Fished for community compensation

Winnipeg Free Press

30-04-2025

Gerald McKay was a respected fisherman, volunteer and politician in a town which lost its namesake due to hydro development.
When Gerald, who died on April 13, was born in Grand Rapids 70 years ago there were rapids on the Saskatchewan River, which empties into the north basin of Lake Winnipeg.
When he was five, those rapids disappeared after construction crews came to the town and to Misipawistik Cree Nation, located 400 kilometres north of Winnipeg, to begin building the only dam on the river and a road connecting the community to the rest of the province for the first time.
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Gerald told CBC in 2018 that the development cost the people of Misipawistik their native language. He said residents were also discriminated against and some started walked together in pairs for safety.
'Within a few months there were several thousand people here and so we became a minority in our own community here and English was the dominant language,' he told CBC.
'When we started school, we had to learn English … we couldn't go anywhere out of sight and there were bad people there. There were flashers. I heard those ladies talking about the flashers and the peeping Toms.'
Gerald was one of many who, for decades, pressed the utility to invest in the community from which it received revenue.
'We have high unemployment here,' he said. 'There's a lot of problems, a lot of poverty, and so we're sitting here with this big dam that's killed our fishing.'
Later, Gerald was part of a community delegation that successfully negotiated a reconciliation agreement with Manitoba Hydro.
Gerald moved to Cranberry Portage at 14 years old for school and later worked in a mine in Thompson, an experience that persuaded him to go back to school.
He graduated with a certificate in business administration at Red River College.
Gerald returned to Grand Rapids, where he became a commercial fisherman like his dad and grandfather.
He also became a member of the Grand Rapids Fishermen's Co-op, helped many people with their income tax, supervised community work crews and — something his family says he was proudest of — contributed to the development of the Pelican Landing gas bar and restaurant on Highway 6.
Gerald also served as a councillor with the town of Grand Rapids and a band councillor with Misipawistik.
And, as a longtime fan of the Winnipeg Jets and a long-time reader of the Free Press , his family says nothing would make him happier 'than to see, from high above, wherever he may be, a front page story this June announcing our Jets as the winners of the Stanley Cup!'
Gerald was predeceased by his parents and two sisters and he is survived by five sisters and two brothers.
Read more about Gerald. How They Lived
Loni Bettcher was a child when she lost her parents.
Loni, who was 95 when she died, was being raised by relatives in Poland when the Second World War broke out.
We don't know what happened to Loni during those years, but in 1951 at only 22, she decided to move to Canada by herself to build a future here.
She later reunited with her childhood friend and neighbour. They were married for 30 years.
Read more about Loni.
Ed Maddock volunteered with many organizations in Morden.
Ed, who was 99 when he died on April 9, volunteered with the Lions Club, the local curling club, the Anglican Church, Boy Scouts, fire department and beach committee.
For all that he did, he was honoured as Morden's Citizen of Distinction in 1990.
Read more about Ed.
John Collins was an educator who died on March 28 at 83 years old.
He first worked at the Irish Sugar Company, in its public relations department, before deciding to be a teacher.
He taught at Nigeria's Teacher Training College before being forced to leave when the Biafra War began.
John moved to Canada where he taught at schools in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, including as the head of the English department at Russell's Major Pratt School, before being hired by the Manitoba Teacher's Society as a staff officer, working there for 23 years.
He also wrote book reviews for the Free Press and was on the boards of Prairie Fire Magazine and Prairie Theatre Exchange.
Read more about John.
Ian Lancashire was an English professor.
Ian, who was 82 when he died on April 3, graduated from the University of Manitoba before getting his MA and PhD at the University of Toronto.
He stayed to teach in Ontario and specialized in Tudor drama and theatre history.
He wrote Dramatic Texts and Records of Britain: A Chronological Topography to 1558 , which is still cited by experts today, and helped found Records of Early English Drama.
And, with the help of collaborators in Computer Science and Medicine, he was able to analyze the works of Agatha Christie to determine when she first got dementia and its progressive worsening — a research project which suggested vocabulary studies could be used to help diagnose the disease and received worldwide attention.
Read more about Ian.
A Life's Story
Zyta Zepp made feeding the homeless and others who needed assistance her legacy.
The Polish-born Zyta, who died last May, worked in the community kitchen at 1JustCity at Crossways in Common for years.
'Despite her sometimes gruff exterior, Zyta (Zepp) had a real soft heart,' says Commons' Lynda Trono. (Supplied)
'I'm a pretty good cook, but I never had the ability that she had to turn out something original, delicious and nutritious day after day,' said her husband Jim.
'In line, they'd ask what's in the soup and she didn't list the ingredients. Either she didn't remember or she didn't know the word.'
Read more about Zyta's life here.
Until next time, I hope you continue to write your own life's story.