Well, our shipment of Haynes Creek Heathers, Aran Weight, just arrived in Vancouver today, so I thought I'd talk a little bit about the place we decided to name the yarn line after, as I make room for it's new home.
Haynes is a rural farming community in central Alberta, within the county of Lacombe. It's a half hour drive from Red Deer - the nearest large city - and as of the most recent census there are 20 people living there across 8 households. This is the place I grew up.
The hamlet is named after the creek that runs near it, which in turn was named after one of the early prairie pioneers. My father's family moved to the area 3 generations before me, and my dad established his own farm a kilometer from Haynes in 1963. It was a wonderful place to grow up, and I made many a bike trip to Haynes Creek, along with my siblings, to skip rocks on the water, and explore the muddy banks.
During it's history, Haynes had a post office, blacksmith, curling rink, grain elevators, church, machine shop and gas station, community hall, and a general store. During my childhood, Haynes had lost it's post office and blacksmith, and the old wooden community hall was replaced. Now, only the church and community hall remain, although the community itself continues to endure.
The focal point for Haynes is still Haynes Hall - a proud and simple building that I can't remember a universe without. It operates today, hosting everything from weddings to 1920s-style little black dress events.
These small but history rich areas of our country are easily missed and, worse, easily forgotten. I hope that our yarn lines can, among other things, help to keep the memory of these places alive as time marches on.Â
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