Town & Country

C M Y K 2 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2019 MERRIDALE Reavie's Pharmacy (1978) Ltd. 243 Main St. N. Russell, MB R0J 1W0 Keith/Brent/Greg, Pharmacists Ph: (204) 773-2244 Fax: (204) 773-3460 TREVOR BASARABA Owner/Manager 103 Main St. N. Gilbert Plains, MB R0L 0X0 e: plainstire@outlook.com p: 204.548.4959 c: 204.621.9516 w: www.integratire.com DALE & LIZ CLAEYS Owners/Operators 704 Central Avenue Box 106 Ste. Rose Du Lac, MB ROL 1S0 p: 1-204.447.3336 e: tireman1@mymts.net experience integraty Integra Tire Auto Centre 1450 Main St. South R7N 3H4 Tel: (204)638-9396 Fax: (204)638-4309 Dauphin, Market dauphin market lace A CARING MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY GRANDVIEW 145 North Railway Ave. • Fast On Farm Service • Most Major Brands • Agricultural • Industrial • Automotive 35 Years Experience Wayne Williamson, Owner (204) 546-2911 Dauphin & District Allied Arts Council Come join us at the Watson Art Centre! November 2 Trivia Night November 9 Annual Craft Sale Come and check out our new web & Social Media Refresh! www.watsonartcentre.com 104 1st Ave. NW Dauphin, MB (204) 638-6231 E fforts to revitalize a Parkland land- mark have turned into absolute mayhem. Merridale, Man. was swamped with off-roaders who could give a muck at the second annual Merridale Mayhem event on Aug. 17. The mud bog and smoke show serve as a fundraiser for Merridale Community Cen- ter, a former one-room schoolhouse located about 20 minutes northeast of Roblin. Event organizer Maggie Funk says that despite cool weather, this year's Merridale Mayhem attracted about 50 competitors and raised roughly $8,000 for the commu- nity centre revitalization project. "We have a huge yard and we wanted to do something huge to bring people back to the school grounds to see what we've been doing," says Funk, 23, who also sits on the board of the community centre. "I think where it stems from is the mud bog in Grandview (located about 50 kilo- metres east of Roblin). We've been going to that one for years and we got talking about it. We have the space for it, we want people to come: why not do our own mud bog? It just went from there." The push to save the century-plus old structure started about a year and a half ago. Funk says the building was in poor shape and its former board members were doubt- ful about its future. "They were just ready to pass the torch," Funk says. "They said to us if they couldn't find anyone to take over that they would probably knock the building down, so a few of us came together and said we'd take over and be board members and try and bring it back. "We have done a pile of work and we still have lots to do. We've re-tinned the roof. We still have one part of the roof left to do, but we're not finishing it yet because we still have the bell tower that needs to be completely rebuilt. We're also in the process of replacing all the windows and we're put- ting in a new door to our main hall. We've fixed the bathrooms, we've fixed a couple soft spots in the floor, repaired some water damage in the roof, and our next plan is to tin the whole outside of the building." Funk and her community centre cohorts are hoping to finish repairs to the outside of the building by winter 2020. Once the place is weather-proof and people-ready, Funk says Merridale Community Centre will focus on hosting more indoor events, like suppers, dances, kids' activities and fam- ily fun days. "Once we do all the structural stuff it's just about making it a little prettier," she says. While rural Manitoba was once littered with one-room country schools, many de- teriorated or were destroyed after school district consolidation in the 1960s rendered them obsolete. Funk says the Merridale community is happy that a little piece of its history is still standing and has a bright future. "This hall was such a big part of every- one's lives when they were younger," she says. "I remember going there as little kids just to play in the yard and our parents re- member going there for dances, weddings and anniversaries. "It's just been such a big part of every- one's lives that it was really painful and sad to think about it not being there anymore. We saw an opportunity to keep it alive and so many people have been supportive. A lot of the older people were saying 'We can't help physically, but we'll help financially.' People help in anyway that they can. No- body wants to see it go. "It's really emotional for some people when they talk about it. It makes everything that we're doing so rewarding, just to see how happy it's making everyone." Funk, who grew up about five kilometres down the road from Merridale Community Centre, says one reason she got involved with the revitalization project is because she loves history and old buildings. "I saw this as an opportunity to keep something in our community alive," she says. "I just saw how important it was to people and I knew if I was able to help give something back than why not? Why not give up a few hours out of my month to help out?" Prior to this endeavour, Funk admits she wasn't very involved in the community. She says she can see this project being the first of many fundraising initiatives for her. "I'm seeing first-hand how rewarding it is," Funk says. "It's so good to see how ap- preciative everyone is of all the hard work you're doing. It just makes you want to give as much as you can." SAVING COMMUNITY CENTER Community rallies to save Merridale landmark BY JARED STORY The community centre hosted its second annual Merridale Mayhem mud bog. Riders of all kinds help raised more than $8,000 for renovations to the center. Renovations to the exterior of Merridale Community Center are well underway and club officials hope to turn their attention to the building's interior soon. "I remember going there as little kids just to play in the yard and our parents remember going there for dances, weddings and anniversaries."

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