
The people of Hague honoured a man who was an integral part of their close-knit community last weekend.
Heritage Park on Main Street was renamed ‘Jim Heinbigner Memorial Park’ on Sunday, October 3.
The late Jim Heinbigner passed away in October, 2020 after a battle with leukemia. He served four decades on the Hague Fire Department, including 12 years as Fire Chief, and was the Town Foreman for 11 years.
He was also everybody’s friend, according to Hague Town Councillor Brent Peacock.
“Jim really personified what this community is all about,” said Peacock. “He always put other people first; he was always willing to offer a helping hand; and he always gave 100 per cent.
“He was just an all-around great guy. We all miss him and we felt as a community that we wanted to have a day set aside to celebrate, honour and remember our good friend.”
Sunday’s unveiling of a new sign was followed by a community barbecue, live entertainment by Arnie Derksen and his band, ‘Thursday Night Special’, and a marathon street hockey pickup game. One block of the town’s main street was closed off to traffic to accommodate the festivities.
Hague Mayor Pat Wagner and Jim Heinbigner’s daughters Megan Heinbigner and Nicole Neufeld unveiled the new sign for the park.
Peacock said the decision by town council to rename the park was “a no-brainer,” not just because of Heinbigner’s contributions to the town as foreman and fire chief, but also because of his ongoing efforts to make the town a better place for everyone.
He said Heinbigner was always ready to have a genuine conversation with anyone, and those conversations always seemed to end “with a smile and a chuckle.”
“I think everyone can attest to how much Jim loved and cared for this town and the people within it,” said Peacock. “And we hope that by renaming this park, that his contributions will always be remembered, and will live on for decades.”
Peacock noted that with the barbecue, music, hockey and gathering of all Jim’s friends, the only thing missing was a fishing pond.