Beausejour Fair on Ashton Avenue, c. 1925
	© Provincial Archives of Manitoba; Collection: Beausejour - Fair 1, N3521

Movement of people into the Parkland/Mixed-Woods region of Manitoba was the result of factors at work both in Canada and in the countries from which the immigration originated. The decision to emigrate to this southern part of the province, which connected the prairies in the south to the boreal forest in the north, was the result of a variety of factors. Some common to all emigrants, others specific to each particular group. The experiences and interactions of these groups have created the constantly changing social and cultural life of the region.

		Judging horses at Reston Fair, c. 1920
		© Provincial Archives of Manitoba; Collection: Reston - Fair 4, N4328

Both governments and individuals promoted and expedited the movement of people from their original homeland to the Parkland region. Just as the motives of the emigrants were varied, so were the possible motives of those who made the journeys possible. Governments limited access to the region, using criteria such as ethnicity, vocation, class and gender. Immigrants were not always welcomed to the Parklands by earlier settlers or Canadian society at large. Their degree of acceptance depended to a large part on their ethnic origin and economic status, according to an informal hierarchy of racial superiority. These attitudes were widely expressed in the press and the politics of the day.

		Aerial view of parade going down the main street of [...]
		© Provincial Archives of Manitoba; Collection: Snowflake 1, N1353

Each ethno-cultural group which migrated to rural Manitoba brought its own unique forms of cultural expression and techniques of adaptation to the specific environmental and socio-economic niches in the region. These are reflected in economic development and political expression, in religious life, in everyday lifestyles, and in the evolving popular culture of the Parklands region.

	Roblin Fair, 1917
	© Provincial Archives of Manitoba; Collection: Roblin - Fair 1, N10229; Batho

Immigrants to Manitoba came with unequal resources, and received or were exposed to different opportunities. As a result they had greatly varying experiences in the Parkland region. These experiences were affected by a number of factors including their level of education and economic means at time of settlement; the quality of lands which particular groups settled on; the level and quality of education, health care, etc. available in these particular communities; and the number of generations that had passed since the initial settlement.

		Lord & Lady Byng open Boys' and Girls' Fair, Neepawa, [...]
		© Provincial Archives of Manitoba, Collection: Neepawa - Fair 3

Ever since the arrival of the first settlers, life in the Parklands region has been governed by the seasonal cycle of agriculture. Starting in the 1870's, the economy of the region was primarily based on agriculture. Small towns grew up to service the local farm community, and these have become a focus of life in the region. Over the years, it has undergone constant change as the economy diversified to include commercial farming, agriculturally-based industries, and other non-agricultural industries. As the economy has changed and diversified, the way of life (including social, cultural, and political factors) has undergone similar changes.

	Horses and carriages lined up at the Rossburn Fair, October [...]
	© Provincial Archives of Manitoba; Collection: Rossburn - Fairs 1; Lawrence & Meeres

Initially, most settlers depended upon subsistence farming for their survival, using what food they produced, and the natural products of the land. In fertile and less wooded areas, the subsistence phase was relatively brief; in more marginal land it could last for 2 or 3 generations. Eventually commercial mixed farming became the standard type of agriculture in the Parklands region. More recently, specialized commercial farms which focus on one or two products have emerged. Some of these have become large-scale corporate enterprises.

	Manitoba Farmers Union float in parade in Selkirk Agricultural Society [...]
	© Provincial Archives of Manitoba; Collection: Manitoba Farmers Union 122

Hand-in-hand with the evolution of commercial agriculture went the creation of agriculture-based businesses and industries, which serviced farm operations or processed, packaged, transported, and/or marketed farm goods. In the early days, small entrepreneurs were common, but eventually corporate enterprises emerged. Farmers organized producer owned co-operatives in their effort to protect their interests against corporate domination.

		A young boy, Mark Hryhoryshen, pretending to drive an antique [...]
		© The Winnipeg Tribune Photographs Collection, PC18-5398-13, Box 64; Department of Archives and Special Collections, University of Manitoba Libraries

Rural people developed a wide range of religious, educational, social, and recreational organizations and activities which provided personal enrichment, social outlets, and cultural meaning to rural life. Initially, farm neighborhoods centered around the country church, post office, or school, and rural villages were the focus of community life. Later, with the improvements in transportation, central towns took on greater importance. Activities included church services, seasonal celebrations, weddings, agricultural fairs, picnics, quilting bees, sports clubs, women's temperance and political groups, reading societies, theatre groups, etc. In recent decades, further improvements in transportation, the growth of the mass media, rural depopulation, and the pull of the city have diluted or undermined many of these activities. Nonetheless, a distinctive rural lifestyle remains.