Maybe it was the promise of pie…

Maybe it was the promise of pie… because after all, who can resist the golden, sweet, yumminess of freshly baked apple pie? Or maybe it was Granny Jen herself… I don’t know but something special was a foot in Chestermere recently. And this special something drew over 50 people, young and old, together to experience the old world skill of honest pie craftsmanship.

The story starts off, of course, with a blue ribbon – or should I say, the lack thereof. Prior to awarding Chestermere with their ACE Communities Award last year, our ACE Ambassador Ian Hill, had chatted with a few of Chestermere’s residents. This is a common practice for Ian as he likes to know a bit about a community before he arrives to kick off their big ACE Ignite event.

As part of these conversations, Ian chatted with one Jennifer Peddlesden, a long-time resident of the town. As their conversation went on, Jennifer expressed her dismay, as one of the organizers of the local County fair, at the fact that there wasn’t one single pie entered into the Fair that year that was worthy of a blue ribbon.

"Well, why do you think that is?" Ian asked her.

"I don’t know," Jennifer Peddlesden replied. "People just must not care anymore."

"Maybe," Ian countered, "but maybe the real problem is that people just don’t have the opportunity to learn how to bake a proper pie. My question to you is the one that’s really going to count. If people in town can’t make a pie and it breaks your heart, what are you personally going to do about it?"

It was an interesting question that Ian posed that day. Because, really, how many of us are unhappy with aspects of our communities? We might complain to our neighbours or to our spouses about the things we don’t like… but how many of us rise up and take action to rectify the things that we see as being problematic?

Well, Jennifer Peddlesden decided that it was time for some action and out of that conversation, Granny Jen was born. And Granny Jen became militant about pies. She rallied the troops, worked with the city, networked, advocated, and made a whole lot of test pies.
The result? The Chestermere pie making workshop – a community-driven workshop centered on the grand old art of making a proper pie. This cultural phenomenon was a big hit in the town to the point that there was even a waiting list. Those who were the lucky attendees represented the most diverse demographics I have seen at any ACE event. There were families, seniors, women in their twenties, teenagers, and a father with his three young sons. And there were all there to learn how to make a pie.

Undeniably, there is something soothing about baking a pie… a comforting reminder of a time when things were handcrafted with care. The event reminded me of true community gatherings, barn raising, and knitting and pickling circles. All of these things are part of our heritage and too many of these skills are being lost. But not in Chestermere… not that day!




To have witnessed the generations come together to learn one of this ‘old world’ skills was truly an awesome thing. The teenagers were busy taking snap shots of the pies with their phones and uploading to Facebook, the veteran pie makers swapped pastry secrets, and Granny Jen oversaw it all.

Because I guess it does take a village to bake a pie.

For a video of the actual pie-making workshop featuring Granny Jen see: http://www.viddler.com/explore/aceleader/videos/41/

What do you value?

It was a breathtaking morning. The sun was out and the Kananaskis country was as beautiful as ever. My husband and I had decided that it was time to take advantage of our nearness to the mountains and take the family for a hike in the Cox Hill region.

Well… when I say family, I really meanour two basset hounds Sammie and Cleo. And when I say hike, I mean a well-meant snarfle through the bush. But those are just technicalities.

This family outing was largely in part due to my recent ‘aha’ moment while taking part in a conference call that Carol Petersen, the ARPA Manager of Recreation and Community Development, hosted on the importance of leisure. While enjoying leisure activities is a no-brainer, I find –like with arts and culture- many don’t see the fundamental importance of the field. As in …some can’t seem to get past the understanding of leisure as simply being ten reps of arm curls at their local gym.

On this recent teleconference call, Carol spoke about how important it was for people to use their VALUES to determine how to use their leisure time. Many of us, she pointed out, use this time almost as if it was work. We frantically throw in a yoga class before picking up the kids from school, arriving home more harried than ever. Or assume that time logged in at the squash court, hockey rink, or aerobics studio means we have been leisurely.

And maybe these activities do mean that we have used our leisure time well… but what if they don’t?

Instead, Carol suggested, lets use our free time to engage in things we truly value. Maybe it is time with your kids, or time in the outdoors. Maybe it is being active but still socializing with friends. Or maybe, quite simply, it is spending time under your favourite tree reading a trashy novel.

Or maybe it’s hiking in the foothills with family. Normally, when my husband and I head out to the mountains, it never crossed our minds to take the girls. Being bassets, they are not really made for long distance romps and would rather lie in the sun than hike in it. My husband and I, on the other hand, like to hike like we mean it, work up a sweat, and charge our way to the top of the trail. Cleo would happily stand in one spot and sniff the same blade of grass for an hour if she had her way. Not a hiking match made in heaven.

But, as I sat planning our latest outing, I found myself wistfully thinking how much I would really love to take the girls. If only. And then, like that, Carol’s voice popped into my head and said: “Well, why not?”

Why not indeed! I really did want to spend time with them in a new beautiful locale, show them the sights, and be active as a family. So we cancelled the sitter, packed up the girls, their poo bags, some snacks and doggie dish, and headed out.

So, instead of not taking the girls, we made provisions so that we could. We made it an early morning hike so the girls wouldn’t be blasted by the sun and melt into basset goo. Instead of the planned 8 hr hike, we made it into 2. And even though we never made it even to the bottom of Cox Hill, it was one of the best times we had out in the country.

Seeing that we had such a great time, we now have two more outings planned with the girls before the snow flies. One is even a cookout/hike combo near Ribbon Creek with friends so now our little basset-assisted hiking community is getting larger. And all because we stopped and really listened to our values….