In the world of building and engineering, it still seems to be a male-dominated industry, but a former Valley resident has been breaking ground in this field, as she is building infrastructure for the future. Sarah Soprovich has completed her Masters in Engineering and has worked on projects in Canada and the United States.
Her interest in engineering came from her love of math and science in school.
“We moved to Swan River from Winnipeg in 1991 when I was one year old,” said Sarah Soprovich. “As a kid, I was mostly interested in sports, playing volleyball, basketball, and fastball, as well as snowboarding at Thunder Hill. I graduated from the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School in 2008 and moved to Winnipeg to do my Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at the University of Manitoba, followed by my Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering at the University of Calgary. I’ve always wanted to do my Masters and my employer was willing to help financially for a Masters in Engineering. It was a course-based program and I mainly took courses in Project Management.
“I was always really strong in math and science in school. I initially thought that I wanted to be an architect, but my high school physics teacher told me that the engineers were the ones who applied the science and that I should look into that instead.”
There are several different fields in engineering, and if one is not in that industry, it’s quite easy to assume it’s all the same thing when it’s not.
“Engineering is effectively the practice of using science, math, and technology to solve problems,” said Soprovich. “Civil engineering is very broad but usually refers to the design of infrastructure that the public regularly uses. Civil engineering can include structural transportation, water treatment, hydrology, hydraulics, and geotechnicals.
“I’m a structural engineer and am mainly focused on bridge design, so the majority of my projects have included bridge and structure design. I have worked for Stantec Consulting Ltd. for my entire career. I started with them as a summer student between my fourth and fifth years of university.”
Soprovich started her career in civil engineering in Manitoba but has worked on several keynote projects in Calgary and in Chicago as well.
“I actually started in Winnipeg, and it included a lot of construction inspection on rural and urban bridge replacement projects, along with some design and eventually project management,” said Soprovich.
“When I moved to Calgary, I was involved in a few projects, including the Green Line, which is the design of Calgary’s future LRT line running north-south through the city; the design of the Airport Trail Overpass, which is a two-span concrete bridge on 19th Street over Airport Trail; and two pedestrian tunnels at 90th Avenue and Southland Drive.
“Chicago was amazing,” said Soprovich. “I moved to Chicago in 2019, to work on the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red and Purple Modernization project, which is the largest and most high-profile project I have ever worked on. I was leading a segment of the project that included 2 km of new structure and track, as well as four new stations and two temporary stations on the Red and Purple lines of the El Train, Chicago’s transit.
“I joined the project about six months in, which was pretty wild, and ended up having to come back to Canada in March 2020, while continuing to work on the project remotely for about three more years. The project is still under construction and we won an award in May 2023, due to the number of women we had leading the project, which is rare in engineering.
“As a result, I was able to travel back down to Chicago for the awards ceremony and see how construction has progressed,” said Soprovich. “The project was very high-stress, but I met some of my best friends at Stantec due to it.”
Soprovich is back residing in Winnipeg and working on a lot of municipal projects. These projects are smaller in scale than some of the projects she was a part of in Calgary and in Chicago.
“Since I have started working in Winnipeg again, the projects are a bit smaller scale than what I have worked on elsewhere, but it is still rewarding to complete projects in rural communities,” said Soprovich. “In 2022, there was significant flooding in Manitoba and I spent much of the summer inspecting damaged bridges and culverts. We have now moved on to replacing this infrastructure and I have completed or am working on projects in the Town of Neepawa and the Municipalities of Souris-Glenwood, Ethelbert, and Lorne.”
Out of all the projects Soprovich has been a part of during her career, the one that stands out the most was the one in Chicago.
“The Chicago project is absolutely the largest and most high-profile project I have worked on,” said Soprovich. “It is a $2 billion design-build project and we worked hand in hand with both the contractor and the owner.”
Working in civil engineering is still a male-dominated field, but Soprovich has been working hard at training and mentoring women to become engineers. Slowly the field of engineering is becoming more diverse as more women are entering studies in university.
“Civil engineering is one of the more diverse engineering fields, but it is still primarily male,” said Soprovich. “I’m on a few committees that are trying to address this, and the goal overall is for 30 percent of the engineering field to be female by 2030; however, progress has been slow moving. On my current team, I have two female Engineers In Training (EIT) and a female student. I’m very passionate about providing them mentorship for their careers.”
Soprovich is part of a couple of initiatives that are geared toward getting more women into the field of engineering and consulting.
“The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies Canada - Technical Women in Consulting Engineering (ACEC-TWICE) is actually more focused around retention and growth of women in the consulting field,” said Soprovich. “A lot of what we do is promote awareness, often through hosting events with speakers, networking, and a yearly reception in March.
“I’m also involved with two committees with Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba (EGM)- Engineering Changes Lives and the 2030 Coalition, which are both focused on increasing diversity in the industry and meeting that 30 percent goal by 2030.”
Soprovich recently won the 2023 Early Achievement Award for her work in the industry. She was recognized by her peers working in the industry and so far, it’s the start of more big things to come for her career.
“This was through our professional association, EGM,” said Soprovich. “It was really an honour to be acknowledged for my hard work, and I am truly grateful for the team and mentors I have at Stantec who have supported the development of my career thus far.
“I would like to continue to work on large, multi-disciplinary projects both locally and across the country, and continue to see the work that I do come to life to make other’s lives easier.”

A physician who got his start in the Valley has recently been recognized by Doctors Manitoba as one of the Top 40 Under 40 in Medicine. Dr. Rafiq Andani established his start as a rural family physician in Swan River, before moving on to Winnipeg. Since his time in the Valley, his portfolio has grown significantly.
“I was born in Edmonton and raised just north of Toronto,” said Dr. Rafiq Andani. “I was an undergraduate at Sir Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, ON. I attended Medical School in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, then I completed my residency through the University of Manitoba in the Northern and Remote Family Medicine Training Program. My first job out of residency was in Swan River for Prairie Mountain Health.
“I never planned on being a physician. Originally, I wanted to do web design and software engineering. In high school, I started a company that made websites. I always joked that I had the idea for Facebook, long before Zuckerberg did. When I was growing up, my dad was pretty explicit that I didn’t have the resolve needed to survive in business. He said I was too kind and wouldn’t have the ability to fire someone when needed. He encouraged me to pursue something that was better suited to my demeanour. It was my father’s influence that led me to medicine over entrepreneurship.”
Dr. Andani’s time in Swan River gave him the diversity he needed to expand the scope of his practice.
“The reality is when a physician works in a community like Swan River, they will have the opportunity to do everything,” said Dr. Andani. “There isn’t an oncologist or addictions specialist on site; it’s the family physician that patients see in the ER that will manage every aspect of that patient’s care, from clinic to home. This is the same work any rural family physician encounters on a regular basis that adds to the scope of their practice. This all just came with the job, for me.
“So, when I left Swan River, I tried to recreate my practice to model what I had done there, to here in Winnipeg. It’s still not quite the same, because it’s a revolving door of new patients and you never get to build that relationship in caring for or treating a patient like you would in a rural community. Now, I do a bit of addictions medicine, a bit of oncology and emergency medicine, which I all started out doing in Swan River, and it’s evolved.”
Dr. Andani has written a chapter for the Manitoba Opioid Agonist Therapy Practice Manual. He knows the issues surrounding addictions and realized there needed to be more resources out there for practicing physicians.
“A lot of the literature around addiction medicine is sparse or limited, so it’s hard to find good resources around managing addiction medicine,” said Dr. Andani. “Because it’s becoming more prevalent and an issue, a small cohesive group of providers teamed up together to help create this manual.
“I didn’t have the desire to author a chapter in this manual, but it was out of my involvement with this well-supported group of like-minded individuals, that were asked to take on a small task of this relatively bigger issue.”
Dr. Andani currently serves as a medical consultant for the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB). This came from his work in Swan River, being part of a group that established some medical resources in a local First Nation community. That experience grew when the pandemic hit.
“That opportunity was from work I helped during the waves and peaks of the pandemic,” said Dr. Andani.
“Early into the pandemic, we learned from influenza and other outbreaks that had occurred in remote and isolated First Nation communities, there was a concerted effort from Indigenous leadership, in partnership with Indigenous organizations and government to help mitigate the impacts COVID-19 would have on these communities.
“My role through the partnership included the federal and provincial governments and the university. We had rapid response teams that would assist First Nation communities with COVID-19 outbreaks. One of the instruments in the public health response was to help facilitate testing. That involved me becoming more aware of those arbitrary jurisdictional boundaries that exist between Indigenous communities, the provincial and federal partnerships and the health systems. I think we did an okay job of expanding the testing and public health interventions through that work.
“From there, there was a recognition for the FNIHB to expand testing and diagnostic capacity within the nursing stations,” said Dr. Andani. “I was asked to join FNIHB in this medical consulting to help oversee and support lab diagnostic expansion. Now we’re expanding it to actual acute and emergency care, and lab diagnostics.
“If it was for my experience working in Swan River, I wouldn’t have been provided the opportunities to do this kind of work. The reason is that Swan River Hospital was one of the first pilot sites for point-of-care diagnostics in our lab as part of the Shared Health DSM Point of Care Project. It was serendipitous that I was learning point-of-care diagnostics in Swan River and then it would eventually come full circle to become part of my portfolio of work.
“A group of doctors I was working with in Swan River, started up a clinic in Sapotaweyak Cree Nation,” said Dr. Andani. “Part of that work not only involved expanding access to physician and nurse resources, but expanding the lab diagnostic capacity as well. I still feel like a lot of the work I am doing now still replicates the work that we started in Swan River, just on a different scale.”
Dr. Andani is also the first Associate Chief Medical Officer for Shared Health.
“This gives me some latitude to work on some projects without being the face of big decisions,” said Dr. Andani. “Shared Health has been a bit of a hot topic when it comes to the recent election, the discourse around healthcare, and what is the right way to manage, fund and incentivize our existing healthcare resources and expand them.
“Shared Health as an organization has a very important role in maintaining a provincial macroscopic perspective on resource allocation, distribution and maximizing efficiency while minimizing risk throughout the province. That coordination we saw during the peak parts of the pandemic really demonstrated the need for that type of superstructure.
“At its core, the problem then becomes, especially for providers in communities that are not in Winnipeg, how much of that voice and perspective is reflected in the organization,” said Dr. Andani. “Having trained in Swan River and in the Northern and Remote Family Medicine Program, the advantage of bringing in someone like me to fill the role as the Associate Chief Medical Officer for Shared Health is to provide that perspective to ground decisions and strategic planning around a perspective that is not exclusive to urban Winnipeg. I think that is primarily why the role was created and how I bring a unique lens to the Shared Health structure.”
Being named one of Manitoba Doctors’ Top 40 Under 40 in Medicine is quite an honour for Dr. Andani, but he knows there are some very important people who helped him get to where he is today, and for that, he wishes he could give them the spotlight as well.
“It was a nice experience,” said Dr. Andani. “I always think of these accolades as not a personal achievement, but more of a recognition of all the effort and sacrifice that people around me have contributed to my success. Although, it’s nice to see my name and picture, what it doesn’t capture is all the family and support that has allowed me to be recognized in this way. I think I could have 40 people as my top 40 that were the ones responsible for me receiving this award and it’s hard to capture that.”

During the pandemic, it became more apparent that there needs to be healthy and positive coping mechanisms for students. Students come to class from different backgrounds, experiences and home lives that all have an impact on their ability to focus and learn. Swan Valley School Division (SVSD) recognized this need, which led staff to create a program to apply for funding to assist in giving students a space with activities to help them reset and resume learning.
“In 2020, the SVSD recognized the need to improve the quality of our student’s mental health in order for them to be successful in school,” said SVSD Student Services Achievement Coordinator Patti Hack. “Based on neuroscience, and the research from top trauma specialists such as Dr. Bruce Perry and Dr. Stuart Shanker, we created a four-prong approach to address these needs.”
“The four prongs are first to create a co-regulation room in each school,” said SVSD Counsellor Kerrilynn Behrman. “According to research, there is a correlation between adverse childhood experiences such as abuse, poverty, and parental addictions; and later in life social, emotional and psychological struggles. The one thing that can help them off that trajectory is having one person they feel connected to. Dr. Stuart Shanker’s research also indicates that in order to be successful in school, we need to be connected and regulated so that we can access the cortex or thinking part of our brain. There are many different ways that we can regulate our bodies and nervous systems that are incorporated into the co-regulation room.”
“The co-regulation room has an active area with stationary bikes, mini trampolines, swings, and gliders that help students upregulate,” said SVSD Counsellor Jocelyn Bender. “There is a quiet area with bubble towers and rocking chairs that help students calm their autonomic nervous system. The third area of the room is an expressive area with arts, crafts, and sand trays or games. The co-regulation room also has a caring, trained staff member who connects with the students and helps them choose up to three activities to help them regulate and return to class, ready to learn.
“The students and activities are tracked to ensure the choices are effective. This room is a proactive approach, not a punishment, for all students in the school, as everyone gets dysregulated from time to time. Some are scheduled for regular 15-minute intervals in the day, others may be drop-ins from time to time, depending on life events.”
“The second prong is educating all staff on trauma based on neuroscience and Dr. Bruce Perry’s neurosequential model of therapeutics,” said Hack. “Staff have learned about trauma, its impact on the brain, and tools to help their students.”
“The third prong is teaching all the students about their brains and therapeutic tools that they can use during difficult times,” said Behrman. “They learn about the parts of their brain and make a play dough brain, and how to listen to their bodies to identify and name how they feel. Students then learn different tools in a sequential way, based on neuroscience, to calm their bodies and become regulated. These include body-based tools such as breathing, mindfulness, muscle tension and relaxation, and butterfly hugs and tapping. Later in the year, cognitive tools such as helpful versus unhelpful thinking and how to change our brain channel, as well as empathy and gratitude are learned. In each session, students add a tool to their toolbox and at the end of the year go home with a toolbox full of ideas to help them become regulated through difficult times.
“The final prong was to educate parents about what we are doing and we created a video that can be found on our school division’s website,” said Bender.
Through the Teacher’s Idea Fund, SVSD has been successful in receiving funds to not only pilot the program but to build and expand it to other schools in the division.
“In the fall of 2020, we applied for the Teacher’s Idea Fund with the Manitoba Government and received $15,000 to pilot it in one school, which was Taylor School,” said Hack. “With its success, we then applied the following two years to continue to build and use the full framework in Taylor, Heyes, Benito, Bowsman and Minitonas schools. Swan River Ecole School will be using two of the prongs this year; the co-regulation room and staff training. In the following two years, we received $150,000 to cover staffing and materials to facilitate this program and its framework.
We currently have funding until the end of the 2023/2024 school year.”
This program will focus on elementary and middle school-aged students, with the goal being that by the time they reach high school, they will have all the positive and healthy coping mechanisms they need to be successful in learning.
“The framework has currently been used from students in Kindergarten to Grade 8,” said Behrman. “It has been incorporated in their daily learning by having access to the co-regulation rooms and knowing what the purpose of the room is and how to use it.”
“As well, staff are encouraged to continue using the classroom tools taught, as we know repetition helps create habit,” said Bender. “Their coping toolboxes they create throughout the year are kept in the classroom and we encourage the teachers to have the students use the items in the room when they become dysregulated.”
This program was developed by a local staff member and is being taught to other staff in the division to implement with students.
“The program initially was created and facilitated by Kerrilynn Behrman,” said Hack. “Kerrilynn has a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology and training in Dr. Perry’s NME model, as well as play therapy and various therapies used in classroom activities.
“In 2022, the school vision recognized the importance of fostering positive mental health and hired a second counsellor, Jocelyn Bender. Jocelyn is a long-time educator at SVSD. She has a Master’s Degree in both Special Education and Guidance and Counselling and has training in child development, behaviourism, and various therapies including play therapy.
“Together the two have trained the educational assistants who manage the co-regulation rooms in trauma, what co-regulation is and how to manage them,” said Hack.

Physical fitness is a lifelong endeavour that most people struggle with when they become adults, however, a local Swan River Constable has been using physical activity as a motivator to not only achieve her own personal goals but to do some good as well.
Briana Blencowe has participated in many events, particularly triathlons, over the years and for the first time, she competed at the World Police and Fire Games this past August hosted in Winnipeg.
“I competed this year in the World Police and Fire Games,” said Briana Blencowe. “This was my first time competing and I did the triathlon.
At this event, it was an Olympic distance triathlon, which is a 1.5 km swim, a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run.
I started training at the beginning of April, specifically for that race, after I was cleared by the doctor to return to work and full activity.
“It was a different kind of experience for me. I have completed many triathlons since 2014, along with a few in Manitoba this year.
This one was smaller than I am used to as there are normally more triathletes participating in them.
However, the main difference in this small Triathlon was that it hosted many international athletes that are First Responders. There were 60 individual racers and nine teams from all over the world competing at St. Malo Provincial Park.
“This one was a challenge as it was only the second time I’ve raced the Olympic distance,” said Blencowe. “I was going into it with personal goals, rather than thinking of representing Canada on the podium. Just coming off an injury, I had goals I wanted to achieve for each discipline. My top two goals were to have fun and to finish.
My race-specific goals were to finish in under four hours, so the hope was to complete the swim in under 45 minutes; transition one in under five minutes; bike in under 90 minutes; transition two in under five minutes and run under 90 minutes.
“I completed all my goals with an official time of 3 hours and 27 minutes. I completed the swim with a time of 33:56 minutes; transition one was 2:54; the bike with a time of 89:26; transition two was 3:39 and the run with a time of 82:20.
“It was a challenge as you are swimming with all the other racers at the same time, then on the bike course the riding got tough as it was extremely windy,” said Blencowe. “It was a lot of fun and nice too. There were people there cheering us on along the course and through the park, which is where we got to see the different racers during the 2 loop run course. The cheering of ‘Go Canada’ or ‘Go Brazil’ or ‘Go Sweden’ was neat as I was running with people from all over the world. The triathlon community is always very supportive of their athletes and I was so happy to see that same support at this event as well.
Blencowe participated in other triathlons this summer including the Riding Mountain Triathlon which proved to be a course personal best.
“I completed my 15th triathlon and third race of the season, post-injury,” said Blencowe. “I raced the sprint distance at Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP) for the second time since 2019. The wind gusts on the water meant white caps, so for safety reasons, the swim course was cut short from 750 meters to 300 meters.
“Overall, I finished in fifth place in my age group, out of 13 women. My time was 1 hour, 33 minutes and 42 seconds. I was able to cut three minutes off both my bike and run time during this race, which led to me achieving my personal best on this course.”
Recently Blencowe did another event, but this time to create awareness and raise funds. It was held again at RMNP, but was strictly a bike ride.
“I did the MS Bike Tour in RMNP last month,” said Blencowe. “Normally it’s done over two days, but this year it was held in one. It started and finished at Elkhorn Resort and riders had two options. The first was to turn around at the 35 km mark to do a 70 km bike or at at North Gate (54km mark), and come back for a 108 km ride, which was what my husband and I chose.
“Our goal for this was more a relaxed ride and to take breaks at each stop provided. Our ride time alone was about five hours and 14 minutes but came in just over six hours with breaks.
‘The fun part was going down that really big hill at the North end of Riding Mountain, at one point my speed got to 61.9 km an hour,” said Blencowe. “It’s unfortunate that they started the event going down the hill as it made the climb uphill feel that much tougher.”
This is a cause very near and dear to Blencowe’s heart, for she has seen first-hand how MS impacts people who are diagnosed with the disease and their families as well.
“Before I became a police officer, I was a personal support worker,” said Blencowe. “I worked in home care and in nursing home care. Over the years I was the caregiver to people who had been diagnosed with MS and who were at different stages of the disease.
Just seeing their lives change as it progresses, is something no one should have to experience. I’m fortunate that myself and none of my family members have been specifically impacted by it, but I have seen how it does affect people and families. This is one of the reasons why I’ve chosen to participate in this fundraiser over the years.
“I have until the end of the month to continue to raise funds, but I am at $1,345 raised so far,” she continued. “I always try to support my friends and family who are doing their own fundraisers, but it’s nice to see that others support me as well.
“It’s not always easy to ask people for money, because there are always so many organizations in need, but at the same time I’m putting myself out there and doing something that is challenging. It’s nice to have that support and people recognize the effort.”
Blencowe has raised funds for a variety of charities over the years through physical activity. What she has achieved is remarkable and goes to show how one person can make a difference.
“I’ve kept track of my fundraising efforts since 2019 and totalled all the amounts I’ve raised for charities, which is over $7,000,” said Blencowe. “It’s been great to not only challenge myself physically but to help do some good through raising awareness and funds to help others too.”

A series of cabins in the Valley has had quite an extensive history in the community and surrounding area. They became part of a few different family businesses and upbringings for some of the former local residents. The Moon Glo Cabins were another set of cabins in the Valley that tourists frequented before it became part of the Crescent Park Motel.
The Fosters ran the Moon Glo Cabins and resided on the property while raising their children.
“My dad was George Arthur Foster and my mom was Muriel Lavina Foster (Johnston),” said Lynn (Foster) Hall. “They were both born in 1906 and my dad was born in England. He came over to Canada when he was three years old. My mom was born in MacGregor. There were eight children in our family: Merceda (Mickey), Wilfred, Raymond, Donald, Glen, June, Douglas and then myself.
“I was born in 1946, and that’s when my family moved into town from the farm. My father and his brother-in-law built the majority of the Moon Glo Cabins. The Birchwood Cabins used to be our competitors.
“From what I can remember, there were about 10 cabins, but I don’t how many there were originally when they first started,” continued Hall. “We lived right on site in a huge four-bedroom with a full upstairs and downstairs. The home had a huge stretch of property attached to it.”
The Moon Glo Cabins didn’t have private bathrooms within each cabin but still had a fair number of amenities for the time period.
“The cabins were red with white trim and, I believe, there was a central bathroom or shower house with the ladies on one side and men on the other, with a hot water tank in the middle,” said Hall. “People were able to shower and use the flush toilets, but in the winter, my dad had to drain the hot water tank so it wouldn’t freeze up. There may have been outhouses on the property earlier on, but I’m not entirely sure.
“There was no running water in the cabins, but there was a cook stove to keep warm and my dad supplied water. There was a little table with chairs, dishes, and utensils that families could use to eat. Each cabin usually came with two beds and I remember making lots of those beds over the years.
“A lot of couples first started off their married lives in those cabins,” said Hall.
There was a lot of space for other recreational activities where the Moon Glo Cabins were. The Foster family had tons of animals on site for kids to play with and lots of yards for them to play games.
“We had a nice big lawn area that had swings on it and kids played crokinole out there,” said Hall. “My dad kept an immaculate lawn, with the grass and trees well-trimmed. There was a stone archway that had a sign above it saying Moon Glo Cabins. He had that made, with the pillars made of big boulders or river stones cemented in. That archway was the entrance to the property. We had a great big Caragana hedge from the house we lived in right down to where the archway was. There was always lots of yard work for him to do and he loved it.
“We also sold fuel there, British American Gas, and the tourists, especially Americans, stopped in back then. Some would even stay.
“There was a barn behind that had lots of room for people to park their boats and stop,” continued Hall. “Dad always had Shetland ponies or horses in the barn for kids to ride on. There were other animals including rabbits, dogs, and cats and in the beginning, we also had a cow. We raised a lot of Collie and Labrador dogs. My dad really loved animals.
“Behind the first row of cabins, there was a summer kitchen that people could use to cook their dinner or meals.”
Running the Moon Glo Cabins was literally a full-time job for the Fosters. There was always lots of work to be done to get the cabins ready for the next round of guests and visitors to stay there.
“Both my parents had their work cut out for them in the mornings with the cleaning of the cabins and making the beds for the next guests,” said Hall. “For the longest time, my mother did all the laundry herself with a ringer washer and hung out on the line. Eventually, they got the linens sent to Dauphin when that service became available for some of the businesses in town.
“We still had to make the beds and have lots of stock on hand because you couldn’t wait for the clean linens to come back. It took about three days for the clean stuff to arrive back at the cabins.”
The Fosters built a new house closer to the cabins, with an office attached to it. This change began to reshape the business.
“Eventually our parents built a new house, down towards where the gas pumps were,” said Hall. “We had a sign up that said for customers to beep the horn when they wanted to get fuel. Customers would honk their horns and, if dad was in the office, he would tend to them, if not, we would come down from the house.
“So, when the new home was built closer to the pumps, it was a two-bedroom home with a basement, then an office attached to it for the business. There was another unit attached to it for guests; it sort of started to take shape and look like a motel.
“My parents became good friends with a lot of the guests who stayed there. I can remember a couple would look after the place if they went away somewhere. Then I believe my parents moved into a house in town around 1970 or 1971 and that’s when they sold the cabins to the Waltons and it became Crescent Park Motel.”

Owning a piece of Swan River’s history can be an amazing and rare find. This is the case for Valley-born Jason Beasley of J-Ride Customs.
Beasley acquired the old milk truck from Crescent Creamery that was used in the Valley to deliver milk and cream to people. It was a treasure he stumbled upon while taking a drive out in the country.
“I have family in the Valley and was actually born in Swan River,” said Beasley. “I was cruising around with my Aunt Nancy Thomas and Uncle Bob Thomas. They have land up in the Pretty Valley area and on the way, I spotted the old Crescent Creamery milk truck just off a gravel road, in a field. It caught my eye and we stopped, because any kind of old vehicle gets my attention right away.
“My uncle stopped and I went and had a look at it. It was in rough shape and there wasn’t even a frame underneath it. It’s a 1954 International Metro Milk Truck and it’s a rare find. My uncle knew who owned the land it was on, so I called them up and I made a deal with the owner. My brother was coming back up to Swan River in a couple of weeks because my grandmother was moving to Winnipeg, so we put all of her stuff in the Metro and put it on a trailer and brought it back.”
Beasley is an avid retro vehicle collector and has dedicated his time to restoring many classic cars, trucks and antique automobiles. Through his business J-Ride Customs, he does all the custom work himself and has a dedicated YouTube channel that has videos of him doing the restoration work for people to see.
Restoring the old 1954 International Metro Milk Truck was challenging for a few reasons. It was in really rough shape; the parts were impossible to find and basically no longer exist.
“I just love old vehicles with all the curve detail they have on the body itself,” said Beasley. “I had to do some research because it was missing so many parts. It looks like someone was just gutting it and using it for parts at one time. There was no frame or motor in it when I bought it.
I had to find out what would fit underneath it the best with the least amount of modifications to it.
“I ended up buying a 2009 Dodge Durango and used that frame for underneath it, including the motor and transmission. Now it’s an all-wheel drive vehicle. I wasn’t able to find any of the old parts for it, so I had to customize and make my own. I had to make my own body panels and everything for it. On my YouTube channel, I have videos of myself making parts for this.
“Sure, it would have been nice to go to somewhere like California to find potential parts for this old milk truck, but you just can’t do that with these types of vehicles because there’s just not a lot of them around,” said Beasley. “You have to make do with what you can.”
It took some time for Beasley to find the right parts that would work with the old Metro milk truck.
He spent a lot of time researching what would work best. Once he had the materials, he began working on it through the winter and on side, amongst other projects and work he had coming into his shop.
“I owned the old Crescent Creamery milk truck for three years before I even did anything with it,” said Beasley. “That’s how much time it took to research and make parts. I work on big projects like this in the winter months. I have a decent size shop and the tools to work on stuff like this. I actually started working on the milk truck last fall to get to where it is now. It’s not totally finished, but did a fair amount of work to it, plus I have three or four other vehicles I was working on at the same time. Plus, I have other vehicles coming in for servicing as well.
“I’m going to bring the milk truck back into the shop for the winter and hopefully finish it. It’s not going to be all pristine; I’m going to leave the original paint and the mural on the side of it. That is all going to stay and where I put the new parts, I’m going to blend the paint to make it look older as well, to match.
“I’m also going to put the seats from the Dodge Durango inside the Metro Milk Truck, so it will have three rows of seating inside,” said Beasley. “I’m also using the dash from the Durango as well, because it’s got this nice woodgrain look to it.”
Restoring the old 1954 Metro milk truck has been a topic of discussion for people of all ages and from everywhere, not just the Valley. Many people remember a time when milk and cream were delivered to their home using milk trucks just like this.
“It’s a real conversation starter that’s for sure,” said Beasley. “A lot of older people remember these types of milk trucks from back in the day. They tell me how they got their milk and cream delivered back then in these trucks. My mom recalls that as well.
“Then I have all these delivery people and Amazon drivers who come here and they are just drooling over this old milk truck. People always ask if they can take pictures and are just blown away by it.”
Beasley has always loved classic automobiles and that led him to learn how to restore them. Some of the restorations he sells, and others stay part of his permanent collection.
“I have certain ones I keep after I’m done restoring them,” said Beasley. “I have a Corvette that I bought when I was 19 years old and a few Novas, Chevelles, cab over pick-up trucks in my collection. I’ve always been car crazy my whole life and I blame it on the band ZZ Top. I’m all self-taught when it comes to the autobody and restoration work.”
Beasley has plans for the 1954 Metro milk truck once it’s finished. It will become part of his permanent collection.
“Once it’s finished, I will keep it because it’s nostalgic to me, and is a part of my history and Swan River’s as well,” said Beasley. “It pulls on my heartstrings a bit. I plan to keep it and potentially take it and put it in car shows. I put a trailer hitch on it so if I want to pull a trailer and my Harley on the back, I can do so. There are a lot of options of things I can do with it now.
“It’s in the plan for me someday to show these restorations in car shows and even down in Arizona. I’ve had lots of people wanting to put old Crescent Creamery milk truck in the parade in Swan River for the rodeo, but it won’t be done for then, but likely next year it will be.”
To see more of Beasley’s restoration work and projects, you can watch videos on his YouTube channel under J-Ride Customs.

Writing and publishing a novel is something that a few people dream of, but sometimes never find the actual time to do. A former Valley resident, despite his extremely intense schedule and career, has found an opportunity to achieve that very thing he has dreamed of. Dale Fedorchuk has a career that is beyond impressive; one that really sounds like it’s out of a book all its own.
“I was born in Swan River and my parents are Bill and Rose Fedorchuk,” said Dale Fedorchuk. “I grew up on a farm in the Big Woody District. After I graduated from the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School (SVRSS) in 1977, I started at the University of Manitoba in the same year. I obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1980, and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the U of M in 1983. I was called to the Bar in Manitoba in 1984. I practiced law in Manitoba from 1984 to 2001.
“In 1994 I participated as a Controller in a joint military, intelligence and police field training counter-terrorism exercise in advance of the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, B.C.. Three years later, I was offered a contract to develop military exercises and provide instruction part-time for the United States Air Force Special Operations School. United States Special Operations Command – Joint Special Operations University picked up my contract and I became part of a team briefing Special Operations Forces, which is mostly Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets before they were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.
“I served in this capacity part-time for 16 years from 1997 to 2013, while I continued to practice law,” said Fedorchuk. “In May 2001, my wife, Anika, and I moved to Calgary. I was called to the Bar in Calgary in 2001 and I have practiced criminal law here since that time. In 2010, I was appointed a Queen’s Counsel. After King Charles was crowned, I became a King’s Counsel. I am a criminal defence lawyer and I litigate most of my cases before a jury. I live in Cochrane with Anika and our pets, and I practice law in Calgary and its surrounding regions, with no plans to retire.”
The dream of writing and publishing his own book was something that had intrigued Fedorchuk at an early age. He had a love for reading books that turned into a flare for writing, but it wasn’t until much later that he took the plunge and wrote his first novel.
“Since I was a teenager, I wanted to write science fiction stories,” said Fedorchuk. “I was an avid comic book and science fiction reader from the age of 10. I spent many hours as a youth devouring a hamburger nip, a cold Pepsi in a glass bottle, and numerous comic books at Dick’s Café in Swan River. The owners of Dick’s Café had been so kind to me; they would allow me to sit and read comics for hours while Mom and Aunt Jean Fedorchuk shopped.
“In high school, my English teacher challenged me to write a science fiction short story and publish it in the Star and Times. I wrote it and, to my surprise, the Star and Times printed it in its entirety. I still have the article buried somewhere in my personal papers. After I left high school, though, the pursuit of a legal career swept my ambition to write under the carpet, until last year.
“I had attended a family wedding in Swan River, where I sat with my nieces, Micayla and Nadia Krahn,” said Fedorchuk. “In the 1980s, I wrote poetry, including a series of poems about a fictional character called Tul’ran the Sword. I gave a copy of my poetry to my sister, Connie, many years ago, and my nieces read the poems. At the wedding, Micayla and Nadia told me how much they enjoyed Tul’ran’s poems and asked me why I never wrote a story about Tul’ran. They challenged me to write a novel and I accepted the challenge.
“Writing my novels is one of the strangest experiences I’ve had. When I sat down to start writing my first novel, the words poured out of my mind, through my fingertips, and onto the keyboard. I couldn’t type fast enough to keep up with my thoughts sometimes. I see passages of the book like scenes from a movie in my mind. I try to record those scenes as accurately as possible.”
The storyline of Fedorchuk’s book has an ironic sense of what he has experienced in his career but with a more Sci-Fi/Fantasy twist.
“The novel starts in an oasis in the desert near the city of Ur in Mesopotamia in 2005 BC,” said Fedorchuk. “The lead male character, Tul’ran az Nostrom, known as Tul’ran the Sword, is brooding under a palm tree about his life. Although Tul’ran is wealthy and legendary, there is no peace within him. He hears a woman’s scream, and rides his stallion, Darkshadow, to the aid of Erianne of Kabolon. Erianne is an intelligent and courageous woman running from assassins.
“Together, they flee and fight various assassin groups, as they try to rejoin her fellow travellers. As they do so, they learn truths about one another that take this story far beyond the ordinary. This is not a typical fantasy, historical romance novel; it has twists and turns drawing the reader into an unexpected journey. The series is centred around Tul’ran and Erianne, and their efforts to administer justice against violent crimes perpetrated against men and women alike. As the books go on, other characters join them.”
Fedorchuk wrote his first novel in record time, but the real challenge was determining the best course of action to get it published.
“It took only eight weeks to complete the first draft of the first book, The Ballad of Tul’ran the Sword,” said Fedorchuk. “My wife, Anika, is also my paralegal. I turned the draft over to her for editing and she did an excellent job of it. Once she edited the first draft, I created a second draft and emailed it to my beta reading group.
“The group consisted of men and women ranging in age from 14 years old to 72 years old. I received an enthusiastic response and suggestions for edits. After incorporating the edits, I began the process of trying to get the first book published.
“All the articles I read about publishing suggested a traditional publisher would not entertain a manuscript submission unless I had an agent,” said Fedorchuk. “I prepared a query letter and approached several agents, who either rejected my proposal or ignored it. On the last weekend of April 2023, I attended the Calgary Expo. I met Amanda Muratoff there, who co-authored a fantasy series. She was kind enough to speak to me at length about her experience with self-publishing, more commonly described as indie publishing.
“I formatted my manuscript to meet the requirements of Kindle Direct Publishing. Using Artificial Intelligence drawing programs, I created images for Tul’ran and Erianne, as well as a desert scene. I manipulated the images with Corel Photoshop and created the covers. The first novel was then published on July 13. It is being distributed through Amazon worldwide. Since publication, I’ve learned the bookseller, Barnes & Noble, has picked up my book and is selling it in the United States.”
Since his first novel, Fedorchuk has actually written a series from The Ballad of Tul’ran the Sword.
“The series currently consists of The Ballad of Tul’ran the Sword (Book I), A Time, and Times, Half a Time (Book II), and Abandon Hope (Book III),” said Fedorchuk. “I have written two-thirds of the fourth book, Wolf’s Den. The second book, A Time, and Times, and Half a Time, will be published on Nov. 6.
“I will publish the third book, Abandon Hope, on March 24, to coincide with my mom’s 85th birthday. There is no set publication date for Wolf’s Den just yet, but I anticipate it will be published in the summer of 2024. I’ve sketched the concepts for the fifth book, When the Sky Falls, but I haven’t started writing it.”
Fedorchuk has found writing the easiest part of the process, but when it came to finding ways to publish his novel, that proved to be more trying.
“I am blessed in that writing, so far, has been the easiest part of the process,” said Fedorchuk. “As I’ve said, the passages in the book appear as scenes from a movie in my head: all I must do is record them. The most challenging part has been the attempt to engage a traditional publisher.
“The advantage to having a traditional publisher is their expansive ability to market a novel. In my experience, it was as difficult to secure an agent as it was to secure a traditional publisher. I hope my books are regarded well enough to engage the interest of a traditional publisher. Sometimes a traditional publisher will sign an author who is an indie publisher.
“The most enjoyable part of the experience has been sharing it with my wife, Anika, my 14-year-old niece, Payton Goller, and my 72-year-old military brother, Mike Bennett,” said Fedorchuk. “Mike is a retired Green Beret, having left the US Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He wrote the Foreword to the book.
“These three people have read all the manuscripts and commented on them, giving the books a much richer depth. I’ve spent hours talking to each of them about the nuances of the characters I’ve created in the novels, and the emotional waves the reader will coast as they progress through the series.”
Fedorchuk’s books are available to purchase on Amazon, but he is currently exploring other retail platforms.
“My books are available on Amazon worldwide, although only the first has been published to this date,” said Fedorchuk. “As well, my American friends can purchase them from Barnes & Noble. I am currently in discussions with Chapters/Indigo bookstores for the distribution of my novels in Canada.”
Fedorchuk is working to finished writing his fourth book and has now moved on to writing the fifth, with no shortage of ideas or writer’s block stopping him.
“I’ve completed 225 pages of the fourth book, Wolf’s Den, which means it is two-thirds complete. All my novels are over 350 pages long. I have plans to start writing the fifth novel, When the Sky Falls, as soon as Anika has begun editing the publisher’s proof copy of Wolf’s Den.”

A milestone class reunion was held at the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School (SVRSS) the week of the Northwest Round-up Fair and Rodeo. The SVRSS Class of 1973 was the first class to graduate from the newly formed regional secondary school and celebrated their 50-year high school reunion.
“1973 was the first year that the SVRSS opened, after a year of preparation by our school board, Swan Valley School Division Superintendent John Kastrukoff and SVRSS Principal Larry Sackney,” said Evelyn Immerkar. “Most Grade 12 classmates who attended that first year only had 10 months to get to know each other. Many students from the year before came back just to attend the many new subject areas offered by this new school.”
“Other schools that came to the SVRSS were from towns such as Cowan, Renwer, Minitonas, Benito, Durban, Alpine, Kenville, Mafeking, Birch River and Bowsman,” said Lorna Bell. “Each one of us tried to get to know each other through sports, classes, vocational courses and a beautiful spacious school equipped with a cafeteria.”
Graduation ceremonies were quite different back in 1973 compared to what they are today. It seems like the event itself was still prominent, just didn’t have all the extra extravagances that today’s graduation ceremonies have.
“In 1973, there were 167 graduates of the SVRSS,” said Immerkar. “This remains the third largest graduating class in SVRSS’s history. The SVRSS Class of 1973 had a long graduating ceremony, because of the sheer number of students graduating. There were also many speeches and awards handed out.”
“We didn’t have caps or gowns, but it was nice because we got to see everyone all dressed up in their best attire,” said Bell. “We had a small dance in the gym afterward which only a few attended.”
There have been other high school reunions at the SVRSS prior to this one, however, it is the first 50-year reunion that has been held. The events sort of stretched out over the week and gave former classmates a chance to catch up and make new memories.
“Previously the SVRSS Class of 1973 held a 10 and 25-year reunion,” said Immerkar. “Classmates came from all over Canada and the United States.
“The Class of 1973’s 50-year High School Reunion was held on July 25, with a social evening for over 100 people attending. Pizza was delivered all throughout the evening, while guests registered and received their name tags. Everyone exchanged hugs, caught up on life events and looked at memorabilia displayed and prepared for the next day.
“The next day, a morning brunch was enjoyed and prepared by the Bowsman Curling Club with over 120 people in attendance,” said Immerkar. “During the afternoon, a tour of the SVRSS was arranged by the current SVRSS Superintendent, and former classmate, Cam Mateika, along with three tour guides.”
“Participants were amazed by the exceptional condition of the school, with its technological advancement in classes delivered and the new expansion being built,” said Bell. “Local caterer Kyla Kluke provided a supper with a traditional Ukrainian flair. Many remembered having such a meal once upon a time in Swan River, meanwhile, some have not experienced the tasty Ukrainian favourites.
“The evening then proceeded to greetings from our first principal Larry Sackney, vice principal Leonard Harapuak, Mateika, MLA and former classmate Rick Wowchuk, and bringing greetings from the Town of Swan River, former classmate Don Bobick. Frank Ooms was the Master of Ceremonies, along with Diane White Gilmoure. Classmates Heather Pawlinsky and Marilyn Woodard Brown prepared a heart-warming tribute, along with a memory tree displaying names of those classmates and teachers who had passed.
“Donna and the Dynamos were extremely well received by approximately 160 guests with a variety of songs we all knew,” said Bell. “They also received a standing ovation. Music from 1973 played in the background, while classmates reminisced for the duration of the evening while scrumptious food was available.
“On the Thursday morning, classmates who were available gathered to decorate our float for the Northwest Round-up and Exhibition. The next day was the parade and approximately 50 people gathered to ride the float or to walk alongside, handing out candy to onlookers. After the float was undecorated farewells and hugs were passed around with promises to gather again.”
SVRSS Class of 1973’s 50-year High School Reunion was definitely one for the books. Many of the former classmates thoroughly enjoyed rekindling friendships and memories from back in the day. Both Immerkar and Bell enjoyed being a part of putting together and planning the event for their former classmates.
“We enjoyed watching our friends recognize each other after 50 years,” said Immerkar. “Another surprise was watching classmates get their name tags, which had their grade 12 picture on it. The other surprise and gratitude were receiving all of the compliments, and thanks for all the hard work and months of planning with the reunion committee. Another surprise was having some of our local classmates show up to help us out with the final preparations.”
“The most important part was that our community stepped up to help us out with this event,” said Bell.”

Summertime is here and many people are making plans to go camping at the lake or travelling to other communities for a visit. Back in the day, the Valley had a series of cabins known as the Birch Wood Cabins that brought many tourists and visitors to the area. The history of Birch Wood Cabins is extensive and although it changed owners and names over the years, it’s a definite staple of the history of the Valley.
The Birch Wood Cabins were built and owned originally by the Tall family, and their granddaughter, Doreen Tall Pellissier shared her recollections of the history of those cabins.
“My grandparents were Alfred Tall, born in 1888 in Kearney, Ont., and Mary or Mamie (Jordan) Tall, born in 1894 in Oak Lake,” said Pellissier. “Mamie came to the Swan River Valley to teach at Avonlea School in 1914, and met Alf, who was from the Cropper Tops District. They were married on July 26, 1916, in Brandon.
“They lived with Alf’s mother and brother and in 1917, moved to their own farm, a mile down the road from the Tall original homestead which was established in 1901. The farm was in the family until 2011.
“Alf and Mamie had seven children, Gladys (Scotty Taylor); Merle (Ellery Taylor); Stan (Velma Graham); Elsie (Edwin Smith), Allan (Kay Hickman); Marg (Stan McNevin), and Aileen,” said Pellissier. “My parents are Allan and Kay. It was my dad and brother who continued the family farm until it was sold.
“Their son, Stan, had come home from WWII, so Alf and Mamie decided to leave the running of the farms to their two sons, and they retired to Swan River. Upon retiring, they felt too young to quit working entirely, so they decided to build the cabins and cater to the tourist trade. They built Birch Wood Cabins, and it was named because of the row of beautiful birch trees that lined their lot between the cabins and the cemetery.”
The Birch Wood Cabins were unique in the sense that they were in Swan River and not near a body of water or in a provincial park. Over the years the cabins saw visitors from many different places and northern tourism was beginning to take off around this time as well.
“The cabins were along Hwy. No. 10 north, about half a mile from Swan River’s Main Street,” said Pellissier. “There were seven cabins, positioned in a U-shape with swings and green space in the center. There was a small store in one building, as well as a larger building with hot and cold running water. Grandma washed the bedding in this building, which also had an iron mangle for ironing the sheets. There were no toilet facilities within the cabins themselves.
“Northern tourism was starting to boom and there were lots of people from all over Canada and the U.S. travelling through the Valley by Hwy. No. 10. Many of the activities included hunting and fishing, and many of the men would rent the cabins as a result of those trips. The by-pass was not yet thought of, so the location was ideal as there would be little else for accommodations until The Pas. For local tourism, Wellman Lake in the Duck Mountains and Steeprock Lake in the Porcupine Mountains would be the water recreational areas.
“The cabins were at least half a mile from downtown, with no store nearby,” said Pellissier. “Therefore, the small store that was part of the business was frequented by locals, as well as tourists. It appears that several people living nearby bought groceries there and it was a fantastic place for a child to buy some candy.
“My grandma loved that part of the business, but family stories indicate my grandpa wasn’t quite so patient. It could be at dinner time, or when the family was visiting, but the little bell would ring, and my grandma would tend to a customer. It could have taken quite a while for a child to decide how to spend his/her dime when there was such an array of candy available at three pieces for a penny. Those children are in their 60s and 70s today and some have been kind enough to share those memories with me and let me know how much my grandma was appreciated.”
The Tall’s owned and operated the cabins until the early 1960s, when they decided to sell, and they continued to live in Swan River.
“The property consisting of the house and seven cabins was put up for sale in August of 1963,” said Pellissier. “By that time, the by-pass was in use and these types of cabins were quickly being replaced by modern cabins and motels. As well, Alf and Mamie were getting older and quite ready to take things easy.”
Pellissier has fond memories of when her grandparents owned and operated the Birch Wood Cabins. Many others have reached out to her as well to share their memories of trips to the cabins and visits with her grandparents during those trips.
“I do remember going to grandma and grandpa’s house during their time operating Birch Wood Cabins,” said Pellissier. “I especially remember my grandma taking us across the lawn to the little store and we were allowed to pick out some candy. In later years, she moved the store to a room in the house. I do remember the swing and the yard, and the washroom. There was a fad around that time where people took old tractor tires, painted them and used them for flower beds and lawn décor. Grandma had some of those painted white and pink.
“My cousin shared with me that they remembered people coming to the cabins in the middle of the night and honking their horns to see if there was a vacancy. That was the only way to do it back in the day.
“I don’t remember my last trip to the cabins; however, I do remember my last thoughts,” said Pellissier. “When the cabins were about to be sold, my dad mentioned that maybe he should get one as a playhouse for my sister and me. That sounded perfect, and I was imagining all sorts of fun things. Alas, it didn’t happen, and the cabins became the property known as the Moon Glo Cabins located where Fas Gas is now.”
Unfortunately, not long after the sale of Birch Wood Cabins, Alf passed. The history of Birch Wood Cabins, then turned into Moon Glo Cabins, with another story to tell that was all it’s own.
“My grandparents stayed in Swan River after the sale of the cabins, as that was their home,” said Pellissier. “They bought a house on Fifth Avenue, just down the street from where Ace Hardware is now. Alf passed away in 1967 and Mamie in 1993.
“All that remains of the site now is a vacant lot at this time.”