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Next month, the sun will rise in a new spot for Soleil Massage Therapy.
The old home of Paisley Pockets Emporium on South Railway Street was purchased by Jeff Gervin. His daughter Allie will be moving her massage therapy clinic into the space. Gervin has been most recently operating out of RISE Salon on Broadway Street. However, the salon ownership is selling and a new spot was needed.
“I’ve been over there for over two years,” Gervin said, “and it’s been great. Super good opportunity to grow my business.”
Gervin said her father had been looking for a new karate studio for Synthesis Martial Arts, so he asked if she wanted to take a look at the building. After taking a peek, it looked like it would be a good fit.
Gervin has moved a few times, starting on Mill Road, moving to a suite in Cherry Creek Place and then to RISE. Although she was not looking for another move, she is looking forward to a permanent place and to make it her own.
She started up in August 2020 out of school, saying it was a challenge at first due to the pandemic and constant changes. In fact, it was interesting to see the faces of people later on when the masks came off.
Why go into massage therapy? Gervin said she was always a little “nerdy” about physiology, the working of the body. This is what one in the profession needs to know – what are the muscles, what nerves impact them, what arteries supply blood to them.
As a massage therapist, Gervin said she generally sees people come in who are in pain. They have a problem and want a fix for it. She will look at what the problem is and what is causing it. Are there posture problems, an old injury flaring up, what is the root of the pain? Then she works from there.
The day many in Minto were fighting against will come to pass at the end of the year.
At a meeting on November 8, Council for the Municipality of Grassland passed a resolution to close the administration office in the community on December 31, 2024. The motion passed three to one. In January all operations will move to the head office in Hartney.
The issue has been a big one for Minto for over a year. Originally, the office was the centre of the RM of Whitewater, which amalgamated with Hartney and the RM of Cameron to create the Municipality of Grassland in 2014/15 due to a provincial decision. Afterward, it was open for the eastern citizens of the far-flung corporation. In 2022, council passed a motion to limit operations to two days a week. The idea was to bring all of the admiration under one roof and improve the workings of the municipality. Members of the community, including the LUD, fought to have the office reopened full time. In 2023, a motion was made to close the office altogether, but there was no seconder. Eventually, a decision was made to carry on with the two day a week schedule. That was until November 8.
Deputy Reeve Claude Martin said there was a feeling the restrictions were making the situation untenable.
It was an important meeting for the Manitoba Beef Producers District 1 in Deloraine on October 30, with many items up for discussion, including protecting from cattle theft.
A key point of the MBP fall meetings for all districts was to get feedback from producers on the potential for an expanded livestock inspection service in Manitoba. Inspection is currently only conducted on an as needed basis to meet regulatory requirements.
This topic has been debated for decades and has been defeated previously when debated at MBP’s annual meetings. Funding such a service is always a concern but illegal activity has put the subject of an expanded inspection service into the limelight again. One case of cattle theft in Manitoba resulted in multimillion losses. The cattle disappeared, they were sold on paper but there is no trace of them. They cannot be found, it is like they never existed.
“An added problem is there are no dedicated RCMP offices working on livestock issues and getting charges laid and prosecution pursued has been a challenge. Lenders are the real push for an inspection service.
As it is right now without an inspection service, lenders are less interested in financing Manitoba producers’ cattle. There is no surety.
“We could lose young producers if there are not start up loans,” said Callum.
A great monetary gift to the Boissevain and Morton Foundation is continuing the great work started 50 years ago.
The group received a new major donation this year. After Eric Ekin passed away in 2023, the Foundation was notified they would be receiving $100,000 to start the Eric and Barb Ekin Legacy Fund. Barb had passed in 2021. The couple had married in 1968 and farmed in the RM of Morton, with Eric remaining active with the cattle until the summer of 2023. Clyne said they are very much thrilled with the news.
“It was a pleasant surprise. It is more money to invest and that will mean more money to the community. It is in the undesignated, so it will go into the pot for all of the grants we give out each year.”
Clyne added they have a few such funds, and would like to see that grow into the future.
The Foundation is preparing for its annual granting evening on November 14. They have made the decisions about who will be receiving undesignated funds, but for now that is confidential. However, they will be giving out about $94,000 this year in undesignated, and $220,000 overall. According to Foundation Board member Wendy Clyne, all is going well.
Although the amounts bounce around year to year, those involved in Boissevain’s Donor’s Choice still feel it serves its ultimate purpose.
At their annual meeting on October 21, the Donor’s Choice Committee gave out the cheques for a total of $62,735 to the 25 charities/organizations on the canvass. According to Chair Barry Lamb, they were happy with the results.
“The year was good,” Lamb stated. “We took a dip this year in ’24. We’re down about $5,000 roughly, but we are still in the $63,000 neighbourhood. Anytime you can top the $60,000 mark we think we are doing pretty good. We really want to thank the community for continuing its support, for recognizing the value of these community groups and provincial agencies that do all this good work.”
In 2023, Donor’s Choice collected around $67,830. Lamb said he was not sure of the reason for the drop, but added times are a little tougher economically, and that might have played a role. As well, one major donor did not give this year. The numbers do hop around a little from year to year, so a bounce back is possible in the future.
Foundations are a wonderful way to assist various community groups. Southwest Manitoba Regional Foundation (SMRF) is one of 57 in Manitoba. On October 3, 2024 SWRF received a significant donation from Souris River Water District (SRWD) when manager Dean Brooker presented a cheque for $103,000 on behalf of the district. The funds will be held in trust and used for bursaries, which will be available in 2025.
The SRWD consists of nine municipal partners, including municipalities of Boissevain-Morton, Deloraine-Winchester, Souris-Glenwood, Pipestone, Wallace-Woodworth, Brenda-Waskada, Grassland, Two Borders and Sifton.
Brooker says this is a new SRWD initiative that covers the entire district. Any graduate from the district who is pursuing an education in natural resources or agriculture is eligible to apply.
With a large crowd on hand and a special day upcoming, the partners who created the new Metis mural on the north wall of the Irving Goodon International Wildlife Museum were able to celebrate what might be an ongoing relationship.
The new artwork, painted by Metis artist Jayde Goodon, was given its official welcome on September 27. This was a few days before National Truth and Reconciliation Day, and students and staff from Boissevain School made a big impression on everyone in their orange shirts. The mural was a replacement for the Goodon Family one removed from the building earlier in the year so it could be refurbished and moved elsewhere by the Cherry Creek and Turtle Mountain Metis locals. The large artwork, which took up the full north wall, features a bison and other Metis motifs.
After an opening prayer by Elder Elaine Scott, Will Goodon, the Manitoba Metis Federation Minister of Housing, emceed the event. A native of the Turtle Mountains and the son of Irvin Goodon, the founder of the museum, Goodon was a major part of the project and understood the impact of the artwork, saying he still has the connection to the area he grew up in.
“I live south of Brandon,” Goodon stated, “and most people would say they come from Brandon. Not me, not us, not the Indigenous people, certainly not the Metis. When you ask us where we’re from, we’re from the Turtle Mountain, we’re from the bush.”
Excerpts from The Recorder in celebration of the 75th anniversary in 1974
The weekly newspaper is often referred to as the only reliable voice in a rural or urban community.
The Boissevain Recorder has proven its right to that title because it has been published regularly since its establishment on October 5, 1899.
Seventy-five years of operation for any business (now 125 years of business) is indeed a commemorable feat, and for a weekly newspaper it is a goal that is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.
However, for 14 years, the voice of the Boissevain area and surrounding communities was relayed in store. This was the period when The Recorder competed with the Boissevain Globe, a weekly newspaper founded in 1892.
When The Recorder entered the scene, the Globe had been publishing for seven years under the direction of founding publisher and proprietor W.H. Ashley. Mr. Ashley maintained The Globe until its demise in 1913.
The Globe published in obvious competition with The Recorder. In almost each issue, The Globe publisher boasted that his newspaper was “the spiciest, the newsiest and altogether the most readable local paper in the district.”
As was the rule with the majority of that era’s weekly newspapers, The Globe concentrated mainly on local news but a spattering of international and national stories was contained in each issue.
While The Globe’s front page was often dedicated to a local event and considerable advertising, it was not uncommon to find inside the paper an interview with France’s chief guillotiner, a report of a stagecoach robbery in Colorado, or even a ghost story from Michigan.
The early Boissevain Recorder, however, dedicated more space to district and town news than did The Globe.
The Medical Licensure Program for International Medical Graduates accepts 30 students per year. Dr. Saadial Mobil recently completed the program and has been allocated to practice at the Deloraine Health Centre by Prairie Mountain Health (PMH). Dr. Mobil’s first day was September 17.
Mobil is originally from Pakistan. Prior to her placement in Deloraine she worked as a clinical assistant in Winnipeg.
Mobil has moved to Deloraine with her husband, son and mother-in-law.
The word ‘sold’ is one people like to see, especially on storefront windows in small towns. A sold sign went up at Petals & Presents (a fresh flowers, giftware, seasonal greenhouse business) in Deloraine when sisters-in-law Meghan and Hannah McKinnon purchased the business in August. Their husbands Alexander and Laughlin were born and raised in Deloraine.
Meghan moved to Deloraine a year ago with her husband Dr. Alexander McKinnon who is a general practitioner at the Deloraine Health Centre. They have two young boys Angus and Royce.
Hannah moved to Deloraine this past summer with her husband and their infant daughter Lois.
For some time Meghan had been looking for a small space to rent in town to put some pottery equipment.
“I wasn’t thinking about Petals and Presents as an option at that time, but when we found out that Hannah and her family were moving to Deloraine, it seemed like the perfect fit for both of us.”
Residents in the southwestern end of Boissevain-Morton are hoping they can get their local road reopened in some fashion soon.
The municipality recently closed a portion of Road 123W, between Roads 8N and 9N. This north-south route is about five miles south and seven miles west of Boissevain, and two miles north of Turtle Mountain Provincial Park. According to area resident Mel Lumgair, the road has been closed now for a couple of weeks, and they would like to see some changes.
“Hopefully, we can get this resolved in the next while,” Lumgair explained. “We feel it is necessary for the road to be accessible for people in the area.”
Although the distance closed is short, less than a mile, Lumgair said it impacts people in that area. With it shut down, he said, if something happened to one of the people living there and they needed help, he would have to travel about six miles around to reach them, instead the shorter distance on the portion of 123W. If someone needed to get to town in an emergency, the problem would be even greater.
It was a very full day of golf for the Tosh men, but it was fun, a good bonding experience and it helped out an important cause.
Glen Tosh and his son Ty spent a very long day at the Souris Golf Course on July 29. They played 129 holes, starting at an early 6:00am and finishing up just after 7:30pm. Father Glen said it was a warm day, but it worked out well.
“We had a good day,” Tosh stated. “It was hot, but that kept us loose and limber.”
This is the second time the pair have participated in Marathon Monday. As Tosh explained, two men from his hometown of Glenboro, Dylan Thornborough and Patrick Law started this effort in 2012. Both of them had family members with cancer, and wanted to try to play 100 holes in a day to raise money. In 2023, they asked Tosh to get involved on the Souris course on the same day. He asked his son Ty if he was interested, and the duo went out for the first time. It worked well, so they decided to try it again.
An exchange of property between the municipality and a major employer in Boissevain will see both the housing situation and storage/shipping issues eased in 2025.
The Municipality of Boissevain-Morton recently revealed the details of their planned trailer court expansion, hinted at during their June budget presentation, where it was budgeted at $250,000 for improvements under capital expenditures.
The two trailer courts presently are located on the far north side of Boissevain along Buckingham Street – on the corner of Broadway (Buckingham West) and the other on the corner of Aikman (Buckingham East). Head of Council Judy Swanson explained the plans are to move the existing park along Aikman over to the larger one by Broadway. This involved buying land owned by nearby Western Archrib.
Where are most great ideas born? In general when least expected, chatting over coffee or a beverage and somebody says “we should do that” and the rest is history.
Bulls on the Border came to being much like that. Some folks were shooting the breeze after hockey games in Waskada.
“Eventually a handful of us decided to try and see if we could do this in our small town,” said McKenzie Friesen.
Planning was started in the winter of 2023/24 but was not 100% a go until April of 2024. The group was successful in getting Bull Riders Canada to bring their show to Waskada. The date was set for August 8, 2024 for the first annual Bulls on the Border. It was a huge hit with between 900-1,000 in attendance.
Although ownership is new, there will be a familiar name attached to a re-opening restaurant in Boissevain.
Boissevain-Morton announced the sale of the old Border Town Restaurant building on Mill Road. Head of Council Judy Swanson said the effort was a joint one with the company the municipality hired to work on development projects.
“With the help of Lorri Matthewson and Matthewson & Co., who we contracted to do community development, we found someone for the old Border Town building,” Swanson stated.
“We are delighted to announce that it will remain a restaurant.”
Swanson said the new owners wanted to be the ones to introduce themselves to the community, but added it would be a Chicken Chef franchise. The popular chain had a long history in Boissevain, having been located in the old Red Coat Inn and later for a time at the Home Hotel.
The tourist season might have started off a little later this year, but with some new initiatives and return of attractions, everything is now in full swing in Boissevain.
With Tommy Turtle’s 50th birthday celebration over and the middle of summer upon us, Boissevain-Morton is around halfway through its traditional top season for visitors. Boissevain-Morton Executive Assistant Melissa Perkins admitted it did not gear up as quickly in 2024 as other years.
“We had a tiny bit slower start this year,” Perkins explained. “The weather on key weekends was a little off. May long was cooler and Canada Day threw a few curveballs, but overall, everything is good. It feels like summer has just got started, so we’re getting rolling.”
Although the weather was tricky, she said the Canada Day celebrations went well. Held in the Tommy Turtle/International Wildlife Museum area, some of the entertainment had to be moved inside. However, Perkins said they had 500 visitors on Canada Day itself, with 200 for Heritage Day, held the day before. Those are more than solid numbers; especially considering it was on a Monday. In fact, they might have been up a little.
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As Boissevain’s most famous citizen turns 50, we can look back on the years he has welcomed visitors to the community.
Tommy Turtle still stands straight and proud at the corner of Mill Road and Mountain Street, the same way he did when he was first pulled off the flatbed truck in 1974. One of his many “fathers”, Wayne Pringle said he continues to do what he was intended to.
“It’s amazing how many people stop daily for pictures,” Pringle said, standing in the shadow of his now 50 year old “son”. “It’s been a great thing for Boissevain. The fact we have the decent sign on the front now, showing ‘Tommy Turtle, Boissevain, Manitoba,’ I think it’s great.”
Tommy Turtle was a child of the 1970’s, an interesting decade of festivals and funky fashion. Any time that can combine macramé, shag carpeting and pet rocks was a perfect one to create a King Kong-sized turtle. Of course, we live on the outskirts of the Turtle Mountains, so it makes sense. However, as everything has a season, everything has a start. Tommy had his in a festival.
The community of Deloraine gathered at the Deloraine School grounds on June 21 to honour one of its own, Ashton Bell.
The Deloraine 2000 Club hosted a barbecue and unveiling of signs to be placed at the south and west entrances of town. The signs depict Ashton Bell with her gold medal from the Beijing 2022 Olympic games with the description, Home of Olympic Gold Medalist Ashton Bell.
“It is a great honour to bring greetings from the Municipality of Deloraine Winchester. Appreciation goes out to the 2000 Club for initiating this project and providing the lunch, and to Ashton for always giving back to her community. We have many reasons to be proud of our little community,” said Kelly McMechan, head of council for the Municipality of Deloraine Winchester.
A Sports and Recreation Fund was created by the 2000 Club with monies from a sports supper. Committee member Rob Tompsett said it was unanimous that their first initiative would be to have signs made to honour Ashton Bell and be placed at the entrances to Deloraine and in the arena.
“Once word got out of what we were doing so many people, groups, individuals jumped on board.”
The Municipality of Deloraine-Winchester hosted a sod turning celebration and barbecue for the new pool in Deloraine on June 14.
A highlight of the day was the presentation of $100,000 from Tundra Oil & Gas to Deloraine-Winchester Head of Council Kelly McMechan.
The new pool in Deloraine will be called Tundra Gas & Oil Aquatic Centre.
Construction on the new aquatic center began in the fall of 2023. A completion date has not been announced, but council are hoping it to be ready by early to mid-July but nothing is certain.
With the annual 4-H Rally completed in Boissevain for another year, the organization is starting to look at a special anniversary down the road.
The event was held on a Thursday this year, June 6, at the Turtle Mountain Ag Society Grounds in Boissevain. According to organizer Victoria Nowazek, it was a good day, despite numbers being a little down.
“Rally day was a very successful day,” Nowazek stated. “The wind was our only main issue. Numbers were down and we didn’t see as many clubs attend from outside our zone. We had 20 members participate in multi purpose workshops, 11 in beef and 31 equine, for a total of 62 members.”
The Rally was held on a Thursday this year because some of the members were participating in the Manitoba High School Rodeo competition the next day. The event included livestock, awards, a parade and musical ride.
Christine Quigley from Minto was the guest speaker at the event. She said she was asked to do so by the committee as an alumnus of the Boissevain Home & Hobby Club. The theme was how 4-H helped her in her life. As she explained after the event, it had a big impact.