THE SPIRIT OF DENNY DUMAS

By Miles Patrick Yohnke

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.

With his always enormous enthusiasm, he entered the store I was managing. Denny Dumas was a legend in our city of Saskatoon. He had dominated the Louis Riel Relay Race, a very popular event in our city that was held for over two decades, winning the race in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986 & 1987. It was after his 1986 win that I met the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame legend. It was then that he had entered "The Harmony Centre," the audio/video store I managed.

He came into the store because someone had stolen his large television, his home video camcorder, and other items. He needed them replaced.

With his insurance we helped him replace all of his items. He was very grateful.

The Harmony Centre

Louis Riel

Louis Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first prime minister John A. McDonald. Riel sought to defend Métis rights and identity as the Northwest Territories came progressively under the Canadian sphere of influence.

The first resistance movement led by Riel was the Red River Resistance of 1869-1870. The provisional government established by Riel ultimately negotiated the terms under which the new province of Manitoba entered the Canadian Confederation. However, while carrying out the resistance, Riel had a Canadian nationalist, Thomas Scott, executed. Riel soon fled to the United States to escape prosecution. He was elected three times as member of the House of Commons, but, fearing for his life, he could never take his seat. During these years in exile, he came to believe that he was a divinely chosen leader and prophet. He married in 1881 while in exile in the Montana Territory.

In 1884 Riel was called upon by the Métis leaders in Saskatchewan to help resolve longstanding grievances with the Canadian government, which led to an armed conflict with government forces: the North-West Rebellion of 1885. Defeated at the Battle of Batoche, Riel was imprisoned in Regina where he was convicted at trial of high treason. Despite protests, popular appeals and the jury's call for clemency, Riel was executed by hanging. Riel was seen as a heroic victim by French Canadians; his execution had a lasting negative impact on Canada, polarizing the new nation along ethno-religious lines. The Métis were marginalized in the Prairie provinces by the increasingly English-dominated majority. A long-term impact was the bitter alienation Francophones across Canada felt, and anger against the repression by their countrymen.

Riel's historical reputation has long been polarized between portrayals as a dangerous religious fanatic and rebel opposed to the Canadian nation, and, by contrast, as a charismatic leader intent on defending his Métis people from the unfair encroachments by the federal government eager to give Orangemen-dominated Ontario settlers priority access to land. Arguably, Riel has received more formal organizational and academic scrutiny than any other figure in Canadian history. The trial and conviction of Louis Riel has been the subject of historical comment and criticism for over one hundred years.

Denny Dumas was a pioneer in the sport of marathon canoeing.

The canoe has been an important part of Canadian history, but the story of the canoe in Canadian history is often told through a colonial lens of being integral to the exploration of, and trade within what is now called Canada.

To some, the canoe is viewed as one of the seven wonders of Canada: A Canadian icon and a symbol of Canada. One that represents Canadians' connection to nature, reverence for history, and a tool for exploration and discovery outside of urban and suburban centres.

Unfortunately, this narrative hides the one of theft and genocide that Indigenous peoples experienced through non-Indigenous people's use of the canoe. It hides that the canoe can represent a symbol of colonialism, imperialism, and marginalization. And it ignores that the canoe is a symbol of resilience, resurgence, and nationhood for Indigenous peoples.

Denny returned to the store just a few months later. Denny lived in one of the most coveted neighborhoods of Saskatoon, "Saskatchewan Crescent West." His backyard led right down to the banks of the South Saskatchewan River.

Saskatoon is located on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis.

Denny Dumas (far right)

Denny returned to "The Harmony Centre" with the same spirit as the first time. He enthusiastically told me that he'd come home to find everything had been stolen again. He explained that he'd gone out to check on his backyard which led him down to the riverbank and it was there that he found the Sony 27" XBR TV that I'd sold him just months before. The thieves had taken everything out of his home and down to the river. They stole Denny's canoe and his belongings and made their great escape paddling down the South Saskatchewan River. They left the television behind as it weighed 140 pounds.

With his insurance we helped him replace all of his items once again. He was very thankful.

Denny would visit the store often after that, just to visit. I enjoyed those visits tremendously as he had so much eagerness for not only the day, but for that very moment. I loved his resilience, commitment, his child-like wonder and the way he was completely engrossed in every single second. He completely embraced life itself.

Denny owned and operated "Great West Auto Body" found at 2401 Faithful Avenue in Saskatoon. Denny had seen my coveted 1973 BMW 2002 ti. He told me to bring it in and that he'd restore and paint it for me. The following year, 1987, I did just that.

Denny came into the store excited about his training for the forthcoming "Louis Riel Relay Race of 1987."

The Louis Riel Relay has a long tradition of being a challenging adventure race. The "Great West Auto Body" team consisted of many people, including his son, Kevin, and a horse. Denny wasn't just a master of the canoe, he was also great at assembling the best people. He was a remarkable leader getting the most from them. His dominance speaks for itself.

Hector Poncelet

My childhood friend and an incredible artist - Hector Poncelet was Denny's painter. In the early part of that summer of 1987, they painted by dear mom's 1976 red 2-door Chevy Nova. It was then time for my BMW 2002 ti.

While the car was in the auto body shop, Denny would stop by to visit me at "The Harmony Centre." Once, he came in with that same unwavering enthusiasm and said: "Look at this!" It was a credit card. I had no idea of its meaning, value, or what it represented. He said: "Look, it's a Platinum Credit Card. One step up from a Gold Card." It meant so much to Denny.

My 1973 BMW 2002 ti meant so much to me. I bought the car from the original owner, a doctor in Calgary on Tuesday, April 23, 1985. It was in great shape, though it would be completely restored with new rear quarter panels, rocker panels, and driver door. All new chrome, including bumpers and kidney. 'Kidney' is the term BMW uses for their front grill as it's in the shape of two kidneys.

Braithwaite's Upholstery

I had "Braithwaite's Upholstery" redo the interior. "Braithwaite's Upholstery" is Saskatoon's only full-service upholstery shop that does original and custom work. They came up to "Great West Auto Body" and pulled out the interior, took it back to their shop and reinstalled it just before it was painted.

As soon as it came out of the shop, it received a new suspension that I ordered in from "Overseas Auto" in Vancouver, B.C. I had "SN Motors" install it. It was a "Suspension Techniques" suspension that lowered it a 1/2 inch. It was also adjustable which allowed me to adjust it for racetrack or street driving. It had very rare "Mini Lite" mags on Yokohama soft compound racing tires.

Every nut had been turned on the car.

Please click on image to enlarge

Marcel Toews

Marcel Toews built the stereo cabinet and completed the installation. He started early on a Thursday evening and finished on Saturday morning. He never slept during that time. Imagine! Imagine that immense commitment. What you see in the photographs is his work from start to finish. Marcel and I have been dear friends for 37 years. I love Marcel Toews' resilience, passion, his way of approaching the day, how he looks at the world and strives to make it better. Marcel Toews is now the co-owner of Burnett's Key Shop, a Saskatoon small business landmark since 1951.

Burnett's Key Shop

Everything was elite level with the car. Extremely expensive. All custom orders as you really couldn't sell the equipment for its cost. Luckily for me, I had made my suppliers a lot of money. When I asked them to send the equipment to me for free, they did. What you see in the back is Audax drivers. In the front are Vifa drivers. There are three amps: one under the front seat that drove the front speakers, another amp on the side of the cabinet to run the subwoofer, and an Orion amp. That amp is 25 watts of class A power. Most amps are class A/B or tube. A 25-watt class A amp is cleaner and louder than a 100-watt class A/B amp. Sonically the Orion amps were simply the finest. The speaker cable and cabling was all made by "Live Wire." In the photographs you see the Audax tweeter in PCV piping. Why? You don't want your tweeter firing into glass. The top-end will be harsh. You want the tweeter firing into the listener. Everything was meticulously thought through.

I purchased the cassette deck in the summer of 1985. It was the finest cassette deck ever made; a 1983 Blaupunkt Berlin with a goose neck remote. Its cost at the time was $1800.

Everything in that car was the finest. I placed so much thought and time into that car. I owned it for 23 years until 2008.

Denny Dumas never saw the completion of my 1973 BMW 2002 ti. Six days after winning the 1987 Louis Riel race, while practicing for the Canadian canoe championship, Denny suffered a massive heart attack and died in his canoe.

In 2022, now 35 years later, I don't think of Denny Dumas for his platinum Credit card or his huge house at 329 Saskatchewan Crescent. I think of his spirit. I loved Denny Dumas' spirit.

Often our own spirit can be stolen thinking we need material possessions, believing that these things define us. I experienced firsthand my spirit being stolen by believing that my 1973 BMW 2002 ti defined me. I somehow thought I was special for owning it. And, yes, I had placed a lot of passion towards it. But what I've come to learn is that life is far more rewarding if you place your passion into other people, not possessions.

We all make mistakes. What matters is taking ownership of our wrongs, our mistakes. We must find our center to live in love, peace and harmony. We must not harm others. We must not harm animals. We must not harm our planet or our land. We must not harm ourselves for all these things are irreplaceable.

"My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back."

- Louis Riel

R.I.P. (Rest in Paddling) Denny Dumas

Miles Patrick Yohnke, 2022. Photo by Natalie Struck

1986 Louis Riel Relay Race - (3-minute video race recap)

Denny Dumas - Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame - 1988

Karen Dumas (Rest in Peace) link

Kevin Dumas (Rest in Peace) Starphoenix Obituary and Dignity Memorial Obituary

Hector Poncelet (Rest in Peace) Obituary

The photo of myself was taken by Natalie Struck. To learn more about Natalie Struck, please click here: https://nataliestruck.com