The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor She could have picked Foxwarren, Fisher Branch or even Friedensfeld, but none of them piqued Flora Schalla's interest like Flin Flon. Schalla was in our city last week, making the sixth stop on a journey that will take her to Manitoba communities starting with each letter of the alphabet. 'Flin Flon has been a place that I always wanted to come to,' says the retired health-care aide from Steinbach. Schalla has long wanted to see Manitoba from A to Z. The idea came from the regular road trips she and husband Ray take to visit friends. 'As I drive along, I just think, 'Hmm, I wonder what that town looks like. What does that town have to offer its residents?'' says Flora, a friendly, grandmotherly figure. 'I decided that I wanted to start a project of visiting places in Manitoba that I had never been to before. As I'm a methodical person, I decided that I would pick one town from each letter of the alphabet and go in alphabetical order.' Flora was in her early 60s when she finally embarked on her unique trek in 2009. Her first destination would be Altona, a Mennonite town near the U.S. border and a choice that baffled Ray. 'When I told my husband that I had chosen Altona as my A place, he said, 'Why would you want to go to Altona? There's nothing there to see,'' Flora says. 'So I said, 'If people live there, there has got to be something to see.'' Indeed Altona offered more than its population of 4,000 would suggest. At Flora's request, a local radio personality gave her a tour of the town, including stops at a park, a potterymaker and a state-of-the-art recreation centre. From there she knew her cross-province expedition would offer an amazing experience. She also knew she wanted someone from each community to give her a tour, if at all possible. Flora capped off 2009 with trips to Birtle and Carberry. Health problems derailed travel in 2010, but in 2011 she was back at it, touring Deloraine and revisiting Altona and Carberry. Her voyage resumed last week when she and Ray went to Ethelbert on Monday before pulling into Flin Flon on Tuesday afternoon. Interestingly, Flora had wanted to visit Flin Flon on her honeymoon. Unlike Ray, whose job in construction took him all over the province, the farmgirl from southeastern Manitoba had done little travelling. Make it count At that time, the newlyweds only got as far as Cranberry Portage, so, 41 years into their marriage, they were determined to make their visit to Flin Flon count. Across three-and-a-half days, they stopped by City Hall, viewed historical sites, spoke with residents and even enjoyed a fishing outing. A dedicated Toastmaster, Flora also attended one of the Flin Flon branch's meetings, delivering a speech on her travels. It was only fitting since Flora's alphabet adventure is partly designed to give her new material for Toastmaster speeches. She will in fact write a speech about all 26 of her destinations. The Schallas' next stop will be next month in Gretna, near the U.S. border. When it comes to their final destination, there is only one option _ Zhoda, a quiet town also close to the border. For their 17th stop, there is no community that starts with Q, so Flora has had to get creative. She is looking at Quesnel Lake Caribou Lodge at Nopiming Provincial Park. Flora has no timeline for completing the trek. She doesn't have a specific budget, either, but is trying to keep costs to a minimum. Though less than a quarter through her journey, Flora has identified a common theme across her destinations. 'Passionate' 'Everybody is so passionate about their community and everyone is so excited that they were chosen to be that place for that letter of the alphabet,' she says. 'It's been actually very exciting, but I would say that I have received the most attention in Flin Flon (so far).' Throughout it all, Ray has been a supportive co-pilot. 'I got around through construction, so I was all over Manitoba, Ontario and into Saskatchewan, so I've seen a lot of little towns,' he says. 'But it's very interesting, the history in the small communities. And just like Flora said, they're very passionate about their towns and you can really dig into the history and find out all sorts of things that maybe even some of the (residents) haven't been thinking of anymore, but somebody knows. And Flora always gets a tour; she's persistent on the computer, on the phone.' So how will Flora mark the end of her excursion, whenever that time comes? 'One of my Toastmaster friends...said, 'You need to publish a book,'' she says. 'And I just said, 'Publish a book? We'll talk about that when I get to Z.''
