HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Photography Forums > My City Photos


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #1  
Old Posted May 14, 2013, 1:54 PM
SignalHillHiker's Avatar
SignalHillHiker SignalHillHiker is online now
I ♣ Baby Seals
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Sin Jaaawnz, Newf'nland
Posts: 34,660
Life in a Small, Prairie Town

Beausejour, Manitoba, is a typical small town on the Canadian prairies. It has 3,100 residents, a disproportionate number of which are incredibly tall, impossibly good-looking people of Ukrainian and other eastern European backgrounds.

It has an overabundance of churches and tends to vote for Conservatives but it's one of those rare and special places where people have a more libertarian outlook on life and don't go out of their way to let you know what they think of who you are and how you choose to live. It's one of those places where you really do get what you give.

It's a place where people live well and surprisingly creatively. People who can't do something artistic - be it painting, playing a musical instrument, whatever - are few and far between.

All in all, my time there was fantastically enjoyable. It was like living in another world - but I loved it precisely because it was so different.

Glassblowing demo at a local Old Age Home:



A woman and her, I kid you not, guard donkeys:



High school graduation:







A summer festival:



The Shades of the Past car show:



An alphabet garden at the local Primary/Elementary school:



A new piece of equipment for the playground:



The local theatre company's production:



Harvest time:





Inside one of the many churches:



The town Christmas tree:



The community pool:



The mother of a depressed young man who had taken his own life, celebrating the successful organization of the first fundraiser walk in his memory:



The local golf course.



The public Daylily Gardens:



Cheerleaders:



Figure skaters:



Traditional, Ukrainian dancing:



Moto-Cross racing (also used for snowmobile racing and a rodeo):



The rodeo:



(Yes, it's really called the BJ Motel):



Snowmobile races:





Ice storm:





Rainbow.



Rainstorm moving in:



The local Brokenhead River:



The best sunset I've yet seen in my life...









__________________
Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."

Last edited by SignalHillHiker; May 14, 2013 at 2:11 PM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2  
Old Posted May 14, 2013, 2:09 PM
kool maudit's Avatar
kool maudit kool maudit is offline
video et taceo
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 13,867
nice photos, signalhillhiker. that all feels very far away right now, and in a vaguely unpleasant way. when you're in canada, even in montreal or toronto, you know you can hop in a car and go to a place like that pretty quickly. frisch weht der wind der heimat zu etc.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #3  
Old Posted May 14, 2013, 2:30 PM
SignalHillHiker's Avatar
SignalHillHiker SignalHillHiker is online now
I ♣ Baby Seals
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Sin Jaaawnz, Newf'nland
Posts: 34,660
Slight existential discomfort is the worst.
__________________
Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #4  
Old Posted May 14, 2013, 2:30 PM
flar's Avatar
flar flar is offline
..........
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Southwestern Ontario
Posts: 15,170
I love some parts of small town life, but I can't do it for more than a few weeks.

Looks like you had a beautiful stay there
__________________
RECENT PHOTOS:
TORONTOSAN FRANCISCO ROCHESTER, NYHAMILTONGODERICH, ON WHEATLEY, ONCOBOURG, ONLAS VEGASLOS ANGELES
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5  
Old Posted May 14, 2013, 3:10 PM
SignalHillHiker's Avatar
SignalHillHiker SignalHillHiker is online now
I ♣ Baby Seals
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Sin Jaaawnz, Newf'nland
Posts: 34,660
I really did.

Looking back it's one of the few places that satisfied my homesickness with as much contentment as curiosity. And life there includes a whole region, from Winnipeg to Lac du Bonnet. You just naturally end up throughout that entire area if you live anywhere within it.

Of course, homesickness isn't really the right term. It was more of a distraction, like being very hungry. No matter where I was, or I what I was doing, this sense that I belonged somewhere else just kept coming to mind. I ended up wishing every day away the way you might wish the last 10 minutes of this meeting would end so you can go get lunch already.

Beausejour held that at bay quite well, probably because it was so different visually.
__________________
Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #6  
Old Posted May 14, 2013, 3:38 PM
SignalHillHiker's Avatar
SignalHillHiker SignalHillHiker is online now
I ♣ Baby Seals
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Sin Jaaawnz, Newf'nland
Posts: 34,660
A few more pictures...

Taking a Porsche out for a spin:



Grand Beach (coincidentally the same name as the community where our summer cottage in Newfoundland was):





Every. Single. Friday evening. At least until I moved into the city.







Loved this:



Out at a friend's farm:



__________________
Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7  
Old Posted May 14, 2013, 4:33 PM
destroycreate's Avatar
destroycreate destroycreate is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 1,608
It's interesting how people in those towns are probably so much happier with their lives than we are in the big hectic cities. There's something to be said for simplicity.

At the same time, I know I can't live without my korean taco trucks and fair trade coffee/produce kthxbai.
__________________
**23 years on SSP!**
Previously known as LaJollaCA
https://www.instagram.com/itspeterchristian/
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #8  
Old Posted May 14, 2013, 5:04 PM
SignalHillHiker's Avatar
SignalHillHiker SignalHillHiker is online now
I ♣ Baby Seals
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Sin Jaaawnz, Newf'nland
Posts: 34,660
Simplicity is great.

But it's also, in some ways, a mirage. There are so many factors that go into creating an atmosphere like the one in this town.

I think simple people have generally happier lives - but that doesn't correspond with the rural/urban divide as much as people on either side like to think.

There are towns this size all but destroyed by meth.

There are towns this size in my own province where just about everyone under the age of 65 has moved away.

There are large cities like Montreal that don't feel transient at all - but rather settled. They're growing, of course, but there's a contented core as well.

There are cities in my own province that do not have the amenities or recreational/cultural programs this town of 3,100 has.

There are all sorts of socio-economic factors that come into play. Beausejour has been really lucky that all of these factors have come together in its favour.

It's even close enough to large city to have some subdivisions with commuters popping up, allowing young families in the town to stay but work and spend their free time in the capital.
__________________
Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #9  
Old Posted May 14, 2013, 6:21 PM
mousquet's Avatar
mousquet mousquet is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Greater Paris, France
Posts: 4,556
There's a province over there of which the name ALWAYS runs away from me. Wait...

Saskatchewan.

That name is a blessing to them. I consider the fact that I'm unable to put it anywhere in my vicious brain is definitely a good sign to them.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #10  
Old Posted May 14, 2013, 10:25 PM
rockyi's Avatar
rockyi rockyi is offline
Bah!
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Rock Island, Illinois
Posts: 16,399
Thanks for the tour!
__________________
My feet hurt!
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #11  
Old Posted May 15, 2013, 11:11 AM
photoLith's Avatar
photoLith photoLith is offline
Ex Houstonian
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Pittsburgh n’ at
Posts: 15,476
It looks like small town America, except they all have health insurance. And they look like theyre in much better shape than their American counterparts.
__________________
There’s no greater abomination to mankind and nature than Ryan Home developments.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #12  
Old Posted May 16, 2013, 1:03 PM
isaidso isaidso is offline
The New Republic
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: United Provinces of America
Posts: 10,793
Quote:
Originally Posted by photoLith View Post
It looks like small town America, except they all have health insurance. And they look like theyre in much better shape than their American counterparts.
That's because it is small town America, just the Canadian part.
__________________
World's First Documented Baseball Game: Beachville, Ontario, June 4th, 1838.
World's First Documented Gridiron Game: University College, Toronto, November 9th, 1861.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats since 1869 & Toronto Argonauts since 1873: North America's 2 oldest pro football teams
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #13  
Old Posted May 16, 2013, 2:26 PM
Jamaican-Phoenix's Avatar
Jamaican-Phoenix Jamaican-Phoenix is offline
R2-D2's army of death
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Downtown Ottawa
Posts: 3,576
Quote:
Originally Posted by isaidso View Post
That's because it is small town America, just the Canadian part.
That's why it's SMALL TOWN CANADA.

Last I checked, Canada was still its own country.
__________________
Franky: Ajldub, name calling is what they do when good arguments can't be found - don't sink to their level. Claiming the thread is "boring" is also a way to try to discredit a thread that doesn't match their particular bias.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #14  
Old Posted May 16, 2013, 3:30 PM
SignalHillHiker's Avatar
SignalHillHiker SignalHillHiker is online now
I ♣ Baby Seals
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Sin Jaaawnz, Newf'nland
Posts: 34,660
Quote:
Originally Posted by photoLith View Post
It looks like small town America, except they all have health insurance. And they look like theyre in much better shape than their American counterparts.
These two things are probably related.
__________________
Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #15  
Old Posted May 16, 2013, 9:01 PM
MonctonRad's Avatar
MonctonRad MonctonRad is online now
Wildcats Rule!!
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Moncton NB
Posts: 34,454
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamaican-Phoenix View Post
That's why it's SMALL TOWN CANADA.

Last I checked, Canada was still its own country.
I think the point is that Canadians are Americans too, just in the broader more inclusive North American context. Canada is the kinder, gentler, slightly more socialist version of our southern neighbours. We are what the US might have been if they hadn't rebelled against the mother country.
__________________
Go 'Cats Go
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #16  
Old Posted May 17, 2013, 2:55 AM
bunt_q's Avatar
bunt_q bunt_q is online now
Provincial Bumpkin
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 13,201
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonctonRad View Post
I think the point is that Canadians are Americans too, just in the broader more inclusive North American context. Canada is the kinder, gentler, slightly more socialist version of our southern neighbours. We are what the US might have been if they hadn't rebelled against the mother country.
So in other words, it's Minnesota with a monarchy.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #17  
Old Posted May 17, 2013, 3:22 AM
montréaliste montréaliste is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Chambly, Quebec
Posts: 1,996
God Save duh Dairy Queen.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #18  
Old Posted May 18, 2013, 11:45 PM
Wigs's Avatar
Wigs Wigs is offline
Great White Norf
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Niagara Region
Posts: 10,820
Quote:
Originally Posted by montréaliste View Post
God Save duh Dairy Queen.
post WIN

oh and nice photos of a town I had never heard of before this thread.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #19  
Old Posted May 19, 2013, 7:10 AM
LSyd's Avatar
LSyd LSyd is offline
Red October standing by
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Columbia/Sumter, SC
Posts: 16,913
great photos and thread. threads like these are why i love SSP; this one feels like a national geographic article

-
__________________
"The vapors! The fainting couch! Those heartless elitists are burning down the plantation with their logic and arithmetic!"

-fflint
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20  
Old Posted May 20, 2013, 7:26 PM
DLLB DLLB is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Penticton, BC
Posts: 2,581
Great thread.

I wish there were a lot more posts like this of small towns around the world.
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Photography Forums > My City Photos
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 12:33 PM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.