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.
By Jonathon Naylor Creighton is often seen as an extension of Flin Flon, though not always with the approval of those who live in the northern Saskatchewan town. Yes, Creightonites, know that without Flin Flon there would be no Creighton, and that the two communities have much to gain by working closely together. But Creightonites also relish having their own autonomy. As the smaller of the cross-border neighbours, they are proud of their independence. Which is why a request now before Creighton Town Council carries so much merit. That request, as The Reminder reported Wednesday, would see the town gain a columbarium, a building to store the ashes of departed citizens. The suggestion was brought to council by a concerned resident, Marty Dedecker. With no cemetery, Creighton is a rarity in that it bears no final resting place for residents who have spent their entire lives there. Creightonites live with the knowledge that when they leave this world, they will also leave their beloved community. Bonds The bonds we form with our hometowns, or adopted hometowns, are intensely emotional and personal. This understandably makes burial location quite a consequential matter for people and their families. Without a clear location for a cemetery (an idea that has been considered in the past), and with the growing prevalence of cremations, town council should act to make a columbarium a reality. The cost is unlikely to be excessive. Public support is likely to be unanimous, or something close to it. And it would give Creighton one more vital piece of its own identity. The obvious question is one of location. Among the areas that could be examined is the outskirts of town heading to Denare Beach. But as Mr. Dedecker aptly wrote in his letter to town council, location is "secondary to the idea itself." "Here is a problem, we do not have the choice to be 'put to rest' in our own community," he wrote Making the need for a columbarium all the more urgent is the fact that Creighton, like Flin Flon, appears to be aging fairly rapidly. Many of the first generation of Creightonites, and other community pioneers, have already passed on. Those still with us, as well as their descendants, deserve the dignity of burial in their own town, not a neighbouring community. Local Angle runs Fridays.7/2/11
