A Brandon man and his daughter decided to venture out a couple weeks ago during the town of Reston’s harvest festival and took in the sites and attractions. “I found it to be a very unique place,” replies Jeremy Smith. “I like going to small towns because they have a lot of historic sites you don’t see in the bigger cities.”
Smith admits he loves the small town restaurants because they tend to give the best portions and they have extremely nice people. “I have never been to Reston before, but I really enjoyed the old buildings, especially the stand alone jail,” adds Smith. “I guess at some point it became a tax place or something.”
According to the Manitoba Historic Society, the small one-story brick structure was built for Dr. Alva Chapman in 1910 and was used until 1960 as the County Clerk office. Important records were protected in a metal vault inside the building and were later moved to Virden and then to Winnipeg.
Smith says the Memorial Park had a very unique setup and it was quiet with not too many people around. He says he walked up and down the streets and encountered a couple of locals and asked them what buildings used to be, back when Reston first started to develop as a town.
“I have a daughter and I like to take her out to these different towns,” says Smith. He says he is from The Pas originally, so Reston seemed quite small in comparison. “The man-made lake in Reston is beautiful, and apparently they called it a hidden gem here a few years ago and yes, wow it is absolutely gorgeous.”
Smith wants people to know that the man-made lake at Reston is well worth the trip to go and see. “Everything anyone has ever heard about it is 100 per cent true,” adds Smith.
Smith says that most townspeople like to hear visitors’ opinions of their town. He makes comments and posts questions on Facebook to let the residents of each town know what he experiences while on his visits.
