Danny Guillaume recently came home to Moose Jaw for a visit to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, one of the city's primary tourist attractions which he founded in 1999. Discover Moose Jaw's Cameron Koch interviewed Guillaume to hear his take on why the city needed the Tunnels, what motivated him to get them started... And what happened next.
"I'm from Moose Jaw and the area. I went to high school here, was from Marquis, and so my heart is kind of in Moose Jaw," Guillaum explained, "but I'd moved to Vancouver. And I came back for a family reunion and my cousin was walking downtown and touring me around. This was 1999, and it was depressed. Moose Jaw was really in trouble.
"I mean it was, like, over 20% unemployment here. It was crazy depressed, and the boarded-up windows and buildings that were falling down was crazy. What we discovered was, there was nine buildings slated for demolition."
Guillaume met with local leaders, came up with an idea that inspired him, and gathered investors to reinvigorate the downtown — and ensure the city's unique heritage, culture, and history weren't lost, but taken advantage of.
Listen to the full interview on our Discover Moose Jaw New Podcast.
[with contributions by Gordon Edgar]