We had our Reasons to Visit Montmartre: to attend a reunion, the Romanow Family Reunion. This year marked the 125th year that my Great Great Grandparents immigrated to Canada from Ukraine (1897). With today’s hostilities ravaging Ukraine, this took on special significance to me. I’m proud of my heritage, as everyone should be.
Since we are traveling east across Canada, making a stop in Montmartre to attend the reunion was an easy choice for us. We attended the first family reunion in 1997, marking the 100th anniversary of the Romanow immigration. It’s always great to meet up with cousins, aunts, and uncles you have not seen in years. After a short conversation, it feels like you have never been away.
When given the opportunity to attend such family functions, make an effort as you never know when you might see these people again. You’ll not regret it.
Little History About Montmartre
Montmartre was established in the early 1890s by French families who immigrated from Montmartre, France. Thus the Eiffel Tower connection. By the late 1890s, other families from eastern Europe, Polish, Ukraine, and such started to settle in the area. The lands in this area were fertile, so many settled in the area to create a new life with the hopes of this providing a better life than what they had left behind.
You can find this beautiful little town about one-hour southeast of Regina on highway 48.
Reasons To Visit Montmartre
Montmartre has much to offer, such as the Kemoca Regional Park, which has an outdoor swimming pool and camping. Here you will find 26 seasonal campsites plus 16 overnight spots. There are baseball fields plus an oval track. Not from the park is the Montmartre nine-hole golf course; fees run from $5 -$10. Where you can golf for that price.
During the summer months, you will find a local farmers market that offers many interesting homemade trinkets, fresh berries, and vegetables, including homemade canned goods.
While driving around the area, you will spot old farm buildings from days gone by, stop and take a picture. Many old churches are from the turn of the 19th century; stop and look around and appreciate the craftsmanship from many years ago.
Our Weekend With Family And Sights In Montmartre
We are in Montmartre for a family reunion to celebrate the 125th anniversary of my Great Great Grandparent’s arrival to Canada. After arriving at the Kemoca Regional Park, finding our campsite, and setting up the trailer, we checked in at the office to pay. After our dinner, we were visited by my second cousin Pat, who had heard that we were camping at the park. Pat invited us to their campsite to visit, have a drink and enjoy a friendly game of Cornhole (bean bag).
Neither Cindy nor I had played Cornhole before, but this was a time to enjoy the moment, so we gladly agreed to play in a friendly tournament. Little did we know that this tournament wouldn’t end till one-thirty in the morning. On the positive side, Cindy went home knowing she was champion, if only for the night. Great time with newfound friends/family (cousins).
Our Second Day In Montmartre
Our parents and sister arrived early the following day. We had made plans to drive around the area visiting the final resting places of family members that came before us. Our first stop was to see the Ukrainian Catholic Cemetary; here in eternal peace rest my mother’s parents (my Grandparents), great people with very fond memories.
Romanow Homestead
From here, we proceeded to the homestead of my Great Great Grandparents, Andrew and Anastasia. Here you will find a monument that recognizes their contribution to a Century of farming in the area. Alongside the memorial can be seen old farm equipment used in the day—a wonderful, well-kept, and interesting place to visit.
Ukrainian Church On The Farm
After leaving the homestead, we traveled to the old Ukrainine Church out at the farm. Here is the resting place of my Great Great Grandparents and my Great Grandparents. This place is unique as there is a hall associated with the cemetery; we have celebrated many happy family events here.
Paying Our Respect To My Father’s Family
After leaving the Holy Ghost Church on the farm, we were off to pay our respects to my father’s parents and family members, who rest in peace at the cemetery in Glenavon. I was lucky to grow up to know all my grandparents and most of my cousins, aunts, and uncles. So to stop in and pay our respects is something we are happy to do.
Visiting My Aunt Bertha At The Farm
On our way back to Montmartre, we stopped to take pictures of the Romanow barn, which has seen better days. Nowadays, the barn is on a tilt; the many years of use and age have taken their toll on this once-proud building. Well, we were greeted with hugs and smiles and a nice cold beer; who could ask for a better greeting from family.
Stopping in at Aunt Bertha’s has always been a pleasure; as a child, I spent many days at the farm playing, enjoying myself, and being surrounded by family. Life back then was incredible, providing memories to last a lifetime. After our wonderful visit, we headed back to our campsite.
Romanow Reunion, Register, Meet And Greet
After registering for the reunion, we got our name tags that stated our name plus which child of the regional children we belonged to. On day one, Friday evening, there was a meet-greet type get-together where we had a delightful dinner of smoked pork loin and hotdogs. We enjoyed reminiscing with family we had not seen in a long time and some we had never met.
As in last night, tonight there was another Cornhole tournament. Not having enough of this game the first night, we decided to enter again into tonight’s contest. Tonight’s results were not as favorable as the nights before, but we had just as much fun; we even got to bed a little earlier tonight, 1:00 am. Not sure who won this tournament, but we all had fun.
Beautiful Canada Day Fireworks
Friday, July 1st, was Canada Day. That night, we were treated to a spectacular fireworks show.
Romanow Reunion Full On
Today was the official day of the Romanow Reunion, starting with a continental breakfast. Most people who attended the morning breakfast were those staying at the campground. Lunch was to be served at noonish, and more people were expected to attend, some traveling in from the nearby area and Regina. Some of the family are getting older, so they are not good at an all-day event, so lunch is just right for them to attend. Lunch was catered by a local group and was very good.
Before dinner, there was more time to mingle with family you had not seen for a while. Or you could play some of the games being played outside of the shelter, bean toss or volleyball. Dinner was served at six, serving good Ukrainian food, perogies, and cabbage rolls.
After dinner was finished and cleared away, it was time to let your hair down, if you had any, and cut loose on the dance floor. Old Country Lads provided live music for the evening. The band played old-time dance music, two-step, poka (my favorite), butterfly, and many other old favorites. I believe that most everyone attending had a very good time. As for us, we headed to our trailer around midnight as the last couple of days took a lot out of us. Not used to staying up past 10:00 pm.
I can’t thank the organizers enough for all their hard work, as we thought that the weekend was a success. Thank You again.
Time To Move On From Montmartre
It was time to say our goodbyes to family and friends, not knowing if we would see one another again. We enjoyed our visit, but for us, it was off to Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba, and the start of our new adventure. We plan to cross Canada and end up in Halifax, trying to see as much of this great country as possible. We have given ourselves eight to nine weeks to make the crossing and return home to Grande Prairie, Alberta.
Join us on our adventure.
Useful Accessories While Traveling In Your RV
As we drive across Canada in our 2011 Ford F350 Diesel and pull our 28′ converted Toyhauler down the road, we are impressed with several items we purchased and installed before our trip began. These items are TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system), and a backup camera mounted on our trailer. They provided us with additional safety while adding peace of mind on the road.
RV trailer TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System)
Take the worries away and make driving on the road safer with this Tymate Tire Pressure Monitoring System. M12-3 Blue is equipped with five-alarm modes (high pressure, low pressure, high temperature, rapid air leakage, sensor low battery alarm), promptly reporting the abnormal tire condition to the driver. The tire pressure range is between 12-87 psi.
This TPMS works very well. We are impressed; it updates tire pressures, so you know what is going on with your rig. We have had no issues; it works great highly recommend adding this system as it adds peace of mind to your trip.
Wireless Backup Camera
1080P Digital Wireless Backup Cameras. Work on vehicle 60ft (totally length). This monitor has split screen ability. You can add more wireless cameras to the monitor. 7″ display mounts on your dash and gets power with the included cigarette lighter plug. Built-in record function. Waterproof and weather resistant. It has a wide viewing angle of 150 degrees. Compatible with RVs/Trucks/Bus/Trailers/Campers/5th wheels/Motorhomes.
We have found this to be very useful when passing, letting you see what is happening behind you. This lets you know when others are looking to pass you so that you are aware of the situation. Highly recommended, it adds to the safety of the trip.
