Recently I was walking through the greenbelt which runs along the southwest side of Midnapore Lake. It’s a walk I’ve done countless times, but it never gets old, especially in the spring. That is when the surest signs of life in the community are all around: the greenery of blossoming trees and neat yards; teams and loose groups of kids playing baseball, soccer, rugby and even golf; the sounds and smells of barbecues; bikes and scooter rolling by; and the requisite dogs, walking with their owners or running out to the boundaries of their yards to bark at passersby. The greenbelt is one of those things that connects the community. It is also one of those things that makes me so grateful to live here, and something I never want to take for granted.
On the subject of walks, I wanted to thank everyone that came out for the Jane’s Walk I led along 1st Street and Bannister Road on May 6th, as well as MLA Graham Sucha and staff for hosting. It was scheduled too late to be advertised in Mid-Sun Messages beforehand, but we still had nearly 60 people come attend. Travelling with such a large group was a challenge at times, especially with so much of the Bannister area being pedestrian unfriendly, a key topic in the walk. But it was truly fantastic to have so many people come out to learn about the rich history of Midnapore, as well as discuss the future of the oldest part of our neighbourhood.
We discussed some of the landmarks that were lost in our area, such as the grain elevators, while admiring those that have been preserved, such as old St. Paul’s Church, built in 1885 and now the oldest church in Calgary. Our walk also reflected on the need to restore the old Midnapore Hall/schoolhouse by Rona, as well as what could be done to make the old section of Midnapore near Bannister a truly special part of the community. I hope to do more walks like these, so let me know if you are interested or had an idea for more neighbourhood events.
I also want to thank everyone who participated in our Playground and Recreation Survey in April. Our playground liaison Erin Delamont and myself analyzed the responses, and she provides an overview of them later in this issue. We enjoyed reading your responses, and the playground committee will be taking them into account going forward. There were some interesting takeaways from the survey.
One is the need to make sure residents know about the playgrounds in our communities, especially since so many of them are hidden from main roads. Many survey respondents did not know about the playground on Sunlake Road which the survey covered, so we plan to make our playgrounds better known in the coming months.
Another finding concerned the importance of a playground having a “theme”. While this was not a top priority for most respondents, we do want to at least ensure the new playground is attractive, especially for those living on the greenspace adjacent the playground. We also got some great suggestions for the playground and park, which the committee will explore further down the line.
One of the more interesting suggestions was to bring back the whale cutout that used to stand at the playground many years ago (included is a photo of the cutout, taken from Google Street View by going back to 2009, so it must have been removed sometime after that). There is something strange and charming about the whale. It was so incongruous- there was no other signs of an ocean theme, so what did it mean? Was the sun by its tail fin supposed to represent Sundance? Was the whale in homage to the Midnapore Hockey Association, which used to use a variant of the Hartford Whalers logo? Or was it just supposed to be a fun whale? It’s rumoured the community was involved in building the Sunlake Road playground initially, so did anyone out there know why this whale cutout was placed there? I would really like to know the story.
Finally, since it is that time of year when your Mid-Sun Community Association membership expires, I should let you know that membership fees have returned to $20 per household for 2018/2019, a price that is similar to the dues of other community associations in our area. Membership gives you a stake in the organization, and grants you attendance at our meetings, voting rights at our Annual General Meeting, and eligibility to serve on the Mid-Sun Board of Directors. It helps support what we do at the Mid-Sun Community Centre and what our volunteers do throughout Midnapore and Sundance. Membership also gives you discounts on recreation programs at our facility, and we are always looking for ways to make membership more valuable to you, the residents of Midnapore and Sundance.
Naturally, one of the best ways to increase the value of our memberships is through discounts and partnerships with local businesses. Our friend Kim Taylor did some great work reaching out to businesses in the last few years, which unfortunately had to come to an end with her illness and passing. We would love to see the work she did continue. If you are passionate about working with local business owners, to build connections and improve the community, please let us know.
-Mark Schmidt
President, Mid-Sun Community Association
