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Cocoa on the Trail

A month ago, my mother and I said goodbye to our lovely old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Cocoa. I don’t think a day has gone by that we haven’t been caught unawares: expecting to see her trot out to meet us as we turn into the driveway or to hear her bark at the geese on the neighbour’s lawn; waiting for her to come in to our rooms to say goodnight before she, too, curls up on her own bed in front of the front door.

Yesterday, my mother and I drove to Vita, Manitoba and picked up our new puppy, a Newfoundland/Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog cross. I’m going to be very busy for the next few months… I have big plans for her. Plans that a lot of dog owners probably wouldn’t think about. I’ll come to these as the week goes by.

The New Puppy

Since I have dogs on my mind right now – since I can barely seem to think of anything else but my new friend and what we’ll be working on together – I thought I would talk about the role of dogs in the early days of the Red River Settlement for a few days.

As I thought about the theme, I began to realise how some things may change over time, but in some ways, they remain the same. Like the way we love/use our dogs and become dependant upon them…

Some people at TLSARL might be very comfortable with how we are now. There are a lot of really good things about the organisation and the people who are members. Absolutely. I don’t know who you people are, actually, I would be pretty surprised if you really are out there. I don’t believe that there is anyone in our Association who hasn’t got an opinion on how we should do something better or different or not at all. That’s just human nature, and guess what?

But I would also be very suprised if we any of us had the same vision for change as any other member, or even if most of us give it that much thought except when we get the Newsletter or meet at the Reunion.

I’m not really a radical, but I am kind of (another ‘oh, dear’ moment). I am beginning to feel very strongly that TLSARL thinks too small. We need to think, well, maybe not REALLY BIG just yet, but at least biGGER.

If you read my entry about Archives – if you didn’t, here’s your excuse (The Question of Archives – Sept. 29) – you may have noticed one of our problems was that we didn’t have a permanent location designed to protect our archive. In fact, we don’t have an office or library, either. We have nowhere where the public can come to meet us on a day to day basis. According to the legislation that set us up as an Association, we are not allowed to spend over $10,000 for a building for the purpose of holding our offices, etc.

Hmmm… I guess it’s been awhile since we gave some serious thought to having a physical presence anywhere….

For very obvious reasons, a permanent home is something our organisation should have on its list of important goals for the future. Some members would say that this is WAY beyond our means. Yes, way. It is.

But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be thinking about it. That we shouldn’t be planning toward it. We were a hundred years ago in 1910 when that building budget was set. What happened to our goals and dreams?

Why do we only focus on advertising our Annual Reunion to members? I know ANY descendants would be welcome. We ALL want to meet new people who are a part of our community, as well as reuniting with those we already know. I can’t be the only one who sees the problem here.

If our Newsletter only goes out to members, then where do other people who are interested in us get to find out about us? How do ‘lost’ descendants find us?

Why don’t we have charitable status so people can donate and receive a tax receipt? So we can FUNDRAISE effectively? The people who asked this at the AGM have made a very important point.

None of these postings are meant to criticise current or past members and Executive. They are meant to get us all thinking about TLSARL. And I do know that some steps are being taken to address these issues already – we aren’t sitting at Executive meetings contemplating navels and grain futures. We do have a long way to go, though, and many of us have been travelling the road for a long time. Sometimes we need a little input and inspiration – even a little muscle – to get out of the rut our wheels have spun for us. ‘Cause sometimes, we get a little tired, and being creative gets hard when you’re tired.

(reference: p. 18213 of the Selkirk Papers, M187, Manitoba Archives)