Underlying Pioneer Philosophy

Brandon is where the urban and rural realities of Manitoba meet. It is like where a huge river runs into the ocean and pushes back the salt water for a while, then there is a turbulent zone of mixed water which then dissipates into straight saltwater. Brandon is the "zone of turbulence" of urban running into rural.

One helpful way of approaching relationships in this city is to ask oneself "is this person rural or urban?", and then interact accordingly. It is mostly rural, but the problem is that there is a fair degree of ambivalence amongst the population as to whether that is a desirable state of affairs. Many of the people here are very good at wearing an urban cultural overcoat, but underneath are very rural in values and expectations.

The pioneering era might be over but the values treasured by the citizens of Brandon continue from that era. For example, in pioneer days, newcomers from the East or from overseas either joined into the pioneer system of mutual assistance or else they stubbornly tried to make it on their own. The latter course of action always resulted in failure, after which either they came around, went back east or died. It was a harsh life here. Although the need for mutual assistance is now largely gone (except in times of severe weather), the expectation of entering into mutual assistance and being neighborly is very much intact.

One place this confusion over values is problematic is in the hiring process, particularly of upper level staff from other urban areas. The format of the hiring process is urban, the stated expectations of the job are in urban terms, but the job requirements upon arrival are rural. People generally do not want someone to come in and "administrate", they want someone to come in and "co-ordinate", job descriptions notwithstanding. Being pushy and coming in with a new broom to sweep out existing "inefficient" staff is not appreciated, and this is indicated by being let go.

If this town were willing to express its values outright, a lot of pain would be avoided. However, there is a great deal of reluctance to state that rural values predominate in this town, despite the firmness with which they are held. I have found it interesting that there is no effort to mount a mission to the big city of Winnipeg to help them get their values straight. There is, what would term a deep reluctance to even admit rural values are in existence, almost to the point of being embarrassed by what they hold dear. The name of the game today is "urban values", but underneath , they are rural to the core.

Some of this phenomenon might come from the town's size, being just under the tipping point of fifty thousand. Someone recently described it as "ten Neepawas". It will be interesting to see what happens if, as the population increases over the fifty-thousand mark, psycho-social changes take place here which sometimes occur at that transition point. The continued influx of retirees from the area around Brandon may well keep those rural values uppermost well beyond the fifty thousand mark.

The definition of "pioneer values" varies greatly, as seen in the following resources. It would make a great study in itself.

Media Based Solutions

Further Resources

The definition of "pioneer values" varies greatly, as seen in the following resources. It would make a great study in itself.

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