COLUMN: Tales from the Gravel Ridge – Water in various manifestations

Memories of my Rosengard home would not be complete without reflecting on the immeasurable importance of water in all aspects of the life of my family, and for that matter on the very existence of our community. On the surface that might seem to be so commonplace that it hardly bears mentioning. For those of us living in an urban society where such services as the provision of water and sewer are a given, we can scarcely imagine our day-to-day lives without the essential component of water. There is however so much more to water than turning on a water tap, be it to quench our thirst or for a myriad of our other daily needs.

The well on our Rosengard farm was not very deep, but it provided us with fresh water year round. Our outside pump gave us year-round access to that precious resource. There was, however, a rule that needed to be followed in order for the pump to function properly. In winter, if the individual who was the last one to work the pump, either for watering livestock or providing water for the household, forgot to drain the water properly, we would run into a problem. If I recall correctly, the water remaining in the chamber of the pump during the cold winter months would freeze, requiring thawing it with boiling water. Needless to say great pains were taken to prevent such a time consuming situation.

My mother took note of my own speech development when I pronounced the name of our cow quenching its thirst at the water trough outside. Not only was our family dependant on this vital resource for our survival, but so too was our livestock. I can imagine looking through a small space I may have been able to scrape through a thickly rimmed windowpane on a cold winter morning, and watching gleefully as the brownish red cow drank its fill from the water trough. In retrospect I recognize the myriad images that present themselves within that simple scene of my childhood in Rosengard.

That very basic image of my childhood confirms the reality that water is essential to all life on earth. That being the case, we have every reason to guard it with the respect it deserves. How can we continue to function as the human race without ensuring that all of us have access to this vital commodity.

If we begin to look at water from the perspective of the memories it holds for us as individuals and as families, we will soon realize how profoundly infused the history of all of us is by this reality. Even if, as children, we were not fully aware of how imperative it was that our bodies have an adequate supply of water in order to survive, we nevertheless knew that we needed this priceless commodity by the fact that we were desperately thirsty.

All of us have, no doubt, were we to put our minds to it, memories of water in its various physical states. Those of us living in Manitoba know a great deal about snow as well as rain, not to mention ice and hoarfrost. We also know that Manitoba has many navigable rivers as well as countless lakes without even counting the larger ones that appear on our provincial maps.

The waterways of Manitoba be it local ones, or those farther away from us, provide us with untold beauty in a vast array of surroundings.

During July 1999, my husband Bernie and I, along with our sons, Andrew and Jonathan had the pleasure of canoeing the spectacular Bloodvein River from Artery Lake near the Ontario border to Lake Winnipeg. Our daughter Elizabeth provided transportation to Bissett on the first lap of our trip, and again from Pine Dock at the end of our voyage.

My journal entry for July 26, 1999, describes one of numerous examples of beauty on Canada’s waterways, specifically in this instance, on the Bloodvein:

“We are camped across from a large island in the river. It was very windy when we pulled in and almost immediately, a dark cloud came up. It looked as if we were in for a storm, but fortunately, it blew over. A rainbow followed. Now the sky is clear, and the clouds have a rosy-purplish hue. Everything is perfectly calm, and a beautiful moon is out.”