A Day in the Park
by
Harold Richman
The September long weekend was perfect, temperature in the high 20's and sunny. All summer I had intended to take a day off from golf and tennis and spend the time taking pictures. The place I chose was Assiniboine Park. I parked by the Leo Mol Garden and took a walk through it and the adjacent English Gardens to find something suitable. There were many places that would make excellent subjects for pictures. Returning to my car I picked up my camera, tripod and lenses. The lily pond in the Leo Mol Garden was perfect. There were many lilies open and in perfect position. Next I followed the paths where many of the statues are located.
I have seen the Billy Rose Garden in Jerusalem, the Hershhorn Garden in Washington, and the Rodin Garden in Paris, but none of these compares with the Leo Mol Garden in the way garden and statues are integrated. The Garden is a work of art in itself. The setting of the statues is such that they complement one another. Where else could you find a statue like the Loggers surrounded by trees?
In the centre of the Garden is a beautiful small gallery where many of Leo Mol's smaller pieces are exhibited. It is almost entirely enclosed in glass so you can see in, but whoever arranged the displays did not consider this: all the pieces face inward. Since the gallery does not open until noon, many visitors cannot fully enjoy the works inside. It would be excellent if some pieces faced outward for the enjoyment of early visitors.
I moved on to the English Gardens where I had found a number of scenes to photograph. The flowers were at their peak. Also, there were several unexpected objects. At the end of one path I found a fragment of the Royal Alex Hotel with a plaque describing where it had been located before the hotel was demolished. This brought back many memories of the wonderful Saturday night dances with the Irving Plum or Marsh Phimister bands. They were always sold out and you had to make reservations early. Another fond memory is the Alexander rolls that were served before the meal. I can still hear the crackle as I broke open one of those wonderful crusty rolls. Many bakeries have tried to duplicate them, but I think that both the recipe and technique disappeared when the building went.
To return to the park: at the end of another path I found the column with the head of Queen Victoria. It had been located at the old City Hall and was relocated here when the new City Hall was constructed. This too brought back memories of the Farmers' Market that occupied the large open area behind old City Hall. For a number of years we have been buying our bedding plants from Bill's Greenhouse on St. Anne's Road. On one visit, I found Bill, Sr. working. He mentioned that he had had a stand at the old Farmers' Market for years, but with new construction he had to find another location. He spoke to Alderman Blumberg and asked for help. At the time, Polo Park Shopping Centre had just been developed and he arranged for Bill to set up his stand every spring in its parking lot. Now, over thirty years later, Bill's son can still be found there every spring. Back in those days you could talk to your alderman and expect some help. Now you will get an answering machine or, if you are lucky, you will talk to an assistant. Of course, they are no longer called aldermen, but councillors.
In the centre of the English Gardens is a circular fish pond. I noticed a small boy who had obviously recently learned to walk, standing on the edge feeding the goldfish with pieces of bread. His mother was close by enjoying her son's reaction as the fish came up to feed. I was sure he would topple into the pool but, after waiting for a while, I decided to continue with my picture-taking. As soon as I turned to leave I heard a commotion behind me. Sure enough the young boy had fallen into the water. Before I could get my camera set his mother grabbed his leg and hauled him out like a fish. Of course he was sopping wet so his mother pulled off his T-shirt and wrung it out as he stood there in his drooping, dripping drawers. That was when I got my first picture.
As I was putting my equipment away, Robert Taylor came by and we talked for a while. Bob is the internationally recognised nature photographer who has had his pictures published in many magazines. He has also published several books, one of which is called The Manitoba Landscape. I took my first photography course from Bob many years ago. He also conducts photography trips to places such as Kenya and Churchill.
I returned to the Leo Mol Garden where I met some friends sitting on one of the now-famous $2,000 teak benches. In front of us was the statue of a young deer, its hind leg raised as if to scratch itself. A child also discovered the statue and proceeded to use the leg as a gymnast would the uneven parallel bars. This time I was ready. I quickly set up my camera and took pictures as she went through her routine. She had a number of moves which we had never seen before. When her mother called her, she made a perfect dismount and went on her way. After a brief consultation, my friends and I gave her a perfect '10' for technical merit, and an unprecedented '11' for originality.
It was, for me, indeed an eventful day in the park.