Lögberg-Heimskringla - 09.07.1993, Blaðsíða 7

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 9. júlí 1993 • 7
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Gimli is called the trav-
eller’s paradise, with
its miles of clean,
sandy beaches and a well-
developed tourist industry.
Located on the west shores
of Lake Winnipeg, 80 kilo-
metres north of Winnipeg,
this Interlake community is
doing anything but hurting
as a result of the recession.
In fact, the town boasts no
business closures in recent
years. Instead, it has received
an $11 million jolt from the
Gimli Waterfront Develop-
ment Project, which is bring-
ing greater employment and
enthusiasm into the bustling
community.
“Gimli is unique, because
^vhile tourism is becoming an
indispensable asset to the
local economy, most of our
Workforce is employed in the
fishing, manufacturing and
agriculture industries,” says
Gimli mayor and long-time
resident William Barlow,
pointing to major employers
such as the commercial fish-
ery, Seagram’s of Canada just
north of the town and the
CNR Engineer Training
School.
While sitting on the shores
°f one of the world’s largest
lakes has meant an obvious
focus on fishing and related
industries, Gimli also has a
growing industrial park at
the town’s former air base.
“It’s rare to have a 6,800-
foot air strip and harbour in
one town,” boasts Barlow.
Indeed, this town of 1,579
residents, which was official-
ly incorporated in 1948, is
unique on many counts. At a
time when many communi-
ties are in danger of dying,
the Gimli area population is
booming, up 11 per cent in
recent years. The rural
municipality now has more
than 2,600 permanent resi-
dents, but Barlow says this
number quadruples in the
summer season with cot-
tagers and other vacationers.
Long-time businessman
Dick Arnason is well aware
of the growth in the Gimli
area. He and his wife Sheryl
own Interlake Real Estate
and Interlake Insurance,
with offices in Stonewall,
Selkirk and Gimli, as well as
a growing land development
business. While the recession
slowed business somewhat,
Arnason says good times
have returned, with more
people than ever relocating
to the town because of lower
taxes and superior recreation
facilities.
“Gimli is to Manitoba
what Kelowna is to all of
Canada,” says Arnason.
“Because of the lake, the
new 18-hole golf course, the
resort and the new curling
rink, Gimli is becoming a
focus for retirees, and any-
one with time to enjoy those
leisure activities.”
Barlow adds active church
and service clubs as reasons
for the growth in retired resi-
dents, as well as the work of
the Gimli Seniors Resource
Council, which provides
such services as Meals on
Wheels, a friendly visitor
program and Handi-Van
transport for seniors and the
disabled.
Gimli’s growth is almost
entirely attributed to
tourism, which is the fastest
growing sector of the town
economy. Together, local
authorities and entrepre-
neurs have taken advantage
of the town’s assets and have
developed a prime tourist
resort. From streetscaping to
the new recreational com-
plex, which can attract large
sporting tournaments and
other events year round,
Barlow says all elements are
designed to attract tourism to
Gimli.
The new three-storey
Country Resort hotel is part
of the waterfront develop-
ment, as are several new
businesses located on the
resort’s first floor. One of
those new tenants is Beth
King, who has high hopes
for her aptly named business,
High Harbour Boutique.
Offering women’s fashion
and casual clothing along
with lingerie, swim suits and
men’s gift items for town and
hotel clientele, King says her
year-old business is a venture
with great potential.
“I saw the energy and
futuristic view Gimli was
putting into the tourist
industry, with eye-pleasing
street improvements, the
new hotel and harbour
developments, so I chose to
start my business here,” says
the Teulon area resident. “I
am pleased with both the
local response and tourist
trade at my business, and I
believe locals are very aware
nowadays that we must sup-
port each other continually
in order to keep a town
viable.”
That supportive spirit
has created the Gimli
Round Table, a group
from the town and RM
which is addressing commu-
nity life in a 20-year plan.
Areas under discussion
include improved relations
between or amalgamation of
the town and RM, and con-
tinued improvements of
tourist facilities such as the
south side of the harbour
and the decaying Gimli
Museum. Barlow says the
town is working to replace
the facility and add an all-
season Lake Winnipeg
Interpretive Centre.
While new and upgraded
tourist facilities are attracting
more visitors to Gimli, 81-
year-old Ted Kristjanson says
it’s the town’s interesting
cultural mix that makes it
special. Born in Gimli ofpar-
ents who immigrated from
Iceland, Kristjanson is part
of that group who first set-
tled the town some 110 years
ago.
“We didn’t know any
English growing up, and
were never taught it in
school either,” he says.
“Now the town is so cos-
mopolitan that there is
almost no Icelandic spoken.
Times have changed.”
Kristjanson refers to the
Ukrainian, Polish and later
German immigrants who set-
tled in the Gimli area in the
late 19th and early 20th cen-
turies. As a result of this mix,
local museums document
several cultures, and tourists
enjoy food and festivals rang-
ing from Vínarterta at the
íslendingadagurinn (Icelan-
dic Festival of Manitoba) to
sampling perogies and
watching Ukrainian dancing.
Kristjansson, whose fami-
ly has fished the lake for
more than a century, says
that while one of his sons
and a grandson continue to
make their living on the
lake, that way of life is
largely gone. Kristjanson
now marks that historical
era in his own museum,
which features thousands of
artifacts in four buildings on
his property.
While fishing may not
play the role it once did in
Gimli, most residents agree
the diverse and balanced
economy now provides a
high quality of life and a
wealth of opportunities for
the future.