| Local Attractions |
The first Native
inhabitants lived for thousands of years hunting bison
(which existed in herds of hundreds of thousands), fishing
on the seemingly numberless lakes, and supplementing their
diets with berries, roots and herbs.
When the railway came at the turn of the century, European
settlers, many from Eastern Europe and Ukraine, turned the
area into one of the richest grain-producing regions in the
world. And as the plow transformed idle grasslands to fields
ripe with grain, so too did the hearts of the settlers
transform the cultural landscape of the region. The
lingering spirit of these pioneers can be felt in every
church and school, every field and forest to which these
pioneers applied themselves. Your journey throughout the
Parkland is sure to be rich in the heritage of the distant
lands and cultures which left an indelible mark on the local
customs and landscape.
Of particular interest to visitors to the Parkland are the
churches. Never was the burden of homesteading too great,
nor resources too scarce, for the construction in each town
of one or more churches, often modest in dimensions, but
grand in design, in the true spirit of Old World
architecture.
The traditional onion shaped domes are the dominant feature of most
historic Parkland churches. Nearly any church you find in
the Parkland will be worth a closer look. You’ll find them
in every town, along the highway, and hidden among groves of
trees down little-used side roads. |
|
