Georges and Florence Beaudry have always had the utopian dream of retiring to a small property in the country where they could live off of the land in an environmentally sustainable way. This also included developing an interpretive centre so people could partake in their love of nature and experience their exuberance for early Manitoba history. This dream, however, had to be put on hold while history unfolded.

 

Both born in St.Boniface (the French Quarter of Winnipeg), the couple wanted their two children to be raised in the French culture of their ancestors. This meant jobs and a house in the city close to where they were both comfortable and familiar with the institutions that had nurtured their upbringing. Their lifestyle allowed them to often immerse their family in the wilds of northern Manitoba in a small rustic cabin in a provincial park.

 

When the time was right, and with retirement on the horizon, the couple began looking in earnest for the ideal property that would fulfill the requirements of their dream. There was a list of criteria:

 

 1. The land had to be at least 20 acres and accessible

 2. It would be no further than one and a half hours from any direction of Winnipeg

 3. It had to have access to fresh water, be it a lake, river, creek, or even a dugout

 4. If a house was to be erected, it had to have a good southern exposure, and

 5. Special considerations were to be given for any unique topography, flora and fauna, proximity to a population centre, and, of course, local history.

 

Most important of all: they had to own the title of the land outright.

 

Several years went by. Slowly the long list of potential properties began to dwindle and retirement was imminent! Remember when the world was going to end in the year of our Lord 2000? When the earth would stop spinning and we would all have to bid each other goodbye due to the coming catastrophe? Well… it was one of the best years of Georges and Florence’s lives. This was to become their “millennium project”.

 

They purchased the a property on the Roseau River and it was more than a dream come true. Two hundred acres in a narrow valley along half a mile of river in the middle of 30 kilometres of class 1 and 2 rapids. The property is at the end of a cul-de-sac. It hosts the unique topography of 50 foot sand cliffs left behind by ancient Lake Agassiz. The soil conditions are conducive to a hoard of rare and protected flora and fauna. It is on a boundary between historically rival First Nations communities, the river had been traveled by early explorers and it is near Manitoba's oldest cart trail.

 

The couple was overjoyed. They were finally ready to “settle” into their retirement and, with great care for their environment and surroundings, began building in 2002.

 

The plan to use the property as an outdoor, natural interpretive area slowly began to take shape and is still in its formative stages. Oroseau has established a historical learning program which attracts schools on overnight and day trips and it offers group camping where people obtain exclusive access to the property. George and Flo are proud to have the Rainbow Trout Music Festival as a signature event!