I was wrong – the snowflakes did not stop in April but continued into May! There were days of just sprinkles and then even a full-blown white-out blizzard. Surely to heavens, we have caught up to the right level of moisture required, even surpassed it.
Now what was truly exceptional in May were nights of the aurora borealis (northern lights). There were wonderful photos of them posted on Facebook as well as photos of rainbows.
The downside to all the rainy days is the conditions of the gravel roads and the size of the holes that surfaced. Driving on the road is what a person would call a bone-jarring experience! Folks did call in and report the condition of the roads and the word is out, the grader is supposed to come next week and that will be a most welcome sight.
Jamie Fader had his boat out one day, and posted the loveliest evening picture of the calm lake. Jamie reported there seemed to be signs of fish activity. Not two days after that a visitor to the area, Aurele Belland landed a 15-pound laker – wow, nice looking fish! Congratulations on a great catch!
The Community Club has projects in the works just now, we are busy all the time. To date, we have received roofing quotes for the schoolhouse and the arena roof and found someone to repair the crack in the floor at the arena. The floor in the Community Hall also needs attention and we are currently waiting for a quote to come in for the cost of restoration. The students from Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School are also building an outdoor washroom for the garlic festival grounds as part of their school program with completion expected by the middle of June. The addition of the outdoor facility will make the festival grounds easier to rent out for the weekends, to date we have received two bookings.
Volunteers are especially important, and we are thankful for the ones that we have in our community. Their willingness to help wherever or whenever they can be so valuable.
The work bee at the cemetery on May 13 had a good turnout, and regular maintenance was completed. The cemetery needs regular attention, especially during the rainy season. There are a couple of pending projects outstanding. If you would like to help and can spare an hour or two, give Gale and Percy Ogden a call at 250-396-7381.
The work bee held at the festival grounds on the weekend of May 25 and 26 had over 20 folks that showed up, armed with chainsaws, tractors, pruning shears, sanders, and trailers. The beavers were particularly busy last year and at least 45 trees were down. As a result over 30 trailer loads of branches, logs, and rounds were taken to the dump. These folks did not seem to mind the weather, which was drizzly all weekend, but remained cheerful. The picnic tables were all sanded and ready to get stained. One neat thing happened and that was a bench is now in an area that had opened once the trees were all cleared away. Now a person can sit, rest, and enjoy watching the ducks or loons as they swim by.
The ball diamonds were all spruced up for a softball tournament hosted by our elementary school on May 31. Sincere thanks to Teresa, Huguette, Terry Murphy, and Rod who participated in cutting the grass, filling the gopher holes, and lining the field. Approximately 100 students from other elementary schools in the area were in attendance and participated in the games, all the children seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. Thanks to the organizers for this magnificent event!
Things were heating up at bingo for the last few weeks as the jackpot grew to over $3,000. Last week we had 99 players all hoping to be the lucky ones to win the funds. Congratulations go out to Paula Stenberg who won the jackpot in a blackout in 56 numbers.
We will be starting to build up the jackpot again, so come on out and check it out.
The Flea Market will be on June 23 this month rather than at the end of the month and part of the long weekend. The last market was busy even though there were no-show vendors. A quick call to the organizers would have been very thoughtful.
Simone at the Post Office did a superb job with her fundraising during the month of May. There were bake sales, raffles, and specialty food trucks on site. I stopped in and asked her exactly what the Canada Post Foundation was. The fundraising was Canada-wide with each province keeping the amounts that they had raised, and the plan was to grant it out to the schools/children that applied. She was excited that she had raised over $2,500 but was unsure whether our elementary school had applied for a grant or not. Thank you, Simone, for your great fundraising efforts.
Good News – Skookum Scoops will be reopening for their season, the first day open will be Sunday, June 2, from noon to 5 p.m. For the remainder of June, the days of operation will be Saturdays and Sundays. I wonder what new flavours will be in this year. In July we can look forward to increased hours, Friday to Monday 12 to 5 p.m.
