May 13, 2015
Happy Manitoba Day!
Hello Everyone!
I’m Bethany Epp, the new Yearbook Marketing Coordinator. I am excited to keep you all up to date with what is going on at Friesens.
It’s Manitoba Day! Our lovely province is turning 145 today, the perfect opportunity to introduce you to some fun facts about our home province. Friesens is located in the small town of Altona, Manitoba, just north of the US border.
Manitoba is one of the three prairie provinces in Canada, the other two are Saskatchewan (If you don’t know how to pronounce that, let Ellen help you: goo.gl/xQN2wU) and Alberta. Manitoba is known as the keystone province both for it’s shape and the fact that it is located in the geographical centre of the country. The majority of the population lives in the bottom third of the province because of the harsh landscape that make up the northern regions. Our capital city is Winnipeg, the home of Lieutenant Harry Colebourne who named his bear Winnie, after the city. Winnie who inspired A.A. Milne’s character Winnie-The-Pooh, was not the only bear to have a connection to Manitoba. The province boasts the “Polar Bear Capital” of the world in Churchill, and is home to the International Polar Bear Conservation Center in Winnipeg at the Assiniboine Park Zoo.
Pooh wasn’t the only famous character inspired by a Winnipeg resident. The inspiration for James Bond came from Manitoban, Sir William Stephenson, a skilled Spymaster during WWII. Other famous people with a connection to Manitoba include; Clara Hughes (Olympic Speed Skater), Cindy Klassen (Olympic Speed Skater), Fred Penner (Children’s Entertainer + Singer), Neil Young (Singer), The Guess Who (Band), Chantal Kreviazuk (Singer), Nia Vardalos (Actress), and Anna Paquin (Oscar Winning Actress).
One of our favourite past times is to complain about the cold days during our long winters…but 20,000 years ago Manitoba was nestled under 3-4 km (1.86-2.5 miles) of solid ice known as Lake Agassiz. Today Southern Manitoba only sees snow on the ground for 132 days of the year, a huge improvement if you ask me. At about the same time as Lake Agassiz the rest of Manitoba that was above the lake was covered in trees and mountain ranges. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Southern Manitoba was -47.8 C (-54 F). Manitoba is known to have hot and sunny summers, the hottest temperature ever recorded was 42.2 C (108 F).
Happy birthday Manitoba, you’re looking good for 145!
Stay Happy,
Bethany Epp
Yearbook Marketing Coordinator
Friesens
For more information:
Winnie the Bear: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnipeg_the_Bear
International Polar Bear Conservation Centre: assiniboineparkzoo.ca/conservation-research/international-polar-bear-conservation-centre.php
Weird and Interesting Facts: hikebiketravel.com/23108/25-fun-weird-interesting-facts-winnipeg/
Lake Agassiz: mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/19/lakeagassiz.shtml
Fun Facts: dsmanitoba.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/MB_TopTedandFunFact.pdf