 Katherine Wasiak Photography:Baron PhotoGraphics
“NEVER SAY DIE” could be the motto for Warner. Only a few
years ago, the small community about 45 minutes south of Lethbridge,
was facing the loss of its school–the heart of the community. Today, Warner is
a community with a growing reputation across Canada
and beyond. At a time when many small prairie towns are slowly and painfully
dying, Warner is on an upswing and looking enthusiastically at a bright future.
All because of hockey!
“Ours is a real rags to riches story,” hockey
school board member Shelly Thomas says proudly. “We had a little idea that grew,
evolved and took on a life of its own.” In an effort to save its school, the
community took a risk and tried something almost unheard of–it created a girls’
hockey school in 2002. That hockey school changed many lives and breathed life
into the community. Their timing was perfect. The spring showcase camp involved
15 girls in 2002 and 135 girls in 2006, which indicates a growing interest in
girls’ hockey.
“We had a little idea that
grew, evolved and took
on a life of its own.”
Over the years the school has attracted students
from as far afield as Sweden, Colorado, Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba. Glenda Edie, a hockey player since the age of four,
is a Grade 11 student from Springfield, Man. Who came to the Warner school last year. “My uncle in
Calgary told me about the school and sent me newspaper
clippings,” she says, confessing that hockey is her whole life. “It was scary
at first being away from mom and dad, but it was easier than I thought it would
be and within a week I felt that I really belonged.”
For the full story pick up the current issue of Lethbridge living Magazine
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