The MAF identified a retired/senior community couple who have resided in the area for the majority of their lives. We were seeking their perspective and sage advice about what they think contributes to our community’s greatness, and their hopes for the community in the future.
Our goal with the project is marketing – to help improve our outcomes and also to highlight our work provincially with publication through the Winnipeg Foundation website. We believe these activities will help to grow awareness within this community and the larger Foundation community as well.
We were both involved in public school education. Larry was Superintendent of Schools for the Morris MacDonald School Division and Audrey was a school librarian. We have lived in the area for 32 years. We believe that the most unique aspect of our community is the diversity in the backgrounds of the residents. It is not unusual to hear people speaking French, English, and Low German at the same venue. This diversity can cause some misunderstandings.
This community is a great place to live because most services are available to us and those which are not are within a short commuting distance. We have been able to form friendships and participate in a variety of activities. There are numerous opportunities to volunteer and provide additional services for people. In order to keep our community growing a larger economic base is needed.
We would like to see the volunteer base in the community expand so that organizations such as The Morris Area Foundation, Morris & Area Centennial Museum, Valley Regional Library, children’s programs, and local sports activities can continue and improve the quality of life in the community.
Larry, on behalf of the Morris & District Centennial Museum, with the assistance of a small grant to the Museum from the Morris Area Foundation and Canada 150, has completed a project on Alexander Morris. The town of Morris is named after Alexander Morris who played a significant role in the development of Morris and the entire country. Alexander Morris’s work in negotiating Treaties 3, 4, 5 and 6 as well as redoing Treaties 1 and 2 with Indigenous people of the area has greatly influenced our development as a province and a country. Larry has spoken at local gatherings on the role Alexander Morris has played in our history.
