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.
Dear Editor, In 1973, Flin Flon found itself to be in crisis. It was largely unnoticed by the public. Renowned butchers in the city had retired or moved on elsewhere. New ones were not yet coming onto the scene, and smaller grocery stores were unable to meet the demands for 13,000 people. One major town grocer assumed the role to fill the void and keep Flin Flon carnivores' bellies full. But to no avail, the grocer lost a qualified meat cutter. They embraced a frantic advertising campaign for a replacement. Finally they landed one, hiring one of my former patients. This man, the saver of Flin Flon, arrived from Alberta with his entourage: the wife, three or four small children and 12 cages full of pigeons. He was a fanatical pigeonere. Not long after they settled down, he came to my office asking if I would accept him as a patient, since he suffered from severe asthma, requiring frequent treatments. Since in those days the treatment was not so advanced, asthma attacks were an emergency. In the winter of 1974, I was getting frequent calls from his wife to meet her husband in the ER. After every call, I would wait a long time for him to show up. As waiting was nerve-wracking, I finally asked his wife why it took so long for them to get to the ER. She said that battling the snow and driving from Big Island takes time. I suggested, since they knew how serious his disease was, living in Flin Flon, preferably close to the hospital, would be a better option. She agreed but said that the city fathers kicked them out of Flin Flon! The City of Flin Flon had a bylaw disallowing residents to own pigeons within its boundaries. How this bylaw came to be, I can tell you some other time. My patient couldn't depart from his beloved pigeons, so he ended up living in Big Island. Living close to the city owned zoo, I was frequently spending time watching deer, sheep, duck, geese, chickens. I noticed a young girl, who was the zookeeper, feeding pigeons in a large square cage which had no roof. Dozens of pigeons would descend into the cage to get their evening feed of grain. Here we go, the city was breaking its own bylaw. I became tempted to make a call to racy anchor Peter Warren from CJOB in Winnipeg, whom I met once before coming to Flin Flon. Hearing the story he would have fun ridiculing the governors of Flin Flon. I abandoned that idea. Being new to Flin Flon, I chickened out, concerned over meeting the same fate as my patient. This injustice absorbed me completely. I felt that the issue had to be pursued further. I sent several anonymous letters to the media. No one replied. Around that time, national CBC-TV was telecasting a popular prime-time weekend show called This is the Law. A few months after my pledges, perhaps as a coincidence, Flin Flon became known nationwide. On This is the Law, the question was raised: 'Which city is known for a law like no other city in Canada?' The answer was: 'Flin Flon is the only city in Canada to have a law disallowing resident from owning pigeons within its boundary.' As far as I know, this bylaw is still in effect. I quizzed the last five or six mayors about it, but no one knew anything. This bylaw should not be touched, so we continue to remain distinguished to be unique for something. Yours truly, Dr. Peter Kucparic Flin Flon
