The community of Kenton has had its share of challenges. “The loss of the school in 2009 was a big hit for the community and poor internet service seemed to be holding Kenton back,” says Patrick Routledge, Chair of the newly formed Kenton Community Action Committee (KCAC). “But things are starting to change.”
New RFNow fiber internet, made available to Kenton in 2021, was a huge part of the decision for the Routledge family to pick Kenton as their home.
Routledge, originally from the Lenore area, had been living in Balgonie, Saskatchewan. He works in the ag industry. His job is flexible, and he can work from anywhere if he has an internet connection.
“We originally planned to move to Hamiota, but affordable housing and good internet in Kenton changed the plan,” says, Routledge.
Dillon Hunter and his fiancé Morgann are currently in the process of building a new home and planning to move from Calgary to Kenton this summer. “We are done with city life, we are ready for small-town rural living where we know our neighbors,” Hunter shares. Morgann, originally from Calgary, will be working remotely and Dillion, who grew up in Kenton, will be looking to work in the region as an athletic therapist. Kenton’s location gives him options to work in Brandon, Virden, or Hamiota.
Three years ago, Danny Whyte decided to return to Kenton from Brandon. “I was just sick of city life,” Whyte says. Now, he works in his family business, Whyte’s Lumber. He got married this past summer to his wife Kaleigh who works as a nurse in Virden. “She loves Kenton’s small town feel and the short 20-minute commute to work.”
Kenton has also welcomed new families from Mexico and Honduras. “We have two new families in town that have taken jobs in a local hog barn and a manufacturing company in Rivers” explains Patrick Routledge. “It’s really nice to see people choosing Kenton as their home.”
Now that Patrick Routledge is settled into the community, he’s ready to get involved to help see Kenton grow. He joined the K.C.A.C, a group formed by the R.M. of Wallace-Woodworth to promote economic development, population growth, tourism, and a sense of community in Kenton and surrounding areas.
“We are excited to have this committee working on community development. We need to reverse the trend of rural decline. We need people working together with a vision for the future” says Val Caldwell, Councillor for the R.M. of Wallace-Woodworth.
“Small-town feeling” and “sense of community” were the most commonly cited values of Kenton from the R.M. of Wallace-Woodworth’s 2022 Community Action Report. That is what the KCAC wants to promote as the selling feature of Kenton.
“We want people to be able to spend their entire lives in our town, from young families to seniors. We want people to be able to start businesses. We want people from outside our town to talk about us as a place worth visiting, a place worth living. A hidden gem on the Prairies” says Routledge.
For more information on KCAC and the Kenton Community Action Report, please contact Tiffany Cameron, Economic Development Officer, R.M. of Wallace-Woodworth.
