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.
Long-time president and chairman of General Motors, Alfred P. Sloan, once said, "There has to be this pioneer, the individual who has the courage, the ambition to overcome the obstacles that always develop when one tries to do something worthwhile, especially when it is new and different." Truer words were never spoken about the pioneering sprit! A number of people gathered in both The Pas and Minnedosa on the August long weekend and said a proper and fitting goodbye to a pair of trailblazers who lived life in this vein and followed that pioneering creed. Richard (Dick) Woosey and Kathleen (Kate) Rice were honoured during small dedication ceremonies on July 31 and August 1, respectively. The two observances saw proper headstones placed on their graves and words spoken that recognized their deeds in this world and their places in the annals of Northern Manitoba history. For those who were unaware, these two, both individually and as partners, are responsible for much of the mineral development in Northern Manitoba. Woosey was the first to discover gold on the eastern shore of Wekusko Lake and in doing so brought a rush of people to the area to prospect for the elusive mineral. They of course found it and stayed to mine gold and numerous other minerals in that region and the area around Snow Lake. See 'Bringing' on pg. Continued from pg. Rice Ð along with Woosey Ð was responsible for bringing INCO to Northern Manitoba. They came looking to purchase the couple's Rice Island nickel claim (a property that Vale INCO still owns). While here, INCO of course got into that whole Thompson thing, which appears to still be quite lucrative for them. In spite of all that Kate Rice and Dick Woosey accomplished in their lives, these two northern trailblazers seemed to have been forgotten in death. Woosey's grave at The Pas' Lakeside Cemetery was marked with nothing more than a (suitably inscribed) wooden stake, and Rice's final resting place in the Minnedosa Cemetery was not marked at all. However, through the generosity and help of a number of people, businesses, organizations, and entities that know and respect the area's history, this colossal wrong was righted. That group was made up of Michelle Pruder; Peter Dunlop; Dan and Irene Davies; Ken and Mae deGraff; Dennis Strom; Linda Butler; Vale/INCO (Sudbury Ontario); United Steelworkers Local #6166; United Steelworkers Local # 7106; Hemauer Granite Memorials; Guinn Brothers Memorials; Ken Jenkins; Opasquia Times; The Reminder; The Nickel Belt News; Minnedosa Tribune; Grant King; St. Marys (Ontario) Museum; and Leone and Marc Jackson. During the two dedication ceremonies, the groups and individuals above were acknowledged, a short history of both Woosey and Rice was read, a song written about the couple by Wanless's Alice Perry was played, and two separate poems written by former Snow Lake resident Randall Hans Crone were recited. Two beautiful headstones now mark the final resting places of a pair of Northern Manitoba's well known and (finally) well respected pioneers. Rest in peace. My Take on Snow Lake runs Fridays.
