'It would’ve taken us years': Trail to link Watrous and Manitou Beach ready for traffic
A long-awaited trail linking the town of Watrous to nearby Manitou Beach is now open to the public, but the meaning behind this simple gravel path goes much further than meets the eye.
The safe passageway from Watrous to the resort village was a long-time dream of Ronald Ediger and his late wife Melissa.
“We had a dream to join the two communities,” Ediger told CTV News.
The safe passageway from Watrous to the resort village was a long-time dream of Ronald Ediger and his late wife Melissa. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)
He got a sign made that will be placed on each end of the three kilometer gravel path — Memory Trail. It’s a tribute to his wife who died three years ago. Ediger says it’s also for others who use the trail and have a connection to this place.
“It kind of means memories of the past and making new memories,” he says.
Ediger owns a construction and gravel business, which made this project possible.
“I have the ability and manpower to put it all together — not everybody can do that,” he says.
The Rotary Club in Watrous started a walking path which extends around the community of Watrous and stops at the northern outskirts.
“He got it done in one year, where it would’ve taken us years and years to get it done. So now people can enjoy it,” Ron Morningstar with the Watrous Rotary Club told CTV News.
It was quite a process to ensure the trail met all legal requirements. Ediger got the OK from the Ministry of Highways as well as area landowners, one of which has a portion of the path on their land.
“The big concern is the safety on the highway. Get them off the highway; walkers and everything else, bikers. This way it’s a lot safer for folks,” Ediger says.
Safety has been on the minds of town council for years, as well.
“Because there’s been so many close calls with people on bikes, and all of a sudden Ron, out of the blue, said, you want that trail, I’m the man, I can get it done,” said Poppy Petersen, Mayor of the Resort Village of Manitou Beach.
While this path is a physical connection between Watrous and Manitou, they say it also represents a symbolic connection between the two.
“I think in this world we have to be in unison and make it better for folks,” Ediger says.
He admits that the two areas haven’t always been on the same path over the years, but he’s hopeful that the trail may change that in some small way.
Thousands of people are expected to hit this trail and Ediger is committed to it year-round. He’s even planning on bringing his snow plow out here in the winter for as long as he is physically able, adding that when he takes something on, he will make sure it succeeds.
“I don’t give up real easy.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.