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.
Residents are invited to fill in the gaps on the most creative map of the Flin Flon region ever produced. 'Rock on Both Sides Canoe Map' depicts the many lakes and rivers _ and interesting historical facts _ of this area. It's the work of Flin Flon-born historian Scott Gilmore, who has a draft copy of the hand-drawn map on display at the Flin Flon Public Library. This Tuesday, July 30, from 3:30-4:30 p.m., Gilmore will be at the library to speak about the map and seek additional facts for possible inclusion in the final draft. The current draft includes many random details, such as the origin of the name Phantom Lake, which was christened after a Hudson Bay man who mysteriously disappeared. There is also a description of the now-smokeless smoke stack, suggestions for good camp sites and a blurb about the 1929 fire that ravaged Cranberry Portage. Other facts are more obscure, such as this: 'On August 10th, 1786, Malcom Ross, an HBC canoeman, left from Churchill and paddled to Cumberland House via the Pineroot River. It took him 41 days.' Cindy McLean, administrator at the library, hopes visitors stopping by Tuesday will be just as intrigued with the concept as she is. 'It's basically a storybook in a map and I think it's really fascinating,' she said. Gilmore, who now resides in Ottawa, is much more than a mapmaker. He is also the founder of Peace Dividend Trust, a respected non-profit that develops and implements new ideas in peacekeeping and aid to improve lives in poor and war-torn nations. In 2010 his efforts earned him one of the G-20 SME Finance Challenge Awards, presented by U.S. President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Though born in Flin Flon, Gilmore was raised in Edmonton. McLean invites anyone interested to meet with Gilmore on Tuesday.
