OUTLOOK - In latter March a meeting to review the options to establish some type of irrigation based tourism and / or museum in Outlook resulted in the formation of a steering committee. That five member committee, Ron Klassen, Ryan Husband, Jill Lee, Erin Karppinen and myself held its first meeting May 5. Jill Lee was chosen as chairperson.
It was and is particularly encouraging to see younger members of the community willing to step forward and become engaged in the topic. While older members with a lived experience involving irrigation as part of our careers can provide the historical background of irrigation’s evolution in the area, it is those younger voices that will make the story come to life for tourists and help make Outlook a tourist destination. There is hope that ‘Outlook – Irrigation Capital of Saskatchewan’ will become more than just words on a sign.
The other distinct advantage of having a small steering committee, and was clearly obvious at the first meeting, was the generation of ideas put forward as various options were tentatively explored. While no concrete decisions were made, one idea would generate other perspectives that had not been previously considered but did provide some general direction for followup.
For example, the idea of providing a tour outlining the evolution of irrigation in the area for tourists particularly those camping in the park was explored. It was felt those tourists as well as folks coming to visit relatives in the area or just passing through looking for something to do might be attracted to spend a bit of time learning about irrigation. While a short local tour option using the former pool building in the park or similar unused building as a focal point and expanded to other points of interest seemed attractive, consideration was also given to a more formal longer type of bus or vehicle tour of the dam and actual irrigation in action in the district.
And, of course, the younger members of the committee are much more interested and adept at providing some sort of digital story of irrigation which could not only be profiled on some type of tour but could be put on some community based web pages. There is a rich archive of photos, slides and videos that need to be preserved and digitized to provide the background history of irrigation past. The challenge will be to select and profile those from a professional perspective for a wider audience.
What was not forgotten was the sentiment expressed by Grant Pederson at the original meeting March 21 that ‘the people and their stories, that’s what makes this area’. Indeed gathering, perhaps recording and documenting those stories will ultimately make the story of irrigation become real for a lot of tourists and local people alike. Accordingly, anyone with such anecdotes about irrigation or stories that should be explored and documented are encouraged to talk to any of the committee members or Jill Lee, see her photo (courtesy Jill). Text her a message at jill@midsask.ca or phone 306 867-7153.
