Six years ago, the Bow Valley Park south of Oxbow sustained significant damage when the Souris River flooded.
A significant restoration project ensued to not only restore the flooded area, but to enhance the park and protect it from future floods.
Those efforts will be celebrated on Sunday when a dedication ceremony is held in the park.
Richard Lamontagne, who is the chair of the town’s recreation board, said the flood of 2011 submerged the flood plain at the bottom of the park, where the ball diamonds and some of the campsites are located. The area that hosts the Bow Valley Jamboree each year was also affected.
“At that point, we basically started doing some fundraising to reconstruct,” said Lamontagne. “We were already in the phase of thinking about redoing those diamonds anyways, and then the flood just accelerated the program and obviously put an immediate need on getting them rebuilt.”
A fundraising committee was formed, and the first couple of years were dedicated to securing enough funds to rebuild the damaged area.
In the summer of 2013, the earthwork and the construction started. Shaw Earth Moving of Gainsborough made a large contribution to the project, and Lamontagne said the company did the work for a low rate.
He noted dirt was brought down from a large hill where a golf course used to be located.
“They put a new grade to the whole area where the jamboree goes, where all the diamonds were and even … into the campsites, so that even if we ever did run into a flood situation again, at least all the water would recede,” said Lamontagne.
Construction of the ball diamonds and installation of irrigation started the following summer. Lamontagne noted the irrigation was installed with volunteer labour.
“Everything that we needed we were able to manage to find out of our local area,” said Lamontagne. “It’s a pretty standard, small-town Saskatchewan response, which is awesome.”
The fences were added in the summer of 2015. The jamboree returned to the park that summer, and the grass for the diamonds was seeded.
Lamontagne noted the park will have a concession building as well, and the organizers of the Bow Valley Jamboree are looking to add a permanent stage to the park.
Total cost for the park restoration project was about $300,000 in cash, he said, but once work in kind is added in, Lamontagne believes the total value of the refurbishments would exceed $500,000.
“Any time that we needed any materials or hauling … the trucks showed up, the pay loaders showed up and the equipment showed up,” said Lamontagne. “We were always able to find someone who was willing to help us out.”
After the flood, the town’s ball teams were scattered at facilities around the community. Now they have a site that can host all of the teams. Lamontagne noted there are nights when more than 100 people are at the park to play or watch games.
A grand reopening ceremony will be happening on Sunday. There will be ball games happening throughout the day, including the senior men’s team and the senior women’s team. A beer garden will be set up.
The ribbon cutting ceremony will be around 5 p.m., he said, and a supper catered by the Oxbow Lions Club will follow.
There will be children’s games throughout the day as well.
“It’s rewarding to go down to the valley and see the ball diamonds all full and being used, and there’s a new gazebo and park area that’s all co-ordinated by the larger Bow Valley Park,” said Lamontagne.
“The campsites have been very busy ever since we’ve been back up and running. It’s definitely an asset for the community that’s great, but on top of that, it’s just great to see it being used.”
Lamontagne paid tribute to the people who were part of the fundraising committee in the early stages of the park’s restoration. Another committee was struck during the construction phase, but Lamontagne said the park wouldn’t have been restored without the fundraising committee’s efforts.
