Minnedosa Memories ... Minnedosa Images ...

I remember a few "Firsts" when it comes to Minnedosa and its place in my life ...

I remember in the fall of 1995, when M, Noahkila and I drove east down the Yellowhead Highway following a Presbytery meeting in Terrace ... We were heading to Ontario to visit my family an introduce Noahkila to his Grandmother and his Great Grandmother for the first time ... I can still vividly recall coming down the north hill into the valley and looking at Minnedosa nestled so tranquilly in the bottom of the valley ... the huge Terminal Elevator (pictured above & shamelessly borrowed from Minnedosa Daily Photo) pushing skyward alongside the highway, while in the distance two older wooden elevators still stood quietly watching over the town ... M and I both observed that "this" looked like a town that would be nice to come back and visit some time ... Little did we know ??? ... A few minutes later we stopped in nearby Neepawa to see the Margret Laurence House and grab some groceries for lunch ... I'll speak of being run down in the produce aisle by an old man and his shopping cart another time ... but somehow Minnedosa's hook was set ...

I remember first hearing about Minnedosa when sitting in a room in a care home with a delightful, witty and friendly 100 year old man named Hilbert. Hilbert has been raised in Minnedosa, and along with his two sisters (who also reached the tender ages of 106, and 103 respectively) called Minnedosa home, even 35 years after retiring to the BC coast ... meeting two "old" friends at his 100th Birthday planted the seed that later that year would sprout when I was looking at the Vacancy list of the UCC and found a listing there for Minnedosa ...

I remember the first moment I stepped into the old 105 year old sanctuary that once stood on Main St, until an arsonist fire stole it from us ... My breath was taken away as I stepped into the sanctuary that April afternoon and stood in a place of wood, stained glass and history, all bathed in the warmth of spring sunshine pouring through the colourful stained glass windows that once encircled the room ... I can STILL close my eyes and stand in that moment and feel, smell and see the beauty that captured me in that moment ... Words can't even begin to describe the feelings that well up when I consider THAT loss ...

AND ... one last memory ... I remember the August evening as we travelled east on the Yellowhead and began descending into Minnedosa down the North end of Main St ... a HUGE full moon hung over the southern Horizon and in the darkness of a late summer evening we arrived in the down that has been our home for the last seven years ... it was a beautiful and enchanting way to begin the journey here ... I can say honestly that Minnedosa has offered to my life and journey, and that of my family both the best and the worst ... We've been through hell, and have counted more losses that I care to reflect upon ... but along the way, we've made some strong and fabulous friendships that have more than transcended the hurt and nastiness offered by others ... We have struggled and marked some wonderful achievements ... but through it all we have happily called Minnedosa home ...

SO, ... all of this is by way of an introduction to a blog I read about the other day over a Jaydee's Blog "Things I've Learned." Minnedosa Daily Photo is a daily diary of pictures snapped in and around Minnedosa ... there are a dozen or so pictures up so far that range from the scenic to the mundane ... they are simply photos of life in and around Minnedosa ...

Don't know much more about the blog than it shows pictures of Minnedosa, so I would invite my readers to come and share in the tiny town that is very much a part of my life, and the lives of many others. And to Minnedosa Daily, the photographer - thanks for taking the time to celebrate this lovely little town of ours ...