Ghost # 10 (the last one)

   The last ghost is not downtown but in a park. I was waiting to take a photo until I started riding by ghost # 10. A few nights ago I went by Doris and Mickey.

Doris holding Mickey

     Doris and Mickey are not just a local story but a national story. Doris Forbes and her family lived close to a nearby creek. In the 1930's they found a lost beaver kit and took it home. The beaver kit took to the family and Mickey lived with the Forbes family all his life. He lived in the house like any other pet and went into they yard as he pleased. They had a supply of water for him and found lots for him to eat. Mickey was a tourist attraction.

    Red Deer also had a very prolific writer, Kerry Wood,  who wrote on natural history. Kerry Wood wrote the story of Mickey and the beaver. In the early 1950's a school anthology was put together for gr. 4 or 5 to teach the reading program. In other words the story was included in a "reader" that was used across Canada. So the story of Mickey and Doris was well known all across Canada. Mickey the Beaver was one of my favorite stories and I read it many times when I had finished my work.

     When I took these pictures the other night I continued riding. 3 km further a beaver ran across the trail in front of me. By the time I realized what was happening, stopped my bike, got the camera out, the beaver was gone! So it was almost another good part to the story.

    The statue is located quite close to the area where Doris Forbes lived.