A unique friendship that has grown over the course of more than 25 years proves that sometimes the best relationships are ones that are forged out of compassion and caring for our fellow human beings.
Michael and Donna Mcinerney of Denver, Colorado had absolutely no connection at all to Outlook and small town Saskatchewan in general, but that changed back in 1992 after a camping trip almost turned fatal and ended up bringing local resident Ralph Derdall and his wife Pat into their lives.
In July of that year, Michael and Donna were embarking on a trip in Alaska marking the 50th anniversary of the Alaska Highway. By chance, they stopped at a campground in the Yukon, where soon a life-altering incident involving fire wound up connecting the big-city American and small-town Canadian couples.
“Ralph and Pat were on their way back from Alaska, and Donna and I were on our way up *to* Alaska,” explained Michael, a retired truck driver. “It was the 50th anniversary of the Alaska Highway, so a lot of people were traveling. We stopped at a campground in the Yukon at Watson Lake and we ended up camping for the night. The next morning, I tried to light the stove and we had a fire. Evidently, the propane leaked overnight and both of us got out of the trailer. Emergency personnel showed up and took us to the hospital. What we remembered while we were there – and didn’t know it at the time – was I could remember hearing Ralph’s wife Pat’s voice – a distinctively English voice – and Donna remembered Ralph’s voice. While we were laying on the ground, they came to our aid, and of course we didn’t know them from anybody! We ended up going to the hospital at Watson Lake and then they ended up taking us to Anchorage.”
“We were just having our breakfast, and all of a sudden we heard this loud BOOM,” shared Ralph. “I ran outside and saw the camper was on fire, so I turned off the propane on the outside. They were both on their hands and knees on the ground, and I stuck around until the police and ambulances came.”
After recuperating from their burns at home, eventually the couple was surprised by a piece of correspondence that arrived.
“When we got home, it was sometime later that we got a letter in the mail, and I thought, ‘Who’s this?’, and it turned out that Ralph had sent us this wonderful letter telling us how concerned he was and that he was hoping we were fine,” said Michael. “Reading the letter actually brought us to tears; to think that somebody would be that concerned about us, total strangers mind you, and tell us how worried he was for us. I wrote back and told him thank you so much for the letter, and that he now had new friends in the States! From that point, we just kept corresponding, and several years later, we came up to Outlook to visit him and Pat, which I think was Easter weekend. From there, we’ve been coming up off and on and seeing them and then Ralph.”
“I call him my guardian angel,” added Donna.
What followed was – to borrow a line from ‘Casablanca’ – the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Michael and Donna and Ralph and Pat. Following Pat’s passing, the relationship only continued to flourish, and the Denver couple has almost become family to Ralph with their frequent visits up here to Outlook to see him. Despite the difference in backgrounds, they have found a kinship that is unique to them, and Ralph has enjoyed showing Michael and Donna around the area.
“We went out to the winery for supper,” said Donna. “We haven’t done much like we did last year, as he hurt his hand this year so he hasn’t gone out as much. But he has taken us out before and driven around to show us all kinds of stuff. He showed us the dam, and the new campsites they put in, and areas such as where he’s fished.”
“He wanted to show us the museum here in town, the dam, and all the surrounding things, such as the bridge,” added Michael. “He’s been great at showing us all the neat things about Saskatchewan.”
As for what the Mcinerney’s enjoy most out of their friendship with Derdall, they say it’s just spending time with him and learning about his life that gives them joy.
“Just being his friend,” said Michael. “He’s a remarkable person and a good friend.”
“The history he knows and shares with you is just amazing,” said Donna. “He opened up his house to us so we could stay there when we finally came to visit. Ralph just has a giving heart.”
