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German students still learning at 60 years old

German students travel across the ocean for reunion at Lac des Roches
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During their reunion tour

The tour bus on Boultbee Road on Sept. 24 was not lost; it was heading to Eva and Werner Bechtel’s home.

Thirty-two of Werner’s classmates, celebrating their 45th reunion far from their school in Bonndorf at Black Forest in Germany, spent two weeks discovering our half of the province with a train ride through the Rocky Mountains and tours through museums and heritage sites.

Twenty-four members of the group chose to enjoy an afternoon tea, at Lac des Roches hosted by Eva. The students agreed this was their best reunion yet and credited Werner for organizing a spectacular and fun-filled adventure trip.

It was one of their previous teachers, Mr. Gut, who was along on the trip and turned the vacation into an educational experience by challenging his 60-year-old students with a pop quiz near the end of the trip about many of the sites they had visited.

The next reunion is in five years back in Germany.

Need to know

Gravel dumped east of the rest stop was the beginning of a new approach for a cabin south of the highway, a huge and challenging project to meet safety standards.

Blue flagging along the roads indicates where ditches require cleaning prior to next year’s spring runoff to eliminate the road damage experienced last year.

Broken Saskatoon limbs along the road and in yards were caused by a hungry bear that ate most of the berries around the lake.

It is hoped the free doggie bags will encourage dog walkers to pick up after their pooches.

Disappointing disposal

Illegal dumping of yard waste on public and private land is becoming a problem around the neighbourhood.

Piles of grass clippings, tree trimmings and fire ashes have appeared on Crown land and unused private lots and are a disappointing eyesore.

Since even the smallest inhabited lots around the lake have wisely been developed with a rustic flavour and include natural bush and visual barriers, it is hard to imagine anyone not finding a small corner of their property to pile and compost their organic garbage or cut up wood waste small enough to feed a small campfire during visits.

Hopefully residents will rethink their behaviour and help keep this problem away from our pristine country.

Vibrant colours return

After several years of drab colours on the aspen trees, changing leaves are spectacular right now.

Since the leaf miner started removing chlorophyll, aspen leafs have a silvery appearance in the summer, which translated to a brown leaf in the fall.

The cold spring weather is credited for the late hatch and reduced destruction by the little white moth and now we are enjoying weeks of vibrant yellows and oranges as each aspen grove picks its own time to transition.

Summer over

A dip in the lake on the sunny and calm afternoon of Sept. 30 was not out of the question, as one neighbour reports, “The water was refreshing and did not take your breath away.”

Rain and wind on Oct. 1 had the lake looking less inviting for a swim, but it was snow and the near freezing temperatures on Oct. 2 that convinced our hardiest neighbours to trade in their bathing suits and towels for turtlenecks and toques.

Unlike the cold front that hit our area on Sept. 10, this change in weather truly marks the permanency of autumn.

Friends meeting

The annual general meeting of the Friends of Lac des Roches and Birch Lake has yet to be scheduled, but is expected to be in early December.