Pilot Mound rolls out welcome mat for ‘Still Standing’ comic

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This article was published 22/08/2016 (3653 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Pilot Mound will flood into homes next month as CBC television’s “Still Standing” is set to air its episode about the Westman community.

The 22-minute show highlighted Pilot Mound’s community spirit with the hockey arena as the epicentre of activity.

Rod Collins was one of the locals who was interviewed by actor and comedian Jonny Harris for the show.

Collins, a former Brandon Wheat King, established a hockey academy in the community beginning last year.

“I’m pretty excited to see the show,” he said. “It was a great week with (Harris) and he tied into me a bit with some sarcastic humour. He and the producers expressed that they really enjoyed their time here and were pleased with the situation so I’m thinking it should be pretty good.”

The show features Harris as he criss-crosses the country exploring small towns and the people who make them so special.

Harris spent close to a week in Pilot Mound sitting by a campfire, driving a Zamboni and facing off against the community’s hockey stars, including several of the players from the academy. 

“We made is comfortable for him,” Collins joked, adding that Harris has only played some recreation league hockey in Toronto. “He absolutely loved it and he really loves hockey.”

According to the CBC’s website, “Still Standing” in Pilot Mound will air on Sept. 6.

“Pilot Mound got its more modern start in farming. But times have changed and this town now struggles to get by due to general rural decline and a dwindling population just like its neighbours around them,” the website states.

While the show focuses on the rink, the storyline is anchored with a comedy routine that Harris performed at the Kinsmen Centre on his final night in the community.

“He’s really funny and has a great, dry sense of humour,” according to Collins. “He never stops joking.”

Collins said the rink, academy and minor hockey are a big reason why the community is still persevering.

“The academy is one of the reasons we’re still standing,” Collins said. “There are so many volunteers and the rink is a focal point for the community. In rural Manitoba, If your hockey program is going strong and the arena is full, then it seems to keep things alive.”

In CBC’s five facts about Pilot Mound, it states that the town took its name from a bedrock ridge that was streamlined by glacial action. Pilot Mound comes from the shale that rises prominently above the surrounding landscape, serving as a “pilot” or landmark for the early fur traders, settlers and explorers.

“The community, known unofficially as ‘Hockey Town in Manitoba,’ is keeping their heads up that a new sport recreation centre and the first male hockey academy in Manitoba is the key to send those decline and despair goons to the penalty box for good,” CBC’s website states.

For more information or to watch the full episode online following its television debut, go to cbc.ca/stillstanding.

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