German couple volunteers locally

Toni Lucas, Pincher Creek Voice

Anne-Marie Moehring and Flo Andert
T. Lucas photo

Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village (KBPV) had a unique boost in volunteerism on March 22.  A young couple, Anne-Marie Moehring and Flo Andert  were disappointed that they could not tour the site because workday-Wednesday was in full swing.

On Wednesdays KBPV staff and volunteers work on projects to improve and upgrade the site, often leaving the entrance and grounds closed to the public.  The solution?  The couple volunteer for the day, with the request that they could also go through as tourists for a part of the day.  "We liked that, we were interested in having you open the door, and it (volunteering) was a way of giving back for that," Andert laughed.

Flo Andert and Ray Degan on the roof of the NWMP Outpost
Anne-Marie Moehring and Tracy Glen, foreground
T. Lucas photo

Andert helped Ray Degan, Ken Wittkopf, and KBPV General Manager Tracy Glen prepare the roof of the Northwest Mounted Police Outpost cabin while Moehring I stayed down below helping clean up the shingles that were removed.  The cabin had started to leak in the fall.  Due to the number of worn and damaged shingles the KBPV  Board of Directors decided that it was best to replace all of the shingles instead of trying to patch areas.

Moehring and Andert are a young couple in their early twenties that are visiting Canada on a working holiday visa from Rathenow, Germany.  They arrived in Vancouver on September 30 and are literally working their way east.  In their travels the couple have taken on some odd jobs.  "We have done roofing and milked goats. That was in Salt Spring Island," added Moehring, saying that they had worked up in Calgary in Canada Olympic Park.  As a couple their mutual interests include history, travel, hiking, cycling, sports, and getting to know the people in the areas they visit.  "We are really interested in historical things, and places," said Moehring.

The pair like to visit towns rather than cities because they like the atmosphere and find "people are friendlier in small towns," according to Moehring. "We came to Pincher Creek because we have heard of your (Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village) place," she said.  "We would like to go the Frank Slide, too," said an enthusiastic Andert.

Moehring misses good, fresh baking being on the road.  She grew up above a bakery that is over one hundred years old.  Five generations of her family have worked in the business, originally established by her great-great grandfather and family owned ever since.  "It is hard to eat healthy on the road, but we try," Moehring said wistfully.

they chose their path in Canada by what they already knew and had an interest in, internet research, and word of mouth.  "We are really interested in historical things and places," stated Andert.

"Two days before we left Lethbridge I researched what is in Pincher Creek, and I found the Pioneer Village. I was impressed with how it was presented to us. It feels all so real. It seemed that we could live in the house.  It was just another world," Moehring said, clearly impressed with the historical site after touring through.

They have a timeline and a destination in mind, and are working their way toward New York, which will be the site of the final week of their stay in August.  In the meantime they find things that they find mutually interesting or challenging, stay in places that they can obtain work and explore.

When asked about advice on how to plan a large trip and side trips "Be responsible, have a plan of what you want to do, but live your life, talk to the people and find a balance and be flexible," pondered Moehring.  The couple had saved money for the trip, carry extra insurance, and have emergency contingencies in case of unusual situations.  Having all this in place gives them the freedom to explore.

Some of the destinations that they have gone to  on this trip include Vancouver, Salt Spring Island, Galiano Island, Waterton, Banff, Lake Louise, Calgary, Lethbridge, The Glenbow Museum, Fort Whoop-up, Writing on Stone, Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, Historic Fort MacLeod, Stanley Park, Vancouver Aquarium.  A few of the activities they have indulged in range from ice fishing, attended curling championships, cycling, hiking,  snowboarding, and learned how to make sushi with salmon.

"We love travelling, we are learning so much," said a beaming Moehring.