By Terrie Welwood
“This is a family activity that is great for any age group – from kids to grandparents. I do it with my grandkids and I love it. My whole goal is to get families outside, off of their iPads and this is something we can do outside even with Covid. You don’t need expensive skis or equipment to do it, all you need is ski pants. And if you want to go faster and race your grandkids to see who can go farther out onto the ice like I do, maybe a toboggan or a crazy carpet, maybe even a GT for those who are really adventurous, that’s it. And it’s free.” Marg Fraser.
Marg Fraser is what you’d call an ‘active Nana’. For years, during every winter visit to see her two grandchildren in Headingley (she has three in Russell too) they’ve visited the toboggan slide there.
“I’ve been going there with them since they were little and they’re 10 and 12 now,” Fraser said. “The first time we went, I was really taken with the idea and since then, it’s been on my mind for years to work toward getting something like that here.”
Last week, they received the engineers stamped blue prints for the two toboggan slides planned for Binscarth and Russell. Russell will be getting a slide too but the pledge was that each project would only proceed when the funds were secured through donations and fundraising (no application was made to the municipality for any funds) each slide was estimated to cost approximately $11,500. As of the end of June, $14,750 has been raised for the Binscarth project and privately owned land in Binscarth has been arranged. For the slide in Russell $5,250 leaves them about half way toward the money needed for the project to begin. The committee members are hoping that a suitable similar location in Russell can be secured (they do have a few options for consideration) as well as the money raised in order to begin construction by next year. The Binscarth project will fall under the RM of Russell-Binscarth umbrella for liability insurance.
Mitch Polding Carpentry will begin construction this fall. Come the first snowfall, the plan is the Binscarth slide will be up…. and sliding. The structures will be 16 feet high with stairs running up the side. The slide itself will be 24 feet long and meet the ground flush with a flooded out section, allowing sliders to venture safely and continue their run out onto the flooded path of ice.
“The kids and I would have races to see who could go the farthest,” Fraser said. “ It’s quite a lot of fun.”
Like the one in Headingley it’s modelled after, the slide is covered in puck board which is extremely durable and weather proof.
“The thing is, the puck board is perfect for sliding so all you really only need is ski pants,” Marg explained.
Like the slide in Headingley, the ones in Russell and Binscarth will have ‘wings’ which will help to ensure the safety of the sliders.
“When I sit on the top of the Headingley slide, and I reach my arms out to the side, I can just touch the outer edge of the wings,” Marg explained. “And I’m tall so I have a pretty long wing-span.”
Aside from what she has experienced on the Headingley slide, Marg has been working closely with the manager of Parks and Capital projects in Winnipeg, looking to make this rural municipality one of only a few in the province to have not only one – but two – family outdoor recreation draws like this.
“He has been a wealth of knowledge because he has dealt with many similar recreation projects like this in the past,” Fraser said. “He’s been very helpful and I think he’s happy to see such an active interest in bringing this recreational project out to the rural area.”
And the interest has been there. At the end of December of last year, Marg floated the idea around to area parents. After their first meeting a committee was struck to actively explore fundraising. The executive of the committee is Marg Fraser as chair, Drew Douglas, Britt Layh and Adrienne Falloon. While the first meeting drew only Binscarth residents, as word spread, parents from Russell – Christine Jones, Shallon Fowler and Braden Magnowski quickly signed on too. Braden quickly secured a donation of land prep for both sites from Co-co Paving in Russell.
Then the fundraising began. In order to ensure that tax receipts could be issued, the group signed on with the Living Legacy Foundation. Donations can also be given to any of the committee members listed above.
Fraser also approached the Lions Clubs in both Russell and Binscarth. Binscarth has signed on with their support. Then came the search for a suitable property. In Binscarth, the curling club owns the land just north of the rink and are all agreeable as well as very supportive of having the slide located there.
“There’s a grove of trees there that will provide shelter from the wind and a few of our local members of the fire department have agreed to flood the path in the winter for our sliding area.”
Within each of these discussions, the idea has only grown, Fraser said.
“I know that in Headingley they have picnic tables and fire pits at each of their slides and I’m told they are busy every weekend in the winter with things like kids birthday parties and family winter outings so we started discussing it for our projects too,” Fraser said. “One of the ideas the parents are thinking of is planning a Family Fun day on Louis Riel Day in mid February, which would coincide with the dates for the annual curling bonspiel in Binscarth (as long as Covid permits).”
To that end, Marg has spoken to Foxwarren’s Moulson Welding who have agreed to support by offering the group a deal on firepits as well as picnic tables. Proper signage will also be important, Fraser said.
“While this is very safe, just like when you go skiing and that sort of thing, it’s always ‘at your own risk’ and we need the signage for both places to state that.”
To that end, Fusion Credit Union has agreed to fund the ‘Rules and Regulations’ signs. Bruce Hutton from Art Farm has agreed to provide proper signage for both sites at half his normal rate.
With the money raised to allow for construction to start on the Binscarth slide, the focus of the entire group now goes to helping raise money for the Russell project.
“It’s very important to all of us that we have slides in both of our communities,” Fraser said.
So the fundraising will continue. In their latest effort – which could possibly earn $2,000, the group has signed on to assist by organizing “scarers”at the annual Halloween event. The “Haunted Rink” in Binscarth runs on Oct 23, 24, 29, 30, 31st. And it’s definitely worth a visit.
“We’re looking for ‘scarers’,” Marg said with a laugh. “And a few people to help us with take down starting at 6 pm on Nov. 2nd.”
If you’d like to volunteer to jump out at folks and have a whole lot of fun doing it, contact one of the committee members or message them through their Facebook site Binscarth-Russell Toboggan Slides. The Facebook site is also a great way to follow the progress of the projects in both Russell and Binscarth as well as contact them to arrange for a donation.
With over $14,750 raised for the Binscarth project, the group is relatively confident they have more than enough.
“Right now, the only thing that’s in question is the price of lumber because we know that’s gone up quite a bit lately,” Fraser said. “But Mitch is looking at that now and as a committee, we’ve agreed that if there’s enough money in place to cover the total for the Binscarth slide, the entire amount raised by volunteering at the Haunted Rink will go towards fundraising for the slide in Russell.”
“This really is a group effort to benefit both communities and I’m so very proud that we can have a family recreation area of this calibre in BOTH of our two small communities,” Fraser said. “For this Nana, it really is a dream come true.”