The Lake Winnipeg eutrophication problem

Every summer when I was younger, I looked forward to the two weeks my family spent at Winnipeg Beach. As soon as we arrived at our cottage, I would drop my bags at the door, kick off my shoes, and race towards the nearest pier. Reaching the wide platform at the end, I would hop down the stairs two at a time until my legs were immersed in the chilly water. Looking out towards the large expanse of water, I would spend a moment re-introducing myself with one of my favourite places in the world.

Unfortunately, many people have stopped running towards the water. The condition of Lake Winnipeg has been deteriorating for years, leaving many people with fears that it will one day be deemed “un-swimmable.”

The lake at its finest. This is what I remember...

Lake Winnipeg suffers from eutrophication, a condition that occurs when nutrients accumulate and begin affecting a body of water. It can be a natural process, which is usually very slow and gradual, or can result from human activities, including deposits of human sewage and agricultural wastes. In some advanced cases, blooms of algae begin to grow. They disrupt normal functioning of the lake and decrease oxygen when they decompose, which makes it difficult for fish and other living organisms to survive. The water becomes cloudy, and is usually green, red, brown or yellow in colour.

Eutrophication has been detected in lakes in countries all over the world, including Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. According to a 2008 study from the University of Alberta, forty-eight per cent of lakes in North America are experiencing some form of eutrophication. Lake Winnipeg is the tenth largest freshwater lake (by surface area) in the world, and a variety of small communities are situated along its shore.

Two well-known communities located at Lake Winnipeg are Winnipeg Beach and Grand Beach. Each year, thousands of families vacation in these communities and take advantage of the amenities.

While there are still many things to keep people occupied, both communities are a far cry from what they used to be. Development of Winnipeg Beach, situated on the west side of the lake, began in 1900.

At its peak, it boasted a train station, dance pavilion, roller coaster and boardwalk. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) began transporting passengers to the town in 1903. The opposite side of the lake followed suit in 1914. The CPR’s rival – the Canadian National Company – began running trains to Grand Beach, and built a lakeside resort and dance pavilion. Cottage communities grew on both sides of the lake, and before long, Lake Winnipeg was one of the most popular places to spend time in Manitoba.

Veronica Kitt spent the summers of her childhood at her family cottage in Winnipeg Beach. Her family moved to the lake as soon as school finished for the summer in June, and would stay until the August long weekend. Many other families followed the same procedure.

The only mode of practical transportation from the city to Winnipeg Beach was the train. There were numerous stops along the route, and Kitt remembers getting off at the 1^st Avenue train station in Sandy Hook.

Families brought necessary items from home, but everything else could be purchased at the lake. An Eaton’s catalogue was available to summer residents, and everything including food, clothing, and household items could be shipped to cottages. A transfer company could be hired to move all a family’s belongings from Winnipeg to the lake, and another company would pick up, wash, and drop off laundry.

“Everything was at your fingertips,” Kitt said with a smile. “It was wonderful.”

Some of Kitt’s fondest memories included walking into downtown Winnipeg Beach, going on the roller coaster, walking along the boardwalk, and visiting the dance pavilion. She also remembers visiting the community centre every night, and it was always bustling with activity.

“We didn’t need caregivers or anything. You just went,” she said.

When asked about the current condition of the lake, Kitt stated that not much has changed.

“Kids used to always get sick, and my mom called it ‘summer complaint.’ But it was just a part of the summer. I don’t think the lake has changed at all.”

Parts of the lake now...

Kitt expressed sadness that spending time at Lake Winnipeg is not as popular as it was in the past. She was also sorry that relics from the past no longer exist.

“One day there’s a train, the next day there’s no train,” she said sadly. “It’s too bad that things have changed.”

To be continued...

My first rejection letter

Earlier this summer, I submitted a number of poems and short stories to six literary journals around Canada.

To be completely honest, I wasn’t expecting much in return. I have been published a few times in the Winnipeg Free Press, and I worked as an intern at Canada’s History magazine, but I am otherwise an unknown in the literary world.

My Creative Writing instructor informed me that a person isn’t truly trying to be a writer until they start to get rejection letters. It can take years to be published in a literary journal for the first time. And, when that beautiful acceptance letter finally appears, it’s usually because the right editor read the right piece at the right time.

I have started my “Rejection” file, and it currently resides under my bed. I’m eagerly waiting for the day I will be able to start an “Accepted” file.

I’ll be published in a literary journal eventually, and I refuse to stop trying.

Impressive artist takes own life

It isn’t new news to anyone that Vincent van Gogh was a troubled individual. Most people are aware that he cut off part of his own ear. Some also know that he struggled with depression and mental illness throughout most of his life. But underneath his haunted exterior was a brilliant and dramatic artist that deserves to be remembered.

On this day, in 1890, van Gogh died. He walked into a field in France and shot himself two days earlier- on the 27th – but didn’t survive his injuries. He was 37 years old, and sold only a few paintings during his lifetime. His loving brother Theo was at his bedside when he died, and he claims that van Gogh’s last words were “the sadness will last forever.”

Today, van Gogh’s work is among some of the most easily recognizable in the world. It’s also the most expensive. He used thick, swooping brush strokes and focused on things like starry skies, cypress trees, and self-portraits.

The first time I saw a van Gogh painting was in London. My brother and I were walking around Trafalgar Square, and stumbled across the National Gallery. We hadn’t really planned on visiting museums until we reached Amsterdam, but Chris convinced me to go inside. I’m so glad he did, because among other famous van Gogh pieces, I saw Sunflowers.

Photos weren’t allowed, but that didn’t stop Chris from snapping a few shots when the museum staff wasn’t looking. “It’s the first time you’re seeing the work of your favourite artist,” he had said to me as I looked around nervously. “I have to capture this moment for you, even if I’m thrown in jail.” Thanks, lil’ bro.

My encounter with van Gogh didn’t end there, and I have been fortunate to visit a few other museums around the work that carry his work. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam was amazing, and I couldn’t believe that I was surrounded by three floors of his stuff. In Paris, Musee d’Orsay has a huge collection of van Gogh pieces, including Starry Night over the Rhone, one of my favourites. The Art Institute of Chicago was also impressive, and that was my most recent experience.

But throughout all of my travels and museum encounters, there is one painting that I have never had the opportunity to view in person.

The one and only Starry Night.

The one painting that has been my favourite since I was a child is the one that I have yet to see. I’ve tried – trust me – but something always happens to deflect me from my goal. The permanent location of the painting is the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and one day I better get there. Starry Night is currently sitting in my apartment in a place on honour, above my sofa, and before that it held a spot above my bed.

Vincent van Gogh, in my opinion, was a tormented genius. It’s too bad that he couldn’t live long enough to see himself become famous, but many artists living during that time didn’t.

Here are a few of my favourite van Gogh quotes:

“I am not an adventurer by choice, but by fate.”

“There is no blue without yellow and without orange.”

“We spend our whole lives in unconscious exercise of the art of expressing our thoughts with the help of words.”

"To do good work one must eat well, be well housed, have one's fling from time to time, smoke one's pipe, and drink one's coffee in peace."

1853 – 1890

Exploring the Interlake

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about something Manitoba-related, so I want to take a moment and rave about the Interlake area. More specifically, I want to talk about both Winnipeg Beach and Gimli.

Both of these areas are lovely, and are only about an hour away from Winnipeg. One could easily get up early, drive in, spend the day at the beach, wander the piers, check out the marinas, and be home for dinner. Who wouldn’t want to take a day trip away from the city?

The lake has a long history of public use in Manitoba, and it was a major tourist destination in the past. Development of Winnipeg Beach, situated on the west side of the lake, began in 1900. At its peak, it boasted a train station, dance pavilion, roller coaster and boardwalk. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) began transporting passengers to the town in 1903. Cottage communities expanded, and before long, Lake Winnipeg was one of the most popular places to spend time in Manitoba.

Does anyone remember the Moonlight Express?

Unfortunately, it’s virtually impossible to get to the Interlake without access to a car. The trains that were so popular back in the day no longer travel to Winnipeg Beach. As soon as people began to drive motor vehicles regularly, the need for a train was significantly diminished. Which is too bad, because I would love to hop on a train and come out to Winnipeg Beach for the weekend. Trains are romantic. Cars, not so much.

Last weekend, two of my friends – Tiffany and Jen – agreed to come to the Interlake with me. Our initial plan was to spend some much-needed time at the beach, but the weather had other ideas. A constant threat of a downpour meant that we needed to find something else to do, so I decided to take the ladies on a drive.

And, what a drive it was.

The great thing about CreComm’s is that they’re always willing to jump out of a car to take pictures of things. I first stopped at Dunnottar Station, which used to be one of the many train stations where cabin-goers could disembark and head to their cottages. It’s not used anymore, and has been turned into a museum, but is still a pretty neat place to visit.

It was initially the large group of cows behind the station that attracted our attention, but we took a collection of photos of the entire area. There is a community centre adjacent to the station, and I’m pretty sure a few people were looking at us strangely as we excitedly ran around and composed shots.

Oh well. We’re tourists. Technically.

Next, we drove the short distance to Gimli. Our afternoon was spent both driving and wandering around the town, and we discovered a variety of interesting things.

First, Tiffany directed us to a chess board at Gimli Public School. It was a photographers dream, because there were full, blooming shrubs and gorgeous trees surrounding the area. We briefly stopped at the Gimli Movie Theatre, but it was closed. They only show one film at a time, and the business hours are very specific. We couldn’t leave without stopping at H.P Tergusen & Sons (which had been continuously operated by the same family since 1899) and the dollar store, where Tiffany scored the most inexpensive pool noodle/chair combination in the history of flotation devices. Naturally, we needed lunch, and Chicken Chef was on the menu.

We also did quite a bit of walking after the weather cleared up. The Gimli Marina is very popular, and the locally painted murals on one of the walls are always worth a look. The giant Viking statue is also well-known, and we had to wait for about 10 minutes for another group to finish taking photos before we could get close. We managed to effectively “photo bomb” a wedding photo shoot while we waited... but more on that later.

Our day didn’t end there, and we returned to Winnipeg Beach to participate in the Boardwalk Days celebration. A number of rides and games had been set up on Main Street, and a variety of local vendors had arranged booths. Tiffany and I both scored some old-school Winnipeg Beach magnets that featured the roller coaster and the dance pavilion before they were demolished. Before heading back to the cabin, we hopped onto the Ferris Wheel, which provided beautiful aerial views of the town.

If this area is so cool, why don’t more people check it out?

I hate to report it, but the condition of Lake Winnipeg has been deteriorating for years. There are major concerns that it will one day be deemed “un-swimmable.” Lake Winnipeg suffers from eutrophication, a condition that occurs when nutrients accumulate and begin affecting a fresh water lake. In some advanced cases, blooms of algae begin to grow. Beyond being dangerous to marine life, algae blooms are unappealing and potentially hazardous to humans.

Simply put, many people think the water is “icky.” And, it can be. But scientists are working hard to ensure that a way to slow down the eutrophication process is discovered and implemented. I still swim in the lake, and so did Tiffany and Jen. It really isn’t that bad, and there are so many interesting things to explore in the area.

Below, I have attached an excerpt from a past interview with a woman named Veronica Kitt. I interviewed her when I was working on an article for Canada’s History magazine about Lake Winnipeg and eutrophication. Unfortunately, her part didn’t make it into the final draft. I had to go from 1500 words to 500 words, so if you’re reading this Veronica, I’m very sorry I had to cut you out.

I found her story fascinating, and the below excerpt illustrates that Winnipeg Beach was a magical place to spend the summers when the trains were running. It still is, and I suggest you check it out.

A lake in peril: the breakdown of Lake Winnipeg

Veronica Kitt spent the summers of her childhood at Winnipeg Beach. Initially, her parents rented a cottage. In 1946, the family purchased a vacant lot in the Sandy Hook area for $35, and built their own.

Kitt’s family would move out to the lake as soon as school finished for the summer in June, and would stay until August long weekend. Many families followed the same procedure, which meant there were many friends for Kitt and her siblings to play with.

“We had lots of friends we grew up with. Every family did the same thing,” Kitt explained. “You went for the summer, you had summer friends, and you never saw them in the winter even though they lived in Winnipeg.”

The only mode of practical transportation from the city to Winnipeg Beach was the train. There were numerous stops along the route, and Kitt remembers getting off at the 1st Avenue train station in Sandy Hook.

Families brought necessary items from home, but everything else could be purchased at the lake. An Eaton’s catalogue provided everything a family needed, including food, clothing, and household items.

A transfer company could be hired to move all a family’s belongings from Winnipeg to the lake, and another company would pick up, wash, and drop off laundry.

“Everything was at your fingertips,” Kitt said with a smile. “It was wonderful.”

Some of Kitt’s fondest memories include walking into downtown Winnipeg Beach, going on the roller coaster’s and other rides, walking along the boardwalk, and visiting the dance pavilion. She also remembers visiting the community centre every night, and it was always bustling with activity.

“We didn’t need caregivers or anything, you just went,” she said.

Kitt is disheartened by the fact that the trains no longer run to Winnipeg Beach.

“One day there’s a train, the next day there’s no train,” Kitt explained. “It used to come in about seven p.m., and would leave at about midnight. It’s too bad it isn’t there anymore.”

My online world is expanding

Sometimes, people actually read my blog.

Yesterday, I received an email from my mom, informing me that one of my blog posts had been re-posted on the May Works 2009 Festival website. Apparently, my review of an Aqua Books event last month was so well-received that the individuals critiqued in it wanted a larger audience to read my comments.

Fantastic. That’s exactly what I want. Exposure!

I also discovered that a few stories I wrote for Canada’s History magazine had been posted online. The first was a writeup for a photograph of two people poling down a river. The second was a profile of Lord Durham.

Now, all I need is for the editor of a publishing company to read my blog, call me up, and offer me a large book grant.

It can happen. People read my blog.

Yes, we have a navy. True story.

There's always room for shameless self-promotion on my blog, and what follows is a link to the online edition of Canada's History magazine. My internship there ended in April, but items I wrote are still being posted. Check it out!

http://www.canadashistory.ca/getdoc/dc3159a0-85f4-4c9e-8fd3-9847f8f65fc8/default.aspx

Magazine keeps on giving...

Eventually I will stop posting these links each week, but for now, it looks fantastic as part of a portfolio. My fellow interns and I were busy again this week, and here is what we wrote:

http://www.historysociety.ca/bea.asp?subsection=ext&page=spl

Canada's History Magazine: Round Two

Well, another week has passed, and I am diligently working away at my magazine internship. Some of my writing is online again, along with entries from my former section one classmate, Neil Babaluk. Check out the link below, and learn something new!

http://www.historysociety.ca/bea.asp?subsection=ext&page=spl

My Magazine Debut

Well ladies and gentlemen, I am finally in print at a magazine. Well... almost. Last Monday, I began my four-month internship at Canada's History Magazine (formerly The Beaver) located at the University of Winnipeg. It was both challenging and exciting, and I felt right at home. The staff are unbelievably friendly, and didn't hesitate to give me things to work on. I am proud to say that my first short news stories were published on the magazine's website this past Friday, and there is a byline mentioning my name at the top.

Here is the link, so you can check it our for yourself: http://www.historysociety.ca/bea.asp?subsection=ext&page=spl.

Hopefully I will have news stories posted on the website every Friday. I am also working on a short story that will actually be printed in the magazine itself in April.

Stay tuned, and enjoy!