When Dave Price moved to Flin Flon 46 years ago, he likely never imagined he would one day see his name alongside some of the community’s most treasured residents.
On Sunday, Aug. 15, Price’s photo was added to the Flin Flon Station Museum’s Wall of Honour as part of an annual ceremony that sees the museum board recognize a citizen who has gone above and beyond expectations in serving the community.
It was a fitting recognition for a man who has given much of his life and energy to blazing and maintaining trails in the Flin Flon area, and opening up natural areas to the public.
Born in Bangor, North Wales, Price found his way to Flin Flon in August 1970. He had heard about a job in the remote community through a professor he met while working in Antarctica with a research group from New York’s Columbia University.
Price’s decision to move to Flin Flon was likely unsurprising for those who knew him. He was drawn to the wilderness like the proverbial duck to water.
During his student years, geology proved to be a natural fit for Price, and he obtained B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in geology at the University of Wales in Cardiff, where he also served as president of the climbing and caving club.
After years as a student, Price leaped at the opportunity to work for HBM&S, now Hudbay, on surface geological mapping and underground projects in the Flin Flon and Snow Lake areas.
Over the years, Price would welcome geologists from around the world to Flin Flon, sharing his local knowledge and enthusiasm for the area.
Ski club
Soon after his arrival in 1970, Price joined the Flin Flon Ski Club, then a fledgling group, and threw his energy into expanding the club’s limited cross-country trails into the expansive wilderness.
“We needed to develop a trail network that formerly didn’t exist,” he said.
Over the years, Price applied his growing knowledge of the area to his volunteer role on the trails.
“As a geologist, I’d mapped a lot of the areas where the ski trails are, so that gave me a pretty good background for designing the trails to make them scenically interesting, and also technically interesting for the skiers,” he said.
Over the decades, Price also took a lead in organizing major ski races and hosting skiers from both sides of the border.
“He’s the backbone of that club,” said Dean Grove, president of the Flin Flon Ski Club.
Grove said Price has had a hand in just about every element of the club, not only mapping, grooming and marking trails, but also marshalling races, writing grants to fund club initiatives and promoting the club’s annual community race, the Centaloppet.
Price’s contributions to skiing in the region have not gone unnoticed. In 1982 and 1985, the Manitoba Sports Federation awarded him the Outstanding Volunteer in Sports designation. In 1998, Price was elected a lifetime member of the ski club.
Although Price no longer skis regularly, he remains an active member and volunteer with the Flin Flon Ski Club, and serves as vice-president.
“He is a major factor in why the ski club has developed and prospered over the years,” said Grove. “There’s a number of volunteers that put in a lot of time, but Dave’s been doing it for such a length of time, it’s amazing.”
Boardwalk
Shortly after Price retired from Hudbay in December 1997, his trail design and development skills were called upon by another project: Flinty’s Boardwalk and Trail.
Price was involved with the volunteer team that extended the trail beyond the north end of Ross Lake, adding stairs and connecting the walking trail to Flin Flon’s uptown area as well as Queen Street.
Price continues to help with ongoing maintenance on the trail.
“He works on the boardwalk all summer,” said museum board member Lois (Bunny) Burke, who has been impressed by Price’s can-do attitude and willingness to step up to get jobs done.
“He’s been here a long time and he’s worked like this all the time. He just goes out and does it. He doesn’t always have somebody helping him, so people don’t know he’s out there.”
For Price, opening up trails is a labour of love.
“I’ve always been an outdoor person, so being out in the bush is what I like to do,” he said.
“As a geologist, I’ve been to some fantastic places that most people would never get a chance to go to, so one aspect of what I’m doing is opening up these trails to give other people the opportunity to get to some of these amazing places that are all around town.”
Green Project
While Price’s contributions to Flinty’s Boardwalk and the ski club have been enormous, he is perhaps best known in the community for his work on the Green Project, an initiative to spread limestone to restore vegetation to deforested areas in and around Flin Flon.
As director of field operations and co-coordinator, with Heather Acres, Price has made a huge impact on the landscape of Flin Flon – and many of its young people as well.
Since spring 2000, Price has coordinated and supervised limestone-spreading crews made up of local schoolchildren and community volunteers.
Each spring, he has also documented the project’s success, photographing formerly barren areas that have sprung to life.
While Price is quick to note that Hudbay has paid him for his work on the 17-year initiative, his enthusiasm for the project goes beyond that of a typical employee.
“To be out making this contribution to the local environment has been a very positive thing,” said Price. “It’s a fun thing for the kids to do, and they realize that it’s a useful thing for them to do.
“As I’m wandering around town, kids come up to me, they say, ‘Hello, Mr. Price’ – I often don’t know who they are, but they know who I am! It’s been really fun and rewarding, and the results have been fantastic.”
This summer marked the last season of the Green Project. Price said the initiative had reached its logical conclusion.
“One reason why it seemed to be an appropriate time to quit the Green Project is that we have already treated most of the areas that are readily accessible,” he said.
While the Green Project has come to an end, Price shows no signs of slowing down. He continues to stay active maintaining Flinty’s Boardwalk and Trail and the ski club trails, and juggling various projects with the ski club.
He said he plans to spend more time doing geological mapping, a hobby and passion, and continuing to meet with visiting geologists and geology students.
As for Price’s reaction to the Wall of Honour recognition, he said he is grateful to see his portrait hanging alongside the photos of notable community volunteers, many of whom he has worked with over the years.
“It is quite an honour to be included among those folk,” he said.
