We are just a week out from Christmas and this will be my last column for the year, so I wanted to take the time to reflect on 2025.
Read more: Column: A holiday on the horizon
You can expect your regularly-scheduled history column back in the new year on Jan. 8, 2026, but today, I wanted to think about the year I had.
The most important thing for me this year was, of course, something I wrote about previously; my wedding.
I got married in 2025 and can safely say marriage has been good to me and it’s smooth sailing ahead. It was hectic, a little chaotic, but overall, the greatest experience of my lifetime.
Another thing I wanted to reflect on was the history I’ve gone over and the stories I’ve told. The Meridian Source gave me an opportunity to write a weekly column despite not having any experience as a columnist. Generally, I feel my style and research has expanded to tell better stories.
I look back today and still love reading my old columns. I’m transported back to my favourite this year, where I talked about Charlie the farmer. The man who accidentally found oil in Lloydminster. Had it not been for a fickle cow not wanting to drink oily water, who knows when we’d find oil here, if ever.
I’m also taken back to my story about Rev. Isaac Montgomery Barr and his three marriages with no records of divorce. I never managed to find the divorce records, but it’s likely the holy man was divorced twice in his life.
Even recently, I think about the history of the Co-op and the impact the organization has had on the community.
History is something I never had an interest in until I was working with Bell Media, anchoring the weekly flashbacks episode, which are still viewable on YouTube. Ignore the strange hairstyles if you do watch; it takes a long time to grow it out. When I came to Lloydminster, I found a rich history waiting to be explored.
If you are interested in our local history, I hope you head down to the Lloydminster Museum and Archives and take in the various stories of interest. I try to tackle things from the past that are most interesting to me, but there’s hundreds of stories waiting to be told.
Moving off the history beat for me a minute, I’ve also had the opportunity to really get to know Lloydminster as a community. All the people I’ve met, the stories I’ve told, I feel incredibly blessed to be in the position I am to meet so many and tell their stories.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a great holiday, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Read more: Column: Learning Lloyd
