Portrait of a Small Town: Leaf Rapids
Into the tranquil regions of Northern Manitoba
Melissa Hiebert, Staff
Photos by Melissa Hiebert and Richard Glade.
The 12-hour drive up to the small town of Leaf Rapids seems a long way to venture to get to the middle of nowhere, but for someone who’s all about the journey rather than the destination, this road less travelled is certainly one worth taking. When you hit Grand Rapids, around four hours north of Winnipeg, you can feel a change in the air. Every breath seems more pure when you are far enough away from any big city that the air remains largely untouched by pollution.
Continuing on the number 6 highway, you eventually hit Pisew falls, a beautiful area an hour away from Thompson in which you can stop for a while and go for a hike or just stick to the boardwalk and view the 20-foot waterfall. Due to the continuous flowing of the falls, the area has its own micro-climate that allows unique types of mosses and lichens to grow. In one certain area at the edge of the running water, a thick layer of ice forms over a small island on which green plant life can survive throughout the winter.
On a sign on the boardwalk, a poem captures the majesty of the falls:
The Lynx is part legend,
Part water and part animal
Crouched where he is
Beneath the water
Or among the trees
Pisew sees
With man’s eyes.
In one glimpse
The scene is green, black,
Gold,
Blue
And frozen
In a white rainbow
The spruce
The rock
The stillness witness
Mishipisew’s white anger-
The winds dare not touch,
Ripple or stir
The falling water.
Without stops
The roar grows
Into a silence
No sound is heard
Until it is left behind
And then
It is heard forever
The sign also informs us that “pisew” is the Cree word for lynx, after which the falls were named. “Mishipisew” is a legendary cat-like creature who rules the water, according to the sign.
After Thompson, the rest of the drive becomes a little treacherous. The remaining 250 kilometres of gravel highway to Leaf Rapids might act as a slight deterrent for anyone wishing to venture to this hidden northern town. Expect no less from this portion of the drive, though, as the landscape resembles a slightly colder but less exploited Lake of the Woods.
Leaf Rapids is situated about an hour before Lynn Lake, which is the most northern point in Manitoba that is accessible by car. One woman working at the local Co-op dubbed it “A nature lover’s paradise.” With the town lying tucked away in the forest and surrounded by miles of virtually untouched wilderness, it is hard to disagree. If the three main roads were ever to be covered over by a thin layer of tree growth no one would ever know that the town was there.
Established in about 1974, Leaf Rapids was built as a community for miners who worked at a newly discovered mine at Ruttan Lake, about 25 kilometres away. Due to past mistakes in planning northern communities, the town was constructed with a deep respect for the wilderness and the surrounding vegetation remained largely untouched. Its unique model has won the town the Vincent Massey award for urban excellence, and in its first five years of existence, architects from around the world came to study its infrastructure. It is also used as an example in many university textbooks on urban planning.
The town is relatively empty now, after the mine closed down in 2002. Nearly 10 years ago, the population was about 1,500, and has since dropped to between 300 and 400. Nonetheless, like most small towns, Leaf Rapids has a tight knit community; people can often be found socializing at the town centre. The large complex at the centre of the town serves as a grocery store, ice rink, gym, town hall and school.
There is often hockey or curling going on through the winter. There are also movie and bingo nights, a beach to go to in the summer, golfing, and ample opportunity to hunt and fish all year round. Leaf Rapids also holds a winter carnival in March, which attracts many people from other nearby towns.
Many people make their living by fishing and trapping, which are included among the subjects taught at the school.
Surrounding the city centre, the houses are set up on a number of bays that are adorned with Cree names for animals and seasons. Many of the houses back right into the forest, which seems to stretch on forever. There is a walking path that encircles the town, but the trees are spaced out enough that you can walk wherever you want.
The forest is mainly comprised of evergreens, the ground littered with hundreds of small plants and a carpet of thick, lush moss. Scattered about the forest are many small lakes and sections of marsh. Wildlife vastly outnumbers the human population in Leaf Rapids. In the winter, tracks of all kinds become visible in the snow. Often foxes, deer and bears are sighted walking in the forest. Sometimes in the winter, wolves can be seen wandering in the streets.
In areas around Leaf Rapids you can see the vast remnants of a forest fire that threatened to destroy the small town in recent years. Among the thousands of acres of burnt shards of wood and fallen trees, there are millions of tiny plants and shrubs, and the beginnings of what will eventually grow into tall, towering trees.
Whether it’s the distant song of a hidden lake in the summertime, or the serene silence of a winter night, Leaf Rapids will make you fall in love with northern Manitoba.
