Granville Lake residents return home

People from the remote community of Granville Lake will return to their homes in time for the holidays.

Residents were forced out of the northern community in March 2003, after a major sewage breakdown. They lived in nearby Leaf Rapids for almost two years while the $2-million repair to the sewage system was underway.

Resident Marilyn Baker can't wait to get back to the community, which is located about 50 kilometres southwest of Leaf Rapids.

"I like the freedom," she says. "I like the traditional lifestyle, like for my husband to go out and fish and trap whenever he wants."

Mayor William Anderson says the displaced community welcomed six new members to their home-away-from-home, thanks to a few visits by the stork. Anderson says babies will serve as a reminder of the community's exile and return.

"This one man took his daughter to Granville Lake for a boat ride last year, and she said, 'I don't live here,' because she doesn't remember – she was just a baby when she left," he says. "Hopefully this will never happen again."

Granville Lake is accessible only by boat or air. The babies will fly home once the lake ice is thick enough to land, bringing the community's population to 102.