The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Southern accents as thick as molasses echoed through the Flin Flon Tourist Bureau and Campground yesterday. A group of 38 visitors, mostly from the southern U.S., stopped in town with their campers en route to Churchill as part of the 2003 Solar Bear Safari. "This is my first time in this part of Canada and I'm glad to be here," smiled Lotus La Rocca. "Right now, what I like the most is the fall foliage. I'm from Texas and we don't really get fall foliage there." The tourists will spend just two days in Flin Flon and will try to experience as much of the local culture as possible in that time. Their agenda yesterday included a visit to the wild rice operation in Denare Beach, a boat trip out on Amisk Lake, and a traditional aboriginal cleansing ceremony at the Rotary Wheel. Helping to welcome the visitors to town at the Rotary Wheel ceremony were aboriginal sculptor Irvin Head of Cranberry Portage and Flin Flon City Councillor Bill Hanson, who presented the men and women with Flin Flon pins. For most of the visitors, yesterday marked their first time in Flin Flon, and their first impressions were positive Ñ for the most part. "It's beautiful country that we've come to," said Bill McManemin of Louisiana. See 'Friendly' P.# Con't from P.# "But why are there all those names on the rocks up there?" he asked with a grin. Cecil Hardy, who also hails from Louisiana, said he appreciated the benevolence of local residents. "The people we've dealt with so far have been very friendly," he smiled. The Polar Bear Safari began earlier this month in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and will wrap up in Winnipeg on October 11. Stops in between will include Thompson and Dauphin. For many participants, the highlight will be the chance to see the polar bears in Churchill. "It's the polar bears, that's what we come up to see," said Norm Lammers, organizer of the trip, now in its tenth year.
