We have been informed that the flags recently installed on Mill Creek Ravine bridge, at the East entrance of Bonnie Doon’s le Quartier Francophone, represent the member countries of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.
Bonnie Doon Refugee Sponsorship Group was formed in 2016 of individuals and families living in the Bonnie Doon neighbourhood who wanted to sponsor a refugee family from Syria.
Jamshid Maree, his wife Sarifa Hasan, son Ahmed (21), and daughter Nafia (15) arrived safely in Edmonton on May 10. The group is looking for volunteers to help in a variety of ways, including: donating bus tickets, occasional drivers for appointments, working on ESL programming (2 volunteers/day for 45 minute sessions), teaching bus routes for Summer School, teaching walking route to grocery stores, and many more opportunities. Please visit www.bonniedoon.ca/refugees for more information on how to get involved or to make a donation. Bonnie Doon Community League welcomes the Maree/Hasan family to the neighbourhood and we applaud the efforts of our community in providing such great support to our new neighbours. The City of Edmonton’s ‘Front Yards in Bloom’ recognition program celebrates the efforts of Edmontonians in beautifying their neighbourhoods, one front yard or balcony at a time.
Would you like to join the team to walk around Bonnie Doon and help look for beautiful, blossoming and productive gardens? Please email Karen at [email protected] to get involved. The deadline to nominate a garden for Front Yards In Bloom is June 30 and nominations can be made at www.edmonton.ca Bonnie Doon Community League’s Civic’s Director has been in discussions with the City of Edmonton to find out their prefered way for residents to bring forward their concerns regarding deficiencies with the completed neighbourhood renewal work.
The City of Edmonton encourages residents to phone 311 or use 311.edmonton.ca to report neighbourhood renewal concerns, including issues such as cracked sidewalks. The neighbourhood renewal work has a two-year warranty from the contractor, so reporting concerns early helps ensure they can be scheduled for repair while under the warranty period. The book ‘Memories of Bonnie Doon’ provides a glimpse into the history of one of Edmonton’s oldest neighbourhoods and is based on the memories of residents of Bonnie Doon, as told to community volunteers. From the earliest history of First Nations and Metis families to the opening of Rutherford School in 1911 and the travels of the Bonnie Doon Street Car, Memories of Bonnie Doon commemorates the past of this much loved community, located north of Whyte Avenue next to Mill Creek Ravine. It will be published in September 2018, ahead of the 100th anniversary of Bonnie Doon Community League in 2019.
In 2015, a subcommittee of Bonnie Doon's Social Committee began recruiting volunteers to interview Bonnie Doon seniors, in order to preserve their stories. What we have now is a huge book of stories and memories of life in this area from the late 1800s till now. Although much has changed, much has stayed the same – kids in Bonnie Doon love to play in the ravine and the playground; they love to get wet in Mill Creek pool and our spray park; they love to pull pranks. And the adults continue to work hard, look after their gardens and the ravine, and build community. In this fabulous book, you will read about the people who first roamed the area we know as Bonnie Doon and Mill Creek Ravine, hunting, berry picking, having pow-wows, and the people who bought the land that had been granted to the Papaschase. You will read how the neighbourhood evolved after A.C. Rutherford, who owned a huge chunk of this area, up and left to build his dream home elsewhere. You’ll find out how this neighbourhood got its name and what the Dawson Huts were. You’ll read about midwife Betsy Brass, who delivered many babies in the area in the late 1800s, and Alberta Game Farm founder/Bonnie Doon kid Al Oeming and his connection to Stampede Wrestling. Bonnie Doon had its own Group of Seven: seven hardworking women who catered events in the hall to pay off its debt. You will read about Earl Anderson and his friends who put street signs on Whyte Avenue that diverted traffic down to Mill Creek pool (then hid in the trees and laughed when the cars came down the hill trying to figure out where to go). The ravine had a shanty town (near a dump) in the land at the bottom of Connors Road, where widow Violet Rawson, who had squatter’s rights, stayed on after everybody else had been cleared out. She remained in her green cottage, nestled between the creek and a mountain of garbage, until she died in 1965. Only then did the city put in the interchange at the bottom of Connors (and extend the road east of 95th Street). You will learn about the coveted Bulldog Pass, about the millions of eggs produced and dried here in the city before being shipped overseas, about the dairy farms and gardens that grew up here, about the early residents who built their own homes (and sometimes moved them after they were in place), about the black “snow” of the 1970s. You’ll read about Isabel the cow of 87th Avenue. What you really will appreciate knowing is that Bonnie Doon was a muddy place – and our mud is especially slippery. Getting up and down Connors or through the ravine was treacherous. Even the wooden sidewalks were slippery. People wiped out a lot. It took the residents a long time to convince Edmonton that they needed better roads, real sidewalks, and a decent bridge or two. Much has changed, and much has stayed the same. This great collection of memories and historical record includes around 100 photographs. We are pleased to pass on a request from the two EPS constables assigned to our area...
"As you know the vast majority of the people in the area are great however there are a few that cause some issues. I was wondering if it is possible to have my partner and my information posted so that should a “problem house” be noted someone can contact us so we can work on resolving the issues. Of course if it is for a crime in progress 911 / (780) 423-4567 are usually the best police contact numbers as we don’t work every day. Of note is that Southeast Division is currently exploring having two more members assigned to Bonnie Doon for the summer months to help reduce problems and any feedback you have to encourage the senior officers making the decision would be appreciated." Cst. KITCHEN, John (Adam) Southeast Division, Bonnie Doon Beats Edmonton Police Service Cell: 780-218-9366 One result of the work done by our History Committee is this map of 1950's Bonnie Doon! They are currently editing over 500 pages of stories from our first century down to just over 200. That will become the book Memories of Bonnie Doon, which you can order now (save $10 by ordering before our publication, fall of 2018). Click image to see the high resolution original.
That will show you the map on flickr.com; click on that image to enlarge. |
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