Could there be a better place in the world to grow up than in Grand Forks/Sunshine Valley? My answer is an absolute NO! There is not a more caring, wonderful, adventurous and beautiful community anywhere.
Having worked, lived and travelled in over 50 countries around the world since leaving Grand Forks in my mid-20s, I know I can voice my opinion about this with full confidence. Our community is amazing.
Everyone knew everyone, and we were always looking out for each other—sometimes a little more than we wanted. For example—I was in Grade 7, my wonderful teacher was Miss MacMillan, and I loved school. One day she asked me to stay after school. I wondered what is this all about—I was a good student—what had I done wrong?
She started the conversation with “Milton, your name came up at the Bridge Club last night. Some of the ladies have seen you walking downtown along Winnipeg Avenue after school holding hands with Betty Lou. You know that is not good for your or her reputation, or your families’, to be doing that.”
Now Betty Lou was a very pretty, very nice classmate that I had a big crush on and those walks were very special. So from that day on Betty Lou and I walked down the back streets between the school and Gazette office where I was going to work every day after school.
There was no artificial ice rink in those days either; however, we did have an old arena near the Legion Hall where they made ice every winter. On the good winters the ice might last a whole month! We played hockey, and Friday nights you could go skating—I think it was a 25 cents admission fee, to the music you could skate to and it was really fun. You got to skate with your girl friends—even more fun.
Smelter Lake up North Fork road was another fun skating location for a few weeks of winter.
Our other playground was Observation Mountain where climbing the cliff was our test of courage—and perhaps lack of common sense. My close friend Clinton Atwood and I were up there almost every weekend, weather permitting. And talk about caring—Darcy, Clinton’s younger brother, decided to come with us one Saturday and scampered up the cliff really fast until he got to a spot where he couldn’t figure how to go up—or down. So Clinton and I set out to save him, pulling one foot after another down a step until we got him safely off the cliff. That was just what you did for friends, or brothers.
Another great winter treat happened on Saturday as well, when there was enough snow. Our wonderful Doukhobour farmers came into town in the morning on their horse-drawn sleighs. Right by the school, my friends and I would go onto the road, hook our small sleighs on the back of their big ones and hitch a ride down town—with their permission, of course. Then later we could hitch rides back up the hill home. That was one of the ways I got to know, and respect, our members of the Doukhobour community.
More memories still to come!
