Emily Kerton
Posted on March 18th, 2013
Staff Scientist, Science North - Thunder Bay, ON
McCreight's Dam Ontario Ranger, 1998
McCreight's Dam Ontario Ranger, 1998

I was a Ranger in 1998 and returned to the program a few years later as a staff. I worked at several camps, ending my tenure as a supervisor at the Sleeping Giant Ranger Camp in 2008. This program prepared me for any eventuality that life could hand me, founded in me a strong work ethic, and ultimately gave me the leadership skills I have today to run a satellite operation for Science North in Thunder Bay. What this program also did for me was give me a common experience that I can use to connect with other people.
This past Christmas I was traveling with my husband in Trinidad and Tobago. While eating lunch one afternoon in the dining hall at the Asa Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad, I struck up a conversation with the other people sitting at our table. There were many people at that table, from a bawdy French man who had taken a ship across the Atlantic to a quiet woman from Germany; there was also a mother/daughter duo from Ottawa. As we chatted about our lives back home in Canada, and who had more snow, I found out that the daughter had been a Ranger at Sleeping Giant. What had been a very formal lunch with polite chit-chat turned into a pleasant afternoon with a feeling of familiarity. We spoke about how the program had changed us, and led us to be the successful and adventurous people we are today. We also shared stories about our mutual love for Sleeping Giant and northwestern Ontario. Two people from very different parts of the province had something in common that bonded them.
This past Christmas I was traveling with my husband in Trinidad and Tobago. While eating lunch one afternoon in the dining hall at the Asa Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad, I struck up a conversation with the other people sitting at our table. There were many people at that table, from a bawdy French man who had taken a ship across the Atlantic to a quiet woman from Germany; there was also a mother/daughter duo from Ottawa. As we chatted about our lives back home in Canada, and who had more snow, I found out that the daughter had been a Ranger at Sleeping Giant. What had been a very formal lunch with polite chit-chat turned into a pleasant afternoon with a feeling of familiarity. We spoke about how the program had changed us, and led us to be the successful and adventurous people we are today. We also shared stories about our mutual love for Sleeping Giant and northwestern Ontario. Two people from very different parts of the province had something in common that bonded them.

The Ontario government feels that the value of this program is not worth the money they will save by cutting it. They are WRONG. In the case of the Ontario Ranger Program, the evidence of its worth is staggering. From the thousands of former Rangers who have shown their disapproval by writing posts on the Friends of the Ontario Ranger Program facebook page, to the hundreds of people who came to our rally at Queen’s Park, we have created a community of people who feel that the government’s position on this is untenable. This community will continue to stand up for what we believe in - and what we believe is that the youth of Ontario deserve a future that the Ontario Ranger Program is part of!
Posted in not categorized Tagged with McCreight's Dam, 1998
0 Comments
Leave a Comment
This blog is an online campagin against the closure of the Ontario Ranger Program. If you are interested in contributing please email us at: friendsoftheorp@gmail.com.
Search
Tags
1948 1957 1971 1974 1977 1979 1980 1990 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Cedarbough Dividing Lake Esker Lakes Five Mile Lake Fort La Cloche Ivanhoe Lake Kettle Lakes Killarney Machesney McCreight's Dam Moose Lake Moosonee Obatanga Partner Racine Lake Remi Lake Sandbar Sleeping Giant Supporter Wade Lake Whitney Lake Would-Be Ranger