Mysterious 'gnome home' inspires community to make B.C. park magical
After four decades of living next to a dog park, Pat says what happened to the tree stump was a first.
“We wondered what happened,” she says.
All the people here this day were wondering who turned a stump into a 'gnome home.'
“Who knows?” one woman laughed. “Maybe it was a gnome.”
Perhaps. But it was definitely — all the dog walkers at the park today said — “a mystery.”
A mystery until now.
“I was thinking I got to do something with that stump,” Carmell Nesbitt recalls thinking.
She, and her husband Tony, could see the dying tree from her living room window, before it was cut to a stump, and remained untouched for months.
“It was kind of bothering me that it was there,” Carmell says more than half a dozen stumps had been left in the park.
“I just wanted to make something happy with it,” Carmell says. “And see what would happen.”
So she asked Tony if he could make a miniature roof and some tiny windows.
“It wasn’t something I wanted to do,” Tony says. “But I did it.”
He did it, because the couple credits 45 years of being happily married with always find fun things to do together.
“We try to make each other laugh every day,” Carmell smiles.
And perhaps — if they secretly constructed a gnome home in the park at night — they could have a coffee in their living room and see people smile from afar every morning.
And they did. Tony says dozens of people of all ages would congregate around their creation.
“And I thought, ‘Well, I guess it wasn’t such a bad idea,” Tony smiles.
Then Carmell came up with an even better idea — decorate the home for Halloween, Christmas, and now Valentine’s Day. She never imaged her gnome home would spark a gnome village.
“I think good deeds perpetuate themselves,” Alli Jones recalls being excited when she first saw the gnome home and then inspired.
She and her husband Jason Tucker made one of the sad stumps smile, by attaching eyes, nose and a grinning mouth to it.
Their neighbour's children, Norah and Laurel Whiteside, united for a magical makeover, adding bright decorations and whimsical characters to another stump.
Other members of the community added creative touches to more stumps, and now almost every tree that was chopped had been transformed with some sort of cheer.
“It puts a smile on your face,” a regular dog walker says.
“I think it’s really nice for the neighbourhood,” another smiles.
“It reminds me of my childhood,” a senior laughs. “[Happy] stories about elves and fairies!”
And now it’s no mystery, that Carmell’s reminded this community that no matter what happens, you can always find a way to make it feel like there’s no place like gnome.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
DEVELOPING Hamas accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar
Hamas said it has accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar, which seeks to halt the seven-month war with Israel in Gaza, prompting Israel to say it would send a delegation to negotiate – though it warned the proposal remained far from the 'necessary requirements.'
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
2024 Met Gala: Everything to know about fashion's annual soiree
Fashion's biggest night out — hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York each year on the first Monday of May — is both a forever-evolving spectacle and a carefully crafted event.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Concern over speeding in Fredericton neighbourhood grows after 2 teens, young adult killed in crash
Three people – including two teens – are dead, and two others are injured after a crash that has left a greater Fredericton community shaken.