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Gravelbourg, a fleeting impression |
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| FTLComm - Gravelbourg - Tuesday, June 29, 2004 | ||||||
 This is not a definitive photo essay of the southern Saskatchewan town of Gravelbourg but rather an impression. I realised when I looked over these pictures there were so many scenes I should have recorded like the charm of some of the shops downtown, the town hall, College Mathieu, the school and the marvelous new hospital. But those pictures will have to come in another story for this one is just a first impression. I remember Gravelbourg from the 1970s when it was pretty much a Francophone town with |
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 its own French language radio station and "Arret" signs. Gravelbourg has changed, there are still people who speak French in the town but not as before and in the Co-op store the food labels are turned with the English side facing the customer. What strikes the visitor to Gravelbourg is that this is a special place. The yards the businesses and institutional buildings have a look of care and attention only found in a few other places. The new liquor board store has columns and a distinctive roof line unique to this town. At the top of the page you can see the Cathedral which is by far the dominating influence in this town as it sits at the bottom of main street. The second picture |
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 shows the scene looking north of the railway station which appears to be a museum with the marvelous mural on the caboose parked beside it. The Pool elevator has been gutted and it is not known if it will be knocked over like the rest of these structures in the province. We spent an hour in a restaurant and the composite image of the Buddha and light fixture pretty much tells the story. Canada is a rich country with cultures mixed and proudly portrayed. The doorway picture is actually a computer and Internet Cafe shop. This deco house of the 1950s sits beside the castle at the bottom of the page. |
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| Gravelbourg is a remarkable community you might want to check out its web site and I will try to serious document the other structures and scenes that make is so remarkable in another story in the future. | ||||||
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