Stettler is a community tucked under a comfy quilt of innocence. I went to a gathering where my first encounter was with a welcoming young man.  In the politest of ways he looked at me for a second or two.  With what turned out to be a surprise for both of us he said, “You’re old!”  It seemed like I had just taken one on the chin.  “You’re right”, was my not so nimble response. I felt like I had suddenly disappeared.  He could tell and gave me a big hug.  However, looking back now, I cherish the paranoia of obsolescence.  You know why?  Because as I walked around, I began to feel like maybe I was just winded.  It was really the essence of where I was that took my breath away.  I was reappearing in a place in time that captures the higher ground of the past…

I met Mayor<em> Dick Richards </em>and when I asked, “why Stettler?”, he replied, “I tried other places.  I couldn’t wait to leave and then I couldn’t wait to come back!  Do you like Switzerland?  I hope so because there are roots of Switzerland here.  I hope my kids get to know what I know.  This is a great place to grow up.  My kids are gone all day but I know where they are.  They could be at Buffalo Lake, the Summer Village, or maybe the world-class golf course.  With great pride it is stated that the kids, culture and charity is the backbone of where we come from.”

My comfort was a sense that Stettler doesn’t change much but creates change.  I believe art is the greatest instrument of change in the history of mankind.  Stettler is an incubator for art – singers, writers, wood-workers, and theatre.

Oh yes, theatre and plenty of it.  There is the traditional stage, and a stage on steel rails.  People come here to ride the 1926 Steam Train to Big Valley and back.  If you thirst for adventure, get ready for a good one.  Meet Gabriel Dumont from the late 1800s.  Meet the master of train songs and perhaps quench your thirst with some local Sarsaparilla.  Be prepared to offer your spare change to the bank-robbing train gang.  (I think they took a cue from Robin Hood because they give to the poor).  Enjoy the feast in Big Valley before heading back for a well deserved nap at the end of day.

Well now that I have reappeared, it’s time to go back home…I will go back a better person today by coming to Stettler…lots of big hugs…