HISTORY – STORIES/POEMS

I Am…

by: Edward Peltz

I am the fields of waving grain

I am the meadows lush and green

I am the forest of Maple, Poplar and the Mighty Oak

I am Lake Manitoba with beautiful sunny beaches

I am Lake Francis teeming with beaver and muskrat

I am the Shoal Lakes, home of the Mallard Duck, the Canada Goose, the Sandhill Crane and the Piping Plover

I am the Crocus, first flower of spring and the official flower of Manitoba, and I am the Tiger Lily, the Yellow and Pink Ladies Slipper, and the delicate Wild Rose

I am the tall grass Prairie

I am the Saskatoon and the Chokecherry

I am the Beaver, symbol of Canada

I am the Prairie Dog, the Fox, the Wolf, the Coyote, and the Hungarian Partridge

I am the majestic White Tail Deer

I am the grain farmer, the rancher raising beef and bison, the dairy man, the sheep farmer and the poultry man. Our produce feeds the hungry world

I am the Builder, the Welder, the Mechanic and the Homemaker. We are all proud of our accomplishments

I am the Elevator, tall, lonely sentinel of the prairie

I am the Prairie Dog Central Train, bringing people from across the world to our community

I am your neighbour, your coffee shop friend, the volunteer, the snowmobiler, the trucker, the teacher, the baker and the banker

I am a mosaic of thirty-four nationalities, with many languages, cultures, and creeds, living in harmony with the earth and with each other

I am the hockey rink, developer of NHL prospects and players of all ages

I am the baseball park, home of professional athletes and Provincial and National Champions

We were the fathers of competitive sports in our area, our names were Nichol, Morrison, McRae, Riddell, Stewart, Porteous, Cradduck, Langrell, Tait, Hogg, Pattenaude and Fleming

I am the best kept secret of the Interlake, I am the South Interlake Golf & Country Club

I am the ghost of the Shoal Lake Steamboat

I am the Prime Meridian Trail, where you can hike to your heart’s content and view many species of birds and hundreds of plants, native to our area

I am the historic Mission Trail, early gateway to the Northwest Interlake

I am Oak Park Lodge, home of our pioneers and builders of our present

I am the Pioneer Museum, displaying artifacts of the past and our progress to the new millennium

I am the heritage home of the Robertson’s, the Arbuckle’s, and the Erinside School

I am the one hundred year family farm

I am the bashful groom, and I am the bride, all blushing and coy

I am a baby, everyone’s pride and joy

I am the student searching for knowledge

I am the parent and grandparent, proud of our children, proud of our past, and excited about the future

I am the snowstorm, the thunder and lightning, and I am the rain

I am the sunrise that wakes you in the morning, and I am the sunset that ends a perfect day

I am the home of your ancestors, your home, and the future home of your children

I am all this and more

Be proud of me, build me up, don’t knock me down

I am the Municipality of Woodlands 

December, 2002

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