Community Spirit Lives Here

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You might have noticed on the media that this spring (2018) Grand Forks suffered catastrophic flooding that displaced a large part of the town’s population and shut the town down for a while.

The town may be ‘out of business’ for a few weeks or more. The damages will take millions of dollars and months to fix.

What may have been lost in the outside media coverage is the bounty of community spirited people who came out to help in any way they could.

But all that aside the town has done itself proud.

I was told that the Red Cross people (might have been Province I don’t know) said they’d never worked a disaster where so many in the community came out to lend a hand. Hundreds of people came out to sandbag: filling, ferrying or placing. Not just for their own places but those of neighbours and total strangers. (I did a bit of pushing in that direction but I can’t claim credit) Young people, old people, lots of men, women, girls and boys helped out and are still helping out.

So there’s your update . . . we’re okay. For today. Tomorrow hasn’t been written yet.

– Les Johnson May 12, 2018

 

Come See Our Little Museum

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When I first moved to town one of the first places I checked out was the Museum. That helps you understand why the place you’ve found yourself in is the way it is. Plus I was looking for work and they were looking for someone … I got the job.

For the next 3 years, until it closed for a while, I worked there. And I found out that the best part of the position was touring the visitors through and telling them the tales and facts and making it come to life just a little bit.

The Museum and the City got in a fight and for a while they had no home and I had no job. But it has worked out well in the long run – the Museum found a new home in a historic site that needed a tenant that would honor its heritage and be proper stewards. And it happened to be a school which is appropriate to its function of educating the world about the history of the area.

And occasionally they will ask (or I will volunteer) to take a group on a tour through the museum. Like I’m going to take you right now. Okay, this tour is quite a bit shorter and bereft of most of the stores BUT it’s meant to be a bit of a teaser to get you to visit 🙂 And below that is a bit of history – a visit to the no longer there museum when it was still downtown. (the 360 degree video might be best viewed with Google Chrome)

And this is a small window into the past … a place that no longer exists.

Around the Customs Cabin in the Round

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I have acquired new technology – a little camera that shoots 360 degree video. And YouTube supports that now … so if you are using Google Chrome as your browser watch the first video. Otherwise watch the second one.

Anyway, I’m going to try taking you on little visits to local spots of tourism interest … this is the first one.

Behind our venerable old Court House (now gallery 2, the art gallery) is a small log building. It used to be the Customs Cabin for visitors from the USA over a hundred years ago.

UPDATE: A plug-in on this site was breaking the 360 degree video playback functionality … it is fixed / bypassed and 360 degree viewing should be possible. As long as you are using Google’s Chrome web browser as of June 2015.

And for those not using Chrome:

Coast Downhill On Your Bike For An Hour

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Did you know that if you were in Grand Forks there’s a bike ride where you could coast downhill on your bike for an hour?

And along the way you get to pass through two tunnels.  And gently descend from the top of  the mountain ridge down alongside the valley below.

If you’re exercise inclined then do it in the other direction, the incline is only about 2% because it used to be a railroad line.

Back in 2009 we took this little trip and I made a video about it. (excuse the audio – I had no studio) We had someone drop us and our bikes off at the Eholt road and we made it back on our own. Eholt was a rail stop, the high point between Grand Forks and Greenwood. The site is a place along the Trans Canada Trail,  the world’s longest network of recreational trails. If you start there you can coast down to either town … and carry on for many, many miles.

UPDATE: Chris Moslin has put this route up on Google Maps

If you live here in Grand Forks then Phoenix is your local Ski Hill.

Less than a half-hour drive from town locals can breakfast at home, ski and board on the hill and be back home for supper. A nice touch to Life in Rockies. Check it out below. Thanks once again to Megan Kienas for making the movie.

More GF Promotional videos from Nik Green

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Last year The City of Grand Forks contracted to get their own promotional videos made. The contract was won by GF grown professional video producer Nik Green. Like many young people seeking a professional career Nik doesn’t physically reside in GF anymore but he does come back often and keeps in touch with people and things happening in GF via the web.

Here they are. They weren’t produced for this contest but they were produced to help Show Off Grand Forks. Great job Nik!





Winners Get Paid

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After all this time the final act of the contest has taken place – the winners got their cheques!

Megan_gets_cheque Helen_gets_cheque

Thanks again to Megan and Helen.

They care enough about their community to take the time and effort to do something to help promote it to the world. And they were patient about the drawn out way the contest came to a conclusion … our gratitude to you both.

 

Results of Voting

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The vote has finally taken place.

Just before the Spotlight Films Tuesday showing of Nebraska on May 27, 2014, at the GEM Theatre we showed both the entries to the audience on the BIG SCREEN. Then we went around with a pair of ballot boxes and they cast their votes.

The results: 68 votes cast. Megan Kienas got 45 and Helen Durham got 23.

Which means Megan garnered 66.176% and Helen 33,82%.

In my speech to the audience I stated that I would round the kitty up to an even $1000.
That means Megan will get a cheque for $661.76 and Helen will get one for $338.24

A number of Thank Yous need to be given here:

Thanks to Spotlight films for letting us intrude on their evening.

Thanks to the GEM Theatre for helping out with this.

Thanks for Lizanne Eastwood and Lorraine Davies-Van Boeyen for being ‘on board’ and the helpful input.

Thanks to both Lorraine and Helen for donating money to the prize kitty. Lorraine put in $300 and Helen put in $100.

And thanks to Lorraine for the materials, photocopying and putting up with my lunacy

And last, but not least, a BIG Thank You to Megan and Helen for all their hard work and the fine productions they have wrought.

Both the movies looked great on the big screen and everyone enjoyed seeing them.

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