Pinawa, Manitoba

I’ve spent the past few days with Evelin and my entire Peters family at the Wilderness Edge resort (in Pinawa, on the Winnipeg River) participating in a get-away weekend in honour of my 89-year-old father, our patriarch John Jacob Peters. With my brother Phil and his clan here from Germany, this provided the first opportunity in several years for us all to be together in one place.

Highlights of the weekend have been an incredible audio-visual presentation my brother Jim assembled from hundreds of old family photographs he had scanned, a well-written life-history presented by Doreen, Dad’s wife (who also took care of all weekend arrangements—thanks!), a musical tribute by brother Phil et al, and the open sharing and good fellowship that takes place when a geographically dispersed family comes together for some quality time. The weather cooperated (for the most part) for the outdoor activities (a hay ride, canoeing, biking, swimming, evening camp-fires) and it seems a good time was had by all. Life is good…

Family photos (from those that surfaced on the weekend): the ship Dad came to Canada on from Russia in 1925; a hand-coloured “John the lumberjack” on Vancouver Island (serving as a Conscientious Objector during World War II); our family stuffed into a Heinkel Kabine (Frankfurt, 1957); brother Jim and I, 1958; Dad enjoying the mountain view (Swiss Alps, c. 1978); and an informal family photo here in Pinawa yesterday.