MEOTA —
It is April and spring is coming, slowly but surely. The odd crow has been seen and a gopher or two. On their way here, the white geese have hit the southern part of the province by the millions. It’s a good job they pass through and don’t spend the summer here.
Paul St. Amant and Louis and Charles Baillargeon ran the Mount Charleston Marathon (26.2 miles) on Saturday, April 1. The marathon begins roughly 21 miles up Kyle Canyon Road near the original Mt. Charleston Lodge northwest of Las Vegas. Standing at 7,650 feet above sea level surrounded by snowcapped peaks the fresh mountain air was a crisp -2C on April 1.
Runners were loaded into buses between 3 and 3:15 a.m. and were transported to the starting point where they waited for the 6 a.m. start. The race route included a 20-mile stretch of pure running bliss as the course heads downhill towards Las Vegas at a nearly steady four per cent grade. Downhill running sounds easy; however, it requires intense training to offset the strain placed on quad/calf muscles including added pressure on the knees and ankles. “At mile 20, I thought I was dead. At mile 22, I wished I was dead. At mile 24, I knew I was dead. At mile 26.2, I realized I had become too tough to kill,” one of the racers said.
Paul finished the marathon at 3:08:01. Louis’s time was 3:45:33 and Charles’s. 3:56:46. It was a “fun event” and all three were successful in qualifying for the 2024 Boston Marathon.
An Easter party was held at the Edam Enriched Manor April 8 afternoon when residents gathered for an Easter party, under the direction of Debbie Belland, their social director. They played a couple of games and enjoyed snacks along with their Easter cake. Their cake was made by a local cook in the kitchen, Joanne Rubisch. She was also generous in that she made and sent two over to the day care centre, for their afternoon Easter party. The young folks enjoyed their cake, also. My plan is to send an article about this day care centre that provides such a service to Edam area working folks.
Debbie is here every afternoon with activities for residents to enjoy, together, so no one has a chance to be lonesome or inactive. The last jigsaw puzzle has been a hard one but is finally finished this week. Anyone can work on the puzzles, at any time, so is really a group activity.
I’m sure everyone who likes curling enjoyed the past week and is proud of our Canadian team coming out with the silver medal. They worked so hard and did us proud.
The bridge players were back at it in the Pioneer Hall April 4, with four tables in play. Top score was by Vern Iverson and Barbara Mitchell. Second were Jeannine Beloin and Jetta DeSilva and third were Bernie and Lucille Gregoire. Thursday, they had three tables and top score went to Jean Lawes and Fraser Glen. Tied for second were Mary Phelps and Eric Callbeck and Cletus Scherman and David Sharpe.
At the Do Drop In on April 7, there were four tables in play. Gwen Lacelle and Eric Callbeck topped the scoring with 61,535 points. Second were Cora Christiansen and Bev McCrimmon and tied for third with less than 100 points difference were Linda Ard and Svend Christiansen playing against Dave Ottas and Jack Stewart. All enjoyed the grapes that someone brought. April 17, another couple of films will be shown in the Do Drop In. The feature film will be “The Machine That Feels.” This film explores the ever-growing and mysterious world of artificial intelligence. Scientists see A1 technology as an opportunity to address inequities and make a more connected world. But it also can do the opposite — to stoke division and inequality and disconnect us from fellow humans.
A meeting of the residents of Edam Manor held on April 4 finalized plans for the use of the raised garden beds by residents. We are all looking forward to summer and plants. The manor residents use the products raised, giving them a taste of fresh summer vegetables in their diets.
