Young families moving into Winnifred

By Jamie Rieger
Before irrigation was brought to the area, the small hamlet of Winnifred was deemed to fail almost from its inception, but persevered until the 1960s when the last of its businesses closed
According to one resident, a number of new families have moved in and Winnifred now has 19 children in its little community.
“We are seeing a reviving of the community. We have new families moving in and two with new babies,” said Darlene Dunlop.
The County of Forty Mile has been building up the streets, putting up signage, and hav laid some dirt for a future community park, with some residents in the early stages of putting together a park committee.
County councilor, Steve Wikkerink, who also sits on the municipal planning commission, said there has been increase in interest for development at Winnifred.
“Because we are seeing more interest, the county has been improving the streets and putting up signs,” said Wikkerink, adding that the county is currently looking at developing long-term plans for the hamlet.
“We will be discussing it further at an upcoming meeting,” he said.
Wikkerink believes that one of the attractions for newcomers has been the recent building of a new Mennonite church.
“The new Mennonite church is one of the drawing cards. It is very family-oriented and I think that is why we are seeing more interest. We are getting more young families to the area and that is great,” he said.