Your friends from Winnipeg built a whole new road
Morning from the Gateway — here's what's moving in The Pas. You know, sometimes you read a story and it just hits you how much history we’re walking on, right here under our boots. I saw something this morning about this Dawson Road down south, near Winnipeg, and it got me thinking about all the forgotten paths that shaped this province. Folks are doing a cycling trek to preserve the memory of this old log road built 155 years ago. It was Manitoba’s first real link to Eastern Canada, a rough and ready connection that predates the railways.
Now, this isn't right here in The Pas, obviously. The Dawson Road stretched from what's now Saint-Boniface all the way to Lake of the Woods. But the *spirit* of it, that idea of pushing through the wilderness to connect communities, that's something we know up here. Think about the old Kelsey Trail, or even just our winter road network today – that's the same kind of grit. It reminds you that folks have always been finding ways to move goods and people, no matter how tough the terrain is.
* **A historical connection:** The Dawson Road was crucial for early Manitoba settlers and traders, just like the Saskatchewan River was crucial for centuries of Indigenous peoples and fur traders up here. * **Echoes in the north:** It shows that the challenge of connecting remote communities isn't new. We still face it with our all-weather roads and the sometimes-treacherous Flin Flon Highway. * **Resilience:** It’s a testament to the kind of determination that built this province, and it’s a spirit we still see in our logging camps and the folks who run supplies out to the remote communities every winter.
It really puts into perspective how long The Pas has been the northern gateway. We've been a hub for trade and travel for centuries, long before any log roads were built near what's now Winnipeg. It’s a reminder that while the routes change, the drive to connect and thrive in this land doesn't.
That's the buzz for today. My friends on the morning show dive into stuff like this every day – you can catch 'em live at mornings.live.