Monteith
Before I die I want to 鈥渂e a mother.鈥�
Before I die I want to 鈥淟IVE.鈥�
Before I die I want to 鈥渆at 287 potatoes.鈥�
Before I die I want to 鈥渃ome out.鈥�
When you ask a group of people what they want to do before they die, they come up with very different answers, some beautiful, some comical and some painfully honest.
That has become abundantly clear over the past week, as members of the community have added their wishes, goals and dreams to a chalkboard outside the Jasper United Church.
The board was hung April 12, along with a sign that reads, 鈥淏efore I die I want to...鈥�.
The display was Bob Baxter鈥檚 idea. He read a story about a 鈥淏efore I die鈥� wall at the Emmanuel-Howard Park United Church in Toronto and thought, with the amount of traffic that passes by Jasper鈥檚 own united church, a similar chalkboard would surely attract an interesting array of responses.
The green chalkboard, attached to the wall next to the church entrance, is a relic of the old Jasper Junior/Senior High School that was torn down in 2014. Baxter said it had been sitting in the church for two years, waiting for a purpose.
On April 19, a week after the chalkboard made its debut, Baxter said he was surprised to see all of the responses鈥攏early 30 in a week鈥攁nd took a moment to write his own: Before I die I want to 鈥渟ee more people say 鈥榩lease鈥� and 鈥榯hank you.鈥欌��
Rev. Nancy Monteith said she loves the idea and she鈥檚 excited to see what becomes of it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really neat,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he responses have a mix of community, world and individual. They really show what kind of community we鈥檙e living in.
鈥淛asper is a thinking community. It鈥檚 a community that looks ahead at what it wants to change.鈥�
Monteith wrote her own message on the board, saying she wants to 鈥渕ake the world a better place, a loving, caring place.鈥�
Monteith said the chalkboard is a great way for the church to connect with the community and to find out what鈥檚 going on inside people鈥檚 heads.
鈥淚t will keep the conversation going,鈥� she said.
Baxter said he hopes that once the weekly farmer鈥檚 market starts up again that both locals and visitors will take the time to add to the wall.
鈥淚 think we鈥檒l get some good stuff up there,鈥� he said.
