Visitors and residents had a chance to get steeped in local history during the performance of Monkman Musings on Friday, August 6 at the community centre. The play, one of three that covers the history of the Monkman Pass, runs through the 1934-1938 period, when 67-year-old visionary Alex Monkman (played by Jim Schultz, left) foresaw a highway running through the pass southwest of Tumbler Ridge. (Schultz, 72, told director Erin Hanna he was pleased to be playing a younger man.)

          
Tracy Krauss and Tim Favelle (right) played Pearl Robinson and Rudy Jacobs, a team that paired up to build and run resort cabins at Stony Lake. Historical radio excerpts from a Grande Prairie radio station, read by Ron Colledge, were used to keep the audience of about 40 engaged with the  historical narrative between scenes.
 
The entire Monkman Pass endeavour came to a halt with the onset of World War Two, as many of the workers left to fight in Europe. Alex Monkman died in Alberta during the war.
 
The Monkman Musings series began in 2007, and this segment was last performed in 2008. This year's play was originally scheduled to be performed at Gwillim Lake, though the park's closure due to flood damage made that impossible.  The Tumbler Ridge Community Arts Council is now planning a music and skit performance during a barbecue in Monkman Provincial Park in mid-September.