Say hello to your 2025/26 Muskeg Flyers board members! They are: Vivian (Pres), Lisa (Sec), Anne (Treas), Andy (Dir) and welcome to our new directors Cyle and Don. We also would like to introduce our Trail Maintenance Crew: Tom, Matt, Don, Cyle, Andy, Joe, John, George, Ralph, Erika and Collin.
We’ve been busy at Hornbeck!
- The Trail clean-up was awesome, wood shed is full, and the wiener roast was even better 🙂 Great turnout!
- Tom built a new fold-down table for the shelter (Martha Stewart would be impressed lol)
- Bridge repairs – DONE – thanks to our fix it guys Joe, Collin, Tom, & Andy
- Menko’s Mechanical rescued our metal gates – THANK YOU SO MUCH! (assists to Andy & Cyle)
- Trails are mowed and looking sharp – much appreciated Don, Collin, Ralph, Cyle, Joe & Andy
- Kids Ski Rentals? Total hit. Thank you to the Lion’s Club for the facility, Diane, Maryann, Vivian, Anne and Lisa for organizing. Still need skis? Contact Vivian @ (780) 712-1906 – she may have one more rental day
- No ski tracks yet (boo), we need some help from Mother Nature. If you are “snow impatient” check out the Hinton Nordic Centre – they are open!
Join the fun – we’d love help running a kids’ day, hosting Tea & Cookies, leading a moonlight ski, or dreaming up any other exciting event.
Next meeting for all members is December 9th, 6:30 pm at Heritage Court common room (5238 – 5th Avenue) – stop in if you have time.
And now for the grand reveal… our warm-up shelter officially has a new name: The Big Eddie Ski Lodge! Thanks to George Williams for the sign installation – here is the backstory:
This year you’ll notice a new sign on the warm-up shelter at the Hornbeck trails — a tribute to two of the founding members of the Muskeg Flyers Cross-Country Ski Club: Marsh Hoke and Barb Prescott. Marsh and Barb were central to the club’s success and spirit for more than forty years, until their move to Edmonton.
So, who is Big Eddie? Or perhaps the better question is — what is Big Eddy?
The “Big Eddy” is a large swirling pool in the McLeod River where Sundance Creek joins it — just upstream from Marsh and Barb’s former home. It was one of their favorite canoeing spots, a peaceful back-eddy they returned to time and again.
Over the years, the name became part of their identity — even showing up in their email address! They gave it their own spelling, with an -ie, which somehow made it perfectly them: a little local flavor, a bit of humour, and very “Edson-ish.” Marsh even bottled his homemade wine under the label “Big Eddie Red.”
Naming the warm-up shelter The Big Eddie Ski Lodge is our way of saying thank you to Marsh and Barb for their decades of dedication, laughter, and trail-building energy. Their contributions — and their joyful spirit — will always be part of the Muskeg Flyers story.
(Write-up courtesy of Maryann Varty)
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