Carillon Sports Second Shots: April 9th edition

Featuring photos from Game four and five of the Capital Region Junior Hockey League finals and MJHL playoff games in Steinbach and Niverville.

COLUMN: Tales from the Gravel Ridge – Rosengard sounds that fill my memories

Memories of my childhood home and of Rosengard, the community in which we lived, fill my memory bank to overflowing. Among the many sounds of that era of long ago, is that of the school bell at the Rosengard School. Two of our grandchildren from Canada’s west coast spent a week of their two-week spring break with us. Needless to say, the school experiences of these eleven and thirteen year olds are vastly different from what ours were so many decades past. Nevertheless it is safe to say that many of the life lessons they are learning will stand them in good stead throughout their lives, much as we are reaping the benefits of ours of so many decades ago.

Memories of the school bell at Rosengard, ringing four times daily while school was in session, have a way of resurfacing from time to time. In a sense the school bell acts as a chronicle of that formative period in our lives, not because it supplies all the essential details, but rather because of the scenes it brings to mind.

Along with the school bell, of course, came other sounds at the Rosengard School. The laughter of children on the playground is surely one of the most enthralling of such memories; all but lost in the distant past, it nevertheless surfaces unbidden as we recall those carefree days from time to time. Following closely on the ringing of the school bell in the morning was the singing of “O Canada” our national anthem, and the reciting of “The Lord’s Prayer”. These opening exercises were followed by the roll call, when each student’s name was called out by the teacher, and each one responded by saying “present”.

Singing was an important part of our school program. We had no musical instrument in our school but fortunately our teachers knew how to sing and taught us a wide range of songs, many coming from the Manitoba School Songbook, and others from our respective teacher’s own repertoire. From my earliest memories of school, I also recall that we had a record player — a large portable black box which was normally stored in the school attic. On one occasion during those early years, I remember that this record player was brought down from its storage place. I can only recall the song “Listen to the Mockingbird” being played on that one occasion.

Providence Pilots embrace hometown in rebrand

The Providence Pilots will have a new look next season.

The college released their new logo March 26, featuring an otter wearing pilot’s goggles as a nod to the post-secondary school’s home in the town of Otterburne.

“Strong, agile, determined, and free, the otter provides a symbol in which all Providence athletes can see themselves represented,” a Providence news release reads.

“It also creates a meaningful connection to the Town of Otterburne, grounding the Pilots brand in their local identity.”

Rural care homes benefit from Manitoba Mobile Music

A mobile music troupe is bringing professional concerts back into long-term care homes throughout southeastern Manitoba.

Manitoba Mobile Music, a non-profit seeking to make live music accessible for under-served communities, has brought performances to care homes in Grunthal, Steinbach, Ste Anne and Vita. The songs can range from classical concertos to foot-stomping fiddle tunes.

Co-founder Trevor Kirczenow, who plays violin, was joined by a cellist and two other violinists, all musicians for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, to perform at Grunthal-based care home Menno Home For The Aged on March 31.

The string quartet’s set list went from “Spring” by Antonio Vivaldi to “Nowhere Man” by the Beatles. A captive audience of residents took in the concert, nodding or tapping along.

1946 – 2026 Watching Steinbach Grow: P.S. Guenther taught 1,807 during his 41-year career

Friday afternoon, June 29, 1962, P.S. Guenther left his Grade 7 classroom at Elmdale School in Steinbach for the final time as a teacher, marking the end of 41 years of administering the essentials of education to a grand total of 1,807 elementary school pupils.

Reflecting on a career spanning more than four decades, Guenther said if he were a young man, just graduating from high school, and had it to do all over again, he would still become a school teacher.

“There is no greater satisfaction in life than knowing a person has contributed something lasting and beneficial to the life of someone else. The teaching profession offers an incomparable opportunity to make this sort of contribution.”

Starting out at Randolph School at Chortitz in the fall of 1920, Guenther took up teaching more or less just as a matter of earning a little money on a permit-teaching basis. He didn’t know whether he would like it or not, but thought he would give it a try anyway.

Kate Cameron joins forces with Québec-based team

Kate Cameron’s curling career is taking her East from New Bothwell to a French community, but she’s going just a bit further than La Broquerie.

Cameron is joining forces with Québec skip Laurie St-Georges to form a new team for the upcoming curling cycle. Cameron will be the team’s skip with St-Georges at third. The front end from team St-Georges will also play for the new-look Team Cameron, with second Emily Riley and lead Émilia Gagné filling out the roster.

After skipping a Manitoba-based rink to a bronze medal at nationals in 2024, Team Cameron was granted one of the direct qualification spots at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, but couldn’t make the playoffs. They also failed to qualify for the Scotties this year, falling in the Manitoba championship semi-finals. After the end of the year, the team announced they were disbanding for the upcoming 2030 Olympic cycle.

The St-Georges rink added third Sarah Daniels last season, but lost out at the Québec provincials in the gold medal game, also missing out on a Scotties appearance. Daniels, who had been playing for a B.C.-based team before joining St-Georges, announced she would be leaving the team last month.

HSD board keeps SRSS grad in Winnipeg

The Hanover School Division board has turned down a Southeast Event Centre proposal to host the Steinbach Regional Secondary School graduation ceremony and instead opted to keep the ceremony in Winnipeg.

Board trustees unanimously voted on March 17 during an in-camera meeting to continue having the high school graduation ceremony at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, citing concerns over the Southeast Event Centre’s smaller space and higher cost to have the event. The decision was read out during the April 7 school board meeting.

Ward 2 Trustee Charmaine Toews said space is a premium when housing the high school’s graduating class ceremony.

“Our grad class keeps growing. It’s not going to get any smaller. I believe we have 550 grads this year, so we need a facility that can accommodate a lot of students,” she told The Carillon.

Bethesda Foundation donates heated chairs for cancer patients

The Bethesda Foundation has donated new heated chairs to add extra comfort for cancer patients.

The Steinbach non-profit donated $17,191 to Southern Health Cancer Care Centre to purchase four heated treatment chairs for patients who require chemotherapy or immunotherapy.

Dr. Curtis Krahn, who specializes in cancer care, welcomed the new chairs and said the heat helps make the uncomfortable process of cancer treatment more tolerable.

“It’s almost the same as if you’re sitting in your SUV and it’s -25 C outside, and you just feel kind of chilly, and it makes you feel so much better, and you’ve got that warm, toasty seat,” he told The Carillon.

Storytellers Entertainment’s first adult production opens season

Storytellers Entertainment will open its 2026 season with its first adult production with the showing of “12 Angry Jurors.”

“The shows we’ve done, like for the youth, they’ve been a fun ride for sure. But I guess it’s just kind of, for some of our adult actors, it’s not quite the kind of shows they’re looking for, I suppose. And yeah, we kind of just wanted to give a show that was more towards our adult actors,” said Storytellers Entertainment founder, director, and actor Devon Littlejohn, noting this is the first time the company is producing a drama piece.

The play is a take on the famous 1957 movie 12 Angry Men starring Henry Fonda and Jack Klugman. In the Storyteller production, a 19-year-old stands trial for the murder of his father, and the case appears open-and-shut—until one juror begins to question the evidence. What follows is a gripping and thought-provoking deliberation where personal bias, perspective, and the true meaning of justice are put to the test, according to the theatre company’s Facebook page.

The idea to do the play came about during last year’s production of “Hansel and Gretel” when Littlejohn and “12 Angry Jurors”’ director Andrew Derksen decided to produce the drama as they had plenty of adult actors in the company. Also, Derksen had acted in the Candlewick Productions’ version of “12 Angry Men” a couple of years ago where Littlejohn was an audience member and when they heard of “12 Angry Jurors” it seemed like a natural fit.