I went home to Winnipeg, and now I’m working forAlberta Farmer.But there’s an explanation for it, I promise.
I was born and raised in Winnipeg, but after 30 winters of frigid winters and summers dodging mosquitoes the size of baseballs, I’d had enough. I left the big-city news media to take a job as editor at a small community publication in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan.
When I moved, I knew nothing about the cattle business other than my love affair with rare, tender steaks. But the old cowtown quickly absorbed me and I was totally smitten with the cattle industry. While my two sons saw the transformation as it happened, my family back home thought I had lost my mind when I phoned to tell them I’d purchased my first cow.
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My first Christmas home, I showed up in cowboy boots, practically frothing at the mouth for an opportunity to talk about cow-calf producers, auction marts, the contentious topic of whether the industry was too concentrated at the packing house level, and of course, everything I knew about prairie oysters. I even tried to veto the turkey in favour of roast beef, which for the record, didn’t go over well.
By spring, I had registered three cattle brands and one horse brand. I drove to Nebraska and attended the annual R-CALF convention. But before I left, I bought a second cow so I could honestly say I had cattle, instead of cow.
My boss at the time wasn’t entirely happy with my obsession. This was a community newspaper and they were accustomed to covering bake sales and tea parties and all of a sudden, we were breaking beef stories of national interest. But the readers loved it, and I couldn’t have stopped, even if I wanted to.
After a couple of years, I left the paper to start my own regional paper serving a wider area in southwest Saskatchewan. Unfortunately, a divorce left me doing everything on my own, and a year later, the house of cards crashed down on me, and my paper was finished. So, we packed up and headed back east, leaving the land, the people and the lifestyle I had fallen so deeply in love with.
But three days after arriving in the city, I learned that Farm Business Communications, which publishesAlberta Farmer,was looking for a reporter. I could work from Winnipeg until the boys finished the school year, but if I wanted to move to Alberta after that, I had a job.
Making the decision to head west again was easy, but choosing a place to land was more difficult than I had ever imagined.
Choosing a home
I had a few specific criteria – I was a volunteer firefighter in Maple Creek, and it’s one of the things I miss most, and I really wanted the opportunity to do it again. We wanted somewhere smaller and rural, but large enough to have a school, enough local shopping options to save me from going to the city all the time, and a hospital.
Of course, I wanted to live in the heart of cattle country. Somewhere close to an auction, so I could hear and feel the ebb and flow of the cow business as it cycles through weaning, the fall calf run and calving season.
I def ini tely wanted to be somewhere close to coulees and creeks and cacti and native grass. Although a little odd perhaps, my favourite hobby is finding and photographing rattlesnakes in the wild. So, I needed to be within a reasonable drive of rattlesnakes.
Initially, I thought I would take a few trips and meander through the countryside until I heard the right community call us home. Patience may be a virtue, but it is not one of mine and gentle map exploration turned into an all-consuming obsession to figure out where we would live.
Anyone in Canada who has spent any time on the Internet will know of Kijiji, a national classified ad service. Over the past few weeks, I have spent more time with that website than I have with my family.
I learned very quickly the recession did not dampen house rental rates by much. I have seen basement bachelor pads for $1,500. I also realized very quickly that when it comes to renting a house, owning dogs is worse than having the plague. I’d see a listing for a house under $1,000 and also accepted pets only to learn the pet had to be a mature cat, with seven veterinary references and a criminal record check. I became discouraged, and imagined living out of the back of our pickup, parking at different highway stops every night.
And then it happened. An affordable three-bedroom home, dog friendly and three blocks from the Pincher Creek Fire Hall. I made the inquiry, and awaited a call back from the landlord, with sweaty palms and guarded optimism. While I was tempted to say yes immediately, I first placed a call to the fire chief and much to my delight, I will again be a volunteer member. We’re very excited about this new chapter in our lives and if Alberta and Pincher Creek are half as welcoming as Maple Creek was, I know we’ll be very happy.
Now I just have to figure out if my brand is available in Alberta – the landlord didn’t say a word about keeping cattle.
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Wewantedsomewhere smallerandrural,but largeenoughtohave aschool,enoughlocal shoppingoptionstosave mefromgoingtothe cityallthetime,anda hospital.
