an object to life, the direction of its shadow and how one can be creative with the light and shadows.”
This is Eric Hildebrandt of Boissevain explaining what attracts him to photography. The winner of the photography class at the Boissevain Fair in June sponsored by The Recorder, he has a great love for capturing the image, with several favourite subjects, and that love is growing. His winning entry shows how his passion can inspire and be enjoyed by everyone.
Hildebrandt said he took the photo of a ruby throated hummingbird in May of this year. He was sitting on his front step with his camera waiting for the doves to return to their nest in the cedar tree. Something else grabbed his attention.
“Out of the corner of my eye I see this hummingbird flying around a couple of our bushes,” he stated. “So I went from watching for the doves to watching and photographing the hummingbird. For the next couple of hours I sat there watching and getting the odd shot off as it was flying blossom to blossom.”
For the next week, he kept an eye out, with the hummingbird returning to the area, chasing other males away and introducing his mate to the feeding area. On the night he took the fair photo, he was trying to get in position, as the bird would usually fly in and visit the feeder or blossoms. This time, he perched on one of the branches of the cherry bush.
With a sigh of relief and a determination to get the job done, Boissevain-Morton started moving earth just southwest of Boissevain.
It has been a long haul to get to this point, but the practical work on the new lagoon has begun. According to Head of Council Judy Swanson, the final approval of their project was received about a month ago, and the digging began. She said it was good to see.
“It is a positive thing to finally get started,” Swanson stated.
It has been a many year process to get a new lagoon, including many delays and a change of site. Most recently, they ran into a snag with their environmental license, which was cleared up in July. More importantly, they put the project out to tender and found it came in $2 million over budget. For something budgeted at nearly $10 million, this was not acceptable. In response, Boissevain-Morton decided they would in fact be the general contractor for the lagoon’s first phase and they moved from there.
The community of Deloraine came out in droves for the red carpet premiere of a short film made by a few of their own.
On July 23, “Whitetail” a film by Nick Dietrich and Laughlin McKinnon, made its debut at the Deloraine Theatre. The cast, crew and much of the town were out in full force to see a locally made movie. It was everything they were looking for, McKinnon said.
“It was awesome,” he stated. “We hoped to have a full house and we did. You couldn’t ask for more. That was the dream, to have a premiere of a movie in Deloraine, raise some money for the Ag Society, and we met those goals.”
As McKinnon explained, the venture started when Dietrich, a Deloraine native who is a filmmaker in BC, was on the cusp of a larger film project. He wanted a smaller one to practice putting all aspects of it together. He asked McKinnon if he would help with it, to write a short film.
“We were thinking maybe three to seven minutes. He has an impressive career in videography, but he was going to be looking after everything, editing, directing, cinematography. He wanted to try something short, low stress, before he moved on to something bigger.”
McKinnon said it caught him off guard, as he had not done anything like that. He got a skeleton of what Dietrich was looking for, and a story including a storm-stayed drug dealer, a deer hunter and more came into focus. There was an immediate desire to have a local feel with local place names used. There would be a hunting cabin, a gun, some tension and what McKinnon referred to as a “twisted re-telling of the Hansen Buck (world record typical whitetail shot) story.”
When the final out was made on July 30 at the Centennials diamond, the Boissevain squad completed not only a finals sweep, but also reached a major milestone.
The Cents shut out the Oak River Dodgers 6-0 in the third and deciding game for the South West Baseball League championship at home. This is their fifth consecutive title, which is incidentally what the New York Yankees did from 1949-53, the longest run in Major League Baseball history.
In game three, Connor Martin of the Centennials pitched a complete game (seven inning) shutout, allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out 10. In contrast, the Dodgers used three hurlers, with starter Riley Shamray taking the loss, allowing nine hits and five earned runs in three and two thirds innings of work. Dylan Schroeder and Mitch Battersby finished up on the mound.
Tyler Robertson led Boissevain in hits with three, all singles, and drove in one run. Tanner Clyne and Jay Pringle chipped in a pair of singles apiece, with Jordan Foote showing speed with a triple and two stolen bases. Austin Clyne and Griffin Albrecht each had a hit with Foote, Pringle, Robertson, Zane Sawyer, Bryan Laing and Drew Hilhorst driving in single runs.
The series started in Boissevain on July 27, and set the tone for all three games. The Centennials won the opener 5-0, with Zane Sawyer getting the complete game shutout. He scattered five hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Oak River starter Kaden Rozdeba was hung with the loss, allowing five hits and four earned runs in two and two-thirds innings. In relief, Dylan Schroeder allowed the final run.
Jordan Foote had a pair of hits, including a double and drove in a team leading three runs. Tyler Robertson also had a pair of hits and Tanner Clyne had a double. Skylar Canada had one hit but made it count, taking a pitch deep. Drew Hilhorst also had a hit and an RBI.
Anyone wanting to appear on screen while enjoying the beauty of the International Peace Garden will have their opportunity on July 30.
An international video crew will be out at the Garden creating footage of the local attraction. According to Peace Garden CEO Tim Chapman, they are looking to promote the area now and into the future.
“This is a different type of promotion this year,” Chapman explained. “We want to get some footage made up, some deeper footage we can use for 10 years down the road.”
Chapman said the Garden receives a lot of outreach from video production companies who want to be hired to film promotional material. This year, a company made a positive impression and they are moving forward.
“They can do these films that can go on US and Canadian cable TV and web versions. They make a five minute piece that can be picked up by stations.”
As well as the film itself, the company will be shooting the whole day of July 30, with footage going to the Peace Garden. As they hired them, the Garden will decide where the shooting will take place, who they will talk to – staff and supporters – and this will be used by the Garden for their own promotions. Chapman said it could be for something as simple as a small feature on their website.
“The way the internet has changed, if you have good footage, you can cut it up for 15 second clips, or still pictures. It will make a nice library of film to access.”
With the great response from the community, admirers of a local rugby phenom were able to honour her twice in Souris.
Emily Tuttosi has been a great source of pride in her home community, bringing Souris positive attention on the national and international stage. As she moved on further in her rugby career, the time was right for a pair of signs in town honouring her. Barb Murphy, who spearheaded the project, said it started last year. Tuttosi graduated with Murphy’s daughter and they played together on the Souris rugby team.
“When Emily played in the latest World Cup (2025), we were excited as a whole town,” Murphy said. “It was amazing to have someone from Souris in the World Cup. When Canada won silver, it was extremely exciting.”
Murphy said it was simple to set up. They partnered with the Souris rugby program and coach Brian Yon, and began appealing for funds for a sign honouring Tuttosi. Starting last summer/fall, they were hoping to raise about $3,000 for one sign. The first donation came in October 2025, and they just kept coming. With local individuals and businesses chipping in, they eventually raised around $5,470.
A private collection is bringing fascinating light history to the Beckoning Hills Museum in Boissevain.
The 200-plus kerosene lamps of Brandt Bessant are currently the featured display at the museum. According to Beckoning Hills Board Co-Chair Sandra Pearce, although not a member of their board, Bessant has been a key person in helping with identifying items. They discussed a possible display from the antique collector, but put it aside initially as they were doing their veterans showcase last year due to the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
“After that was over, we decided this would be Brandt’s year to do his display,” Pearce explained.
Bessant said the museum had talked of bringing in “guest exhibitors” as a new way to bring new people in. Something new grabs their attention, then they see the rest.
He said he became interested in lamps when he was young through his association with auctioneer Bob Wright. Working with the family on live auctions, he remembered the annual antique sale in Souris. He went to help and there the antiques grabbed his attention. He asked Wright how to figure out what to collect?
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Round one of Mother Nature’s wrath upon the area left the area soggy, disheartened but strangely resilient.
In the early evening of Monday, June 29, Boissevain was shaken by a sudden and explosive rainstorm. In around an hour and a half to two hours, the community and surrounding area received a whopping six plus inches of water. Coming at that speed, there was nowhere for that amount of moisture to go except everywhere. Within minutes, basements were flooding and in some cases, sewers were backing up. Results varied around Boissevain, but the majority of homes had a least some water, and for many, the results were catastrophic.
“It was huge,” said Boissevain-Morton Head of Council Judy Swanson. “It had a huge impact on all of us. I don’t know how many people had problems, but it sounds like everyone.”
Streets were awash shortly after the storm began, with some being under enough water that people could swim or in at least one case, kayak. Swanson said the town has a good system of storm sewers, but they cannot handle this level of water.
“The system is built for regular rain. I have never seen rain like this, so much in so short a time.”
A break in the weather and a few changes made for a successful Boissevain Fair in 2026.
The annual running was held on June 20-21. According to Turtle Mountain Agricultural Society President Chris Walker, all went well.
“We couldn’t ask for better weather,” Walker stated. “It looks like our gate numbers were up from last year, and we added some events that worked well.”
The two days were marvelous ones, with plus 20-degree temperatures and plenty of sunshine. This was a great benefit as the days preceding and following saw cooler temps, darker skies and some rain.
“Everybody was in a good mood this year. The sun was shining and everyone was feeling good. It was just perfect.”
Should he secure the nomination, Mark Custance will be running in the next provincial election to try to secure a great future for Turtle Mountain.
The entrepreneur from the Pierson area threw his hat in the ring for the Progressive Conservative nomination in the riding this spring. Longtime MLA Doyle Piwniuk announced he would not be seeking another term in the Legislature, opening up the spot for a new Tory candidate. Custance said it is all about serving the area.
“To me, it was never about being a politician, it was more about stepping up and representing our region,” Custance explained during a visit to Boissevain. “My wife and I raised our family here, started businesses here. This is home for us.”
Custance is just finishing his first term as a councillor for the Municipality of Two Borders. He said he wanted to bring his life experience to another level of service. He wanted to have an election for the party in the constituency. Custance said he came from a different background from the other person running, former PC leadership candidate Wally Daudrich. He wanted to represent a new generation of conservative coming up in the region. Daudrich was later disqualified.
Custance said his family has always been involved in communities, and he wants to carry this on. He learned from his grandparents and parents that it is not about the title, but how you treat people and what you do.
Less than a year after the completion of their successful first phase, the Boissevain School Playground Committee is nearly ready to start phase two.
Plans are afoot and funds are being raised to transform the old tennis court area at the north end of the school into something special for high school kids, in a project called “Create the Court”. Although the term “playground” might be a bit juvenile to use for maturing students, there is certainly a need for something for them as well as the community as a whole said committee co-chair Heather Janssens.
“We’re looking at a multi-sport court, a community court,” Janssens explained. “It’s a space for the high school kids, but also the whole community. It’s right beside the campground, so it could be used all summer by people visiting as well as local people and students.”
The committee was originally created several years ago to replace the aging equipment for middle years students on the south side of the school. This was completed in the summer of 2025 with a grand opening celebration in the fall. While working on the project, the group committed to also helping revitalize other areas of the school. The second phase is the high school area, which has been in less than stellar shape for a long time.
Janssens said high school students could get overlooked when it comes to the need for outdoor activity. This should not happen.