The year in photos
By Allyson Kenning
I never would have thought that an innocent, one-person Olympic protest would result in a pretty sweet writing gig, but that’s exactly what happened in January 2010. My only aim with my little protest was to have my voice heard, and I think I accomplished that. But I also was, as a result, given the opportunity by the Telegraph to have my voice heard on a regular basis on this publication, and thus was the Golden City Cynic born. This wasn’t my preferred moniker (I liked Tragedienne of Rossland) but it was decided mutually between myself and Adrian Barnes, who was the editor then, that Golden City Cynic would be more reflective of the intent of the column. And from monthly columnist I moved in June onto reporting. This opportunity saw the realization of a dream for me, the dream of writing for a living, something I have wanted as long as I can remember, and something I was beginning to think would never happen for me. This is by far the most significant that happened in my life this year, and grateful for not only the generosity of the Telegraph crew for bringing me on board, but or the people who have also very generously given me their time for interviews, tours, and conversations. I have enjoyed meeting new people, but I also have very much enjoyed reconnecting with people from my youth, like Lisa Henderson (my former drama & high school creative writing teacher) and Judy Kerby, who has known me since my childhood. And I look forward to more in 2011.
I never leave home without my camera. I don’t call myself a photographer, but rather a taker of pictures. It’s been a hobby of mine for a few years now, and I like to do it for posterity’s sake and so my leaky memory has some references for when my mind is even leakier down the road. This collection from the past year documents only a small fraction of what I found interesting or fun or worthy of saving for a nice trip down memory lane sometime in the future. It was difficult to pick only a few out for this story, but I hope they offer some small windows of insight into what tickles the fancy of this cynic’s mind. Enjoy!
January: A mild spell in early January meant that the annual pond hockey tournament had to be rescheduled. It was postponed until the very full weekend of Jan. 22 – 24, which coincided with Winter Carnival and the Olympic Torch Relay.
February: For the first time in 37 years a labour disruption made banking in Rossland a tedious affair with special appointments needed for teller service.
March: The beginnings of a long, cold and snowy spring was interspersed with glorious blue sky spring skiing days for airing over the new foilage
April: A late-ish snowfall heralds in what turns out to be a long, wet, and cold spring.
May: A moody afternoon along the Kootenay Canal in what otherwise could have been called Monsoon May.
Summer: The summer of 2010 was certainly very busy around town, especially with the paving project that saw long traffic delays on Columbia Avenue – and some interesting signage. The arena got a new roof, and the inaugural year of Rossland’s community garden got under way.
September: Ah, Bear Country! This big guy (or gal – I didn’t get that close!) cruised my neighbourhood one afternoon in September looking for some grub.
October: We learn something new all the time. At first, I thought these crocuses growing outside of Idgie’s were confused because they were blossoming in October. Then someone told me that they are fall crocuses. Who’d’ve thunk it?
November: Fall hit hard right with the change of the clocks at the beginning of the month. Before a brutal cold snap settled in the second half of the month, there were some air quality issues partially caused by a series of inversions.
December: In preparation for another season full of action in the Emcon lot, a city crew member sprays water for the rinks at the crack of dawn. Brrr!
