A large group of proponents, volunteers, supporters, and government officials came together June 2 to celebrate the official opening of the Stanley Community Pathway.
James Friesen, who spearheaded the volunteer committee behind the $4.2 million project, reflected on how much came together to make this dream a reality.
“This has been a huge effort on the part of community at many levels. So we want to recognize the people, the organizations, and the support we’ve gotten to get this thing to where it is today,” he said. “We’re standing here because of the hopes and dreams of the community, thinking of this idea of connecting Winkler and Morden to the RM.
“Where we are today and where the pathway is built is, to me, a symbol of the sort of the generosity of generations of people. We’re right now on provincial land, it’s easement of the highway, with the province, next to the edge of farm land and businesses, over the top of infrastructure … and so we’re here by the good graces of all those organizations.
“It also makes me mindful of when we think back to the stewardship that the Métis and Indigenous people had well before we organized it into farmland and other properties. It’s that generosity over generations that allows these kinds of things to happen. So to me this is a celebration of all of that, and you’re here today to recognize it.
Friesen paid tribute to the local business leaders who came on board with the idea early on and who championed the project to help it move forward.
“This group of individuals brought experience, wisdom, and knowledge to what we were doing,” he said, lauding as well the members of the Stanley Trail Association who joined the planning committee, which first began meeting six or seven years ago to begin fleshing out a dream that had been identified several years earlier. “Without this group, this pathway would not have been built.”
He also noted the funding support that came from all three levels of government.
“Every level of government was involved in making sure this thing was funded,” Friesen said. “About four years ago, I think it was, [the federal government] came through with $2.1 million funding. So, for us .. that was half of the estimated cost of the pathway … there was no turning back.”
“This has been something I have been watching happen over the years, and it’s exciting for me to see how the three levels have come together to collaborate and put this pathway together,” noted Morden-Winkler MLA Carrie Hiebert in her remarks. “I think this really shows the amazing municipal governments that we have in our area.
“Thank you for having the vision … that is like a testament to our area. We are a blessed area.”
“I have to congratulate the organizing committee for not only your faith but your perseverance,” said Morden Mayor Nancy Penner. “I love the Stanley Community Pathway because that’s what it’s all about is community … this is just one example of what you can achieve.
“This pathway has been talked about for many years,” said RM of Stanley Reeve Ike Friesen. “The timing was right.
“This project demonstrates what is possible when people and organizations and municipalities work together towards a common goal,” he added. “I believe there’s an important lesson in that, as communities, we can achieve great things when we focus on working together. My hope is that we continue to think that way as look towards for future opportunities.
“It provides a place to exercise, to connect with nature and to connect with one another. So thank you and congratulations to everyone who help make this time.”
“It was with a fair amount of nervousness and trepidation that ultimately we agreed to fund it … believing that there’s no likelihood that this thing gets built in our lifetime,” joked Winkler Mayor Henry Siemens.
“James and his committee, their dedication, their persistence, their really, really aggressive nature of being kindly aggressive, moved this thing forward continuously,” he said. “Thank you for your tenacity … that allowed the rest of the community to get behind them. And we had a number of other really good supporters that have stepped in behind us and made this project possible.”
