Right on the button

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/01/2020 (2220 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RIVERS — On the second night of five spent in Rivers, which was also the second night spent nursing lime and tequila slushie drinks at the local gas station-slash-bar, owner Sharon Lamb was attempting to explain to two visiting reporters who a certain person she’d just mentioned was.

“Oh, she was the one sitting next to you at lunch today at the Chinese restaurant,” she said.

In most other places, and at most other times, this statement would have prompted some follow-up questions. For instance, questions such as: “How did you know who sat next to us at lunch?” Or, going further along those lines: “wait, how did you know where we ate lunch in the first place?”

But then you remember you’re in Rivers, a cozy unincorporated railway town with a population somewhere around 1,200. It’s the kind of place journalists never fail to describe as one where “everybody knows each other.” Usually, that’s a euphemism, but in Rivers it appears, after extensive investigation, to actually be true.

So during the week at the 2020 Manitoba Scotties, we grew accustomed to the way people knew who we were before we’d met them; the way they’d already heard where we went for lunch; the way that you’d walk to the lounge at the Tempo Gas Station and, within minutes, have Lamb gleefully introducing you to her sisters.

And you got used to how, on social media or in person, folks would pepper you with fun Rivers facts. Did you know Rivers was named for Grand Trunk Pacific Railway chairman Sir Charles Rivers Wilson? Did you know it used to be home to an elite Second World War high-frequency signal base that detected German U-boats?

I didn’t; I didn’t; and well, I do now. In fact, there’s a lot I’ve learned about the town this week, but a lot more I now want to know. So take this as a love letter to Rivers, and to everyone we met here, and to what I’ll miss when I go.

First, a mea culpa. When Curl Manitoba announced Rivers as host of the 2020 Manitoba Scotties, I was, to put it charitably, skeptical. The community is small even by the cozy standards of provincial championship destinations. The only restaurant open after the night draw was at the gas station. It didn’t even have a hotel, at first.

So yeah, I imagined a challenging week. After a few terrifying whiteout drives during the Scotties in past years — Gimli last year, Killarney in 2018 — I was anxious about possibly having to make a daily schlep between Rivers and Brandon. How much time would it add to my workload? What would happen if the roads got bad?

I was wrong to worry. Rivers has been, to put it quite simply, perfect. From the 200 eager volunteers that fill up the bright eight-year-old arena, to the buzz around the walkable downtown, the entire experience has been warm and welcoming. Heck, even the weather has been forgiving.

Host chair Les Wedderburn isn’t surprised it’s been so well-received. Going into the Scotties, he already knew the community could pull it off. Four years ago, he’d helped bring the Manitoba junior curling championships to Rivers, which went so well it became “instrumental” in luring the Scotties, he says.

“It went very well, so we said, ‘why can’t we do something even bigger?'” Wedderburn says. “We talked to Curl Manitoba a number of times about doing it. I think they were a little bit apprehensive of going to a community of this size for the Scotties, but they kind of believed in us after (the juniors).”

They were right to believe. Look, every writer who follows curling through Canada’s frozen corners keeps an ever-growing list in their head, ranking the best of each event. What constitutes the “best” is about more than the curling: it’s just as much about the vibe of the thing, the ineffable sense you are somewhere that loves granite.

And of the seven Manitoba Scotties I’ve covered, Rivers has easily been among the best, maybe even my personal favourite. None of my fears materialized: the hotel opened with two weeks to spare before the Scotties, and its staff treated us like old friends. Food at the town’s little cluster of cafes is delicious.

And the Tempo gas station lounge became a beloved haunt, not only because of the lime-and-tequila slushies — one of a few drink specials with curling-themed names — but due to co-owner Lamb’s vivacious hospitality, the sense you were already known and accepted as part of the texture of the place.

Above all, there are the crowds, which here in curling’s heartland feel electric. On the very first draw of the week, the main stands were full, standing-room only, with fans spilling into the temporary wooden bleachers that line two sides of the ice. By Thursday — just day two! — organizers hastily added another riser to boost capacity.

In all, the facility can now seat about 1,100 people, though Wedderburn says they can always fit more in standing room if they need to. On Thursday night, they packed in about 900 people. By the time playoffs roll around, there could very well be more people in the arena than live in the entire town.

“In the community, there won’t be many people who haven’t been here at least once,” Wedderburn says. “If they come once, they’re coming back. Because it’s just fun.”

While the curling is on, along Hwy. 25 that follows the railroad tracks into town, vehicles are parked as far as the eye can see. Yes, even for the morning draws. It’s a sight remarkable enough that it prompted one local to pause, turn to the volunteers manning the ticket booth and exclaim: “I’ve never seen so many vehicles in this town.”

This is a story about pride. Locals have been, without exception, thrilled to show off their town. In the Chinese food restaurant at Friday lunch, one fan proudly remarked that she’d read that Jennifer Jones herself praised Rivers; and Jones is absolutely happy to give that praise again and again.

“It’s outstanding,” Jones says. “And this facility is unbelievable, it’s beautiful in here, they can have great ice. The people, the hospitality, the food. I’d come back to Rivers for every event, it’s been awesome… I wasn’t expecting the crowds to be amazing as they are, and it’s been a ton of fun.”

On one thing, Rivers got lucky. It’s not often that you get the three top women’s teams in Canada playing in a single provincial. (Come to think of it, has that ever happened anywhere? Probably not.) But they got Jones. They got Kerri Einarson and Tracy Fleury. They got a field that’s a curling fan’s dream.

Couldn’t have happened anywhere better. Thanks for the memories, Rivers, you deserve every minute.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca