Stories

"Nursed back to health, having welcomed the birth of their first child, Rowand joined an expedition to the Pembina/Athabasca region in 1812. Louise and John Jr. stayed behind at the HBC post to plant gardens and tend the horses, a whole summer of berry and medicine picking ahead of them. Louise had found community and built a family; she was John’s accomplice in both enterprise and affection to the end."

"Feeling resolute, little Louise pulled on her moccasins and gathered her shawl about her shoulders. Today would be one of many days that Louise Umphreville faced a wave of unknowns yet embraced it with the strength and grace shown by the women before her."

Days above zero have us pondering warmer weather, but with an ongoing pandemic we’re all looking for activities to bring forth a sunnier disposition. One way I’ve kept positive is planning my 2021 garden by ordering seeds on-line. While ogling the various carrot breeds, I got to thinking about the value home gardening has offered us through time. From the cultivated crops of the fur-trade to our backyard plots, gardens continue to give us both sustenance and joy. What might we learn from gardeners of the past about feeding our spirit in these times of trepidation?

Days above zero have us pondering warmer weather, but with an ongoing pandemic we’re all looking for activities to bring forth a sunnier disposition. One way I’ve kept positive is planning my 2021 garden by ordering seeds on-line. While ogling the various carrot breeds, I got to thinking about the value home gardening has offered us through time. From the cultivated crops of the fur-trade to our backyard plots, gardens continue to give us both sustenance and joy. What might we learn from gardeners of the past about feeding our spirit in these times of trepidation?

The winding waterway that flows through our city, and our daily lives, with its two-laned bridges and lush parklands, has been an ever-present force in peoples’ lives for thousands of years. Now called the North Saskatchewan River by most people, the river and its ravines have always been a place of refuge and congregation. Periodically, however, the river reminds us that our dominion over these lands is fleeting. On any spring day, the seemingly passive channel can rise up and challenge our idea that we have conquered this place.

Just as the citizens of Edmonton needed “a place, a physical space, to house its best stories”, our families also require a tangible and substantial location, a storehouse for our values, identities and personal narratives. Oftentimes, this important and necessary task is accomplished through our parents, and especially, our mothers.