These are words that have become a common saying in communities across the Canadian prairies, Kyler Zeleny said. The writer and photographer who recently released his newest book, Crown Ditch and the Prairie Castle, has always been a proponent of the rural lifestyle. His new book aims to document people in the prairies and present the area as an understudied region that still faces a great deal of struggle.
Zeleny’s affinity for the prairies comes from growing up on a farm outside of Mundare before moving to Edmonton when he was 18. He’s long been writing about the prairie lifestyle, with his newest book being the latest chapter of this work.
“There was always a bit of a calling to come back to the farm, to rural living, to some of the things he thought were magical about being that kind of space on the prairies,” said Zeleny who was interviewed on CBC Radio Active this week.
Crown Ditch and the Prairie Castle is a photo book with 60 images placed in a specific order to create a narrative and a view of the way he sees the Canadian prairies. The book includes essays written by Zeleny and fellow Alberta author Aritha Van Herk.
A new visual book dives into that question. “When we think of the things that make the Prairies beautiful, which is this long horizon and this sweeping landscape of a blue sky.” We speak to Kyler Zeleny the author of Crown Ditch and the Prairie Castle 9:34
The book started with a question about who the prairie dweller of today is, and what their needs are. He started this process 10 years ago and has been studying rural prairie culture ever since. At first, he researched the revitalization of small towns before switching to focus on the visual nature of the prairies.
In his work, Zeleny said he wants to look at what differentiates the prairies from other regions, who lives there, and what their landscapes and communities are like. Zeleny added that there’s a clearer idea of what the American midwest is than the ideas of the Canadian west.
But Zeleny characterizes the prairies as being beautiful in its simplicity, in its topography, its beautiful horizon and blue sky, and its people.
“If you’re from the prairies, it’s inherent in you to understand what’s beautiful about the prairies,” Zeleny said.
“We’re nothing fancy. We’re just simple, kind folks.”
Kyler Zeleny is an Edmonton-based author whose new book Crown Ditch and the Prairie Castle documents the Canadian prairies. (Supplied by Kyler Zeleny)
His book includes environmental portraiture as well as a focus on the people of the prairies. The population of these rural communities has changed a lot over time, Zeleny said, highlighting how these communities are youth deserts, where young people leave to find work or a better way of life in larger cities.
With that has come a loss of community and vibrancy, Zeleny said. His book hopes to capture the changing landscape of these towns.
“It’s important to create snapshots of this change,” Zeleny said. “Because it’s not a drastic change, this is a very slow process. And I think that’s also why there’s not a lot of concern about it.”
Part of this change comes from aging communities, and from fewer job opportunities with the modernization of farming where work that once required 20 people can now be completed by only a handful of workers, or from industries leaving town.
To try and help these communities, Zeleny said he’d like to see more government assistance like subsidies for small towns to attract more people. He’d also like to see a larger ideological shift that embraces small-town living.
But for rural towns far from urban centres with shrinking opportunities for work, Zeleny said it’s hard to see what can be done to revitalize many of these communities.
“We’re looking at a process that is rather inevitable. That we’re going to see the shrinking of small towns,” Zeleny said.
“That’s really tough for a lot of people to hear, especially people who are community-driven and who want to see their community thrive. But a lot of communities will continue to disappear.”
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
