Growing up in FORT MCMURRAY: Matt returns to his home town
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- From birth to age 20, I grew up in Fort.McMurray, Alberta, a northern Canadian town known for its oil mining. But as a kid, I knew it as an oasis of nature, jumping on the quad or the snowmobile and taking it right from my house and into the forest - all before the age of 10. I walked to school, I played hockey under the Northern Lights, and I went fishing with my dad.
It was a unique childhood, but as I got older, the city changed and I wanted to chase my dreams.
We made this video because Karla, being from Mexico City, was amazed about my small-town life. It's was a totally different world compared to hers.
It has been roughly 7 years since I've been back and of course, Canada's largest natural disaster occurred since then, changing the landscape of the city drastically.
We hope you like this insight into the life of a kid in a small northern city.
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Thanks for making this! I grew up on the same street! My house is also still standing. 139! I remember playing countless hours in front of your house at the marble pits! Same walk to school and all the sledding we all did behind the house. Walking fences, climbing roofs, and ringing doorbells and the place to meet was across the street at the green box! Riding our bikes and playing cops n robbers!Thanks for making this video!! Brought back all the fun we had as kids. Don’t forget that if an air horn was heard, we all had to run in because it meant there was a bear on our street! We lived our lives by the glow of the street lights! All us kids walking to meet our dads get off the bus from work in the summers when we could stay up late enough to see them get home 😊
Oh no way, when did you grow up there?
When you were describing memories of your hometown, I thought about mine. I miss my hometown.
Where's your hometown?
@@MustDoCanada Vagamon, Kerala, India
@@deepusebastian4121 God’s own country ! Kerala is beautiful
I've been here for the 2016 wildfire and flood since i was 3, still living here in this amazing town!
Glad you like it!
43 year resident here,amazing video and post :) Thank you :) Keep spreading the word please about our beautiful home and people.
any chance you're related to Cindy?
I lived in Fort Mac from 2001 to 2009, still miss it sometimes, also from Newfoundland.
Back in NFLD now?
When are we going to Mexico to see where Karla grew up, Loving the trip down memory lane..
Hopefully next month but it all depends on this COVID thing
Thank, Matt, for telling us your histories in your hometown. Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great memoire video. You caught me fishing at Gregoire Lake (14:09). I remember seeing your group and you taking photos.
haha really? Wow, what are the chances :)
Hi Matt ! I moved to Ft Mac in 1988 and for the first year or so I lived on Applewood Crescent ,Whitehill was basically across the street from your parents first home . The thing I remember fondly from that time is the little kids in the neighbourhood used to play in the box of my truck and pretend it was a boat ,so depending on the day ,the box of my truck was ether filled with little fishermen or pirates lol . The other thing I remember from that neighbourhood is 8:00 pm was the parental imposed curfew for the little kids , and you could pretty much set your clock by the moms yelling at their kids to come home from their front step .
haha that's awesome! I bet that stuff doesn't happen anymore, but yes, I remember having quite the characters on our street.
I lived in the Fort from 77-80, grades 3-6.. And it was a child's play paradise.. The best toboggan runs anywhere.. Countless wooded paths.. Rivers to go tubing on., fishing, an abandoned Wood mill deep in the forest.. Frog hunting.. Some of the best bike rides., Even when it was -35° there was street hockey.. I was never indoors.
Right? It was awesome. Not sure it's the same anymore
Thanks for sharing your story!
So neat to hear about your Fort McMurray childhood memories! Had a friend move there recently, but we didn’t know much about the city other than it was a hub for the oil industry and the wildfires that rampaged the city 😱 It’s nice to see just how normal (well, Canadian-normal lol) this town really is.
haha yes indeed. I'm sure it's changed since I grew up there, but there's still lots of nature
Hey i am thinking to come in fort mac
However i am little confused .
So may i get to know about more
And actually I thought of keyano college
Is it a good option?
@@aayushmor I don’t know much about Keyano College but my friend who lives in Fort McMurray says they had an incident just last week where a group of people left a fire unattended and it spread. It got really close to a neighbourbood Timberlea. Right now the air quality is so bad they’re under advisory. I think I would rather recommend a different city in Alberta to live. Did you see Matt and Karla’s video on Lethbridge Alberta? I’ve been there, it’s a nice town!
This was fun to watch! I lived in Ft McMurray from 1977-1981. I lived in Thickwood and went to Westview Elementary, lived on Hinge Rd. I remember skiing to school across the field! My Dad worked at Syncrude, we moved from New Brunswick but had emigrated from Wales in 1975. In 1981 we moved to L.A., then Calgary later that year and eventually to Saudi Arabia! Following the oil! My strongest childhood memories are of Ft McMurray - I can still see the northern lights in my minds eye. I also remember walking over the Athabasca Bridge and going to see the Huskies. I was very sad about the fires when I saw it on the news. Must have been scary for your family. Great video.
Thanks! What's this about the huskies? I don't remember that. So it was your fav compared to LA and Saudi?
Very interesting video. We learned lots about Matthew, now can we go to Mexico and do the same thing? Cheers!!!
haha yes, we will! Just gotta wait for COVID to be gone
Oh my goodness yes!!! I love this idea!
You guys are one the cutest a couple I know. God bless.
Thanks :)
I grew up in McMurray too I was a Thickwood boy, your video brought back many good memories thank you.
Haha good old Thickwood. I feel like I had family everywhere there
Thanks Matt great video and storytelling of your childhood memories.
The Fort was my home from August 29 1980 until 2011
oh wow, we may have crossed paths
I live here this warms my heart
I spent 40 years in the wilderness of Fort Mcmurray. My wife and I and family had a market garden there.
Very cool!
You guys have been such enjoyable “company” for us in California during the COVID lockdown and the wildfires and smoke. It’s so sad when a beautiful place that you love burns!
But it’s really neat to get some more insight into Matt and into a really interesting town and it’s been wonderful to watch all your videos and dream of future trips in Canada! We’re hoping to live in BC by the next Canada Day and your videos just remind us why we have dreamed of life in Canada for so long! Cross your fingers for immigration. We know you guys get it!
Oh wow, that's so awesome. Glad to hear. What makes you want to leave California for BC?
@@MustDoCanada we fell in love with BC in 2015 on a visit. The quality of life is amazing - a lot like California but safer and more stable, and of course the people! Canadians are the kindest people in the world! Our then-8yo son summed it up: when we asked why he wanted to move to Victoria so much he just responded, “The peace.” ❤️
@@abrooksdowty haha that's awesome. Yeah, Victoria is nice. We've been tempted to move there, but there's not usually as much work. But then again, I have friends moving there recently so maybe its changing. Either way, it's beautiful
I was born in Fort McMurray in 1998 and still live here , working at syncrude along side my father great story matt!
Oh wow, that's awesome! Not often you can work alongside your dad!
@@MustDoCanada yea it’s a great gig! Started watching your channel I love the videos :)
Fort Mac looks so clean in this video, I will never get over how rough our downtown actually looks
I’m 15 and have lived my whole life in fort mac, I consider myself lucky to be able to grow up here.
Awesome watch. I made fort mac my home in 2005. Been here ever since making my own memories. Never forgetting my awesome childhood in Newfoundland.
Yeah, we love Newfoundland too. Even more nature in some ways
Your story is very similar to mine and probably a lot of people that grew up in Fort Mac. Great job representing what it was like growing up there!
Thanks! Yeah, it's a shame it changed a bit but I guess the same everywhere
Heart touching video Matt..
Thanks man!
Wow your basketball hoop is still there . What a trip down memory lane.
You're such a lovely couple. I love watching anything & everything that you post! : )
Aww, thanks Lynn, that means a lot :)
New subscriber here! High River, AB based. Thank you for showing us Fort Mac after the fires. We, like you, had our town devastated. I just stumbled upon your content and we'll be following along. We do a lot of Canadian content, but also go overseas! Happy travels!
Very cool! Our family lives in Okotoks now (most of them) and we're in Calgary
@@MustDoCanadaCan't wait to keep watching. Keep safe out there!
Thanks for sharing your hometown with us, Matt. Canada is so pretty. Our daughter is a figure skater and she always was upset when hockey players were on the ice because they chewed up the ice!
haha yeah I could see that. Karla would like to try figure skating one day
You guys are super positive!!!
Thanks! haha
This was wonderful to watch. I grew up in Fort McMurray from ~1994 to 2001 (ages
I think the discovery centre might be different but I'm not sure either anymore. So much has changed!
Couldn't even think that can see your childhood !
Thx for sharing your hometown & memories with us
Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it :)
Awesome history and a nice city too. It's cool that you grew up over there.
Nice video. I liked the overview of the city. Makes me proud of Fort McMurray when I see good videos like this. Thanks for sharing.
Totally. Thanks for commenting :)
Hi Matt and Karla. Thoroughly enjoyed “your return to childhood” video! The fires certainly have a massive impact as we found out in our last summer here in Australia! Regards, R and J
Thanks! Yeah, it was sad seeing the videos from Australia too, and all the displaced animals
Touching video......take care yourselves!
Thank you! You too!
Oh hey!!
haha hey!
Oh, guys, I love your video so much. It just delicious for my mind. Good luck both of you.
Thank you 😋
I lived in Fort Mac when I was a kid back jn the mid nineties. Had some great memories. Thanks for sharing.
Sweet! Go oilers go eh! :)
Thanks Matt for posting this. I also was born and raised in Ft. Mac. Lived in Thickwood and went to St. Gabriel School during the late 80s and early 90s. Was also very familiar with Abasand too as we had close family friends loving whom we visited almost weekly as kids 😊
Cool! Not there anymore?
@@MustDoCanada No, not anymore. Moved away after I graduated in 99. Moved around for a few years. Currently living in the USA
@@jcl716 oh wow, big change. I'm sure alot has changed since you left
Hi, thanks for the great video. Spent a few years here as a kid in the early 90s. Lived on Timberline Dr and you're right about the bears. Saw a couple on the greenbelt in the summer. Winter was awesome though. Used to build snow forts and tunnels all the time.
haha yeah it was great as kid. Not sure what it'd be like now
Lovely. Quite personal. Txs for sharing.
Love that place
interesting video,,
Nice Video Matt
Thanks!
Great videos, nice to see none tourist places and the lakes and trees and hear a bit about real life. Canada is great.
It really is!
Thanks for the video! It was awesome!
Impressive 👍 MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL 💖 AAMEEN 💖
Matthew is a good young man !
Actually the childhood is better into a small village. More safe and good for growing up. I remember that I always had a lot of things to do more safe than even in a small town. I think I didn't miss it as much as I would because when I moved to a small town we had the river just in from of the condo. But nowadays I returned to prefer for living a small village than a big town.
Yeah, it's funny how we tend to want to "go back" as we get older. In my case, it has totally changed. Most family are gone. Most trees are gone. So it would not be the same...
Thanks for sharing. I haven't been back since the fire.
It was So GREATu left😂😂....
Very nice to live their and I'm applying for a maintenance job.
First here m..love u both and Canada
You rock!
Abasand life!!! My old stomping grounds, that is more then just a field lol
Great video really
Wow I loved e this amazing video, thank you for it. I am close to move there from Colombia and Hope to enjoy all those places you showed up..
Oh wow, yes, it will be quite different, but there's lots of places to explore in Alberta
Hi Matt! Thanks for the shoutout haha. This video is great! Lots of good Fort McMurray memories.
hahaha that's awesome... did u really go to Father Beau?
I sure did!
@@sonjarehm2340 haha crazy, what a small world. Even the people who randomly appeared in his video have commented haha. Do you remember the chocolate bars by any chance?
Angie just sent me this video. I don’t remember the bars. I’m so sorry 🙈
Living in Fort McMurray currently and having the aftermath of the wildfire is devastating. Only having moving back shortly after the fire and seeing the wreckage, it's definitely scary to believe
I can imagine. You moved back?
I saw my house in Abasand lmao, but I’m currently in the process of trying to get as far away from this place as possible 🤣
haha, yeah I guess it has changed a lot eh? I have quite a bit of family up there still and I'm told real estate really collapsed
Funny I stumbled on to your video while searching up coronavirus cases in Fort Mac. Somehow I remembered you guys from my fishing trip to Engstrom in September (probably because you had some recording equipment with you) and turns out we made in your video!
It was definitely a beautiful day at Engstrom that day.
haha no way! I always wonder if people we see will end up seeing our videos. That was a nice day. It's a shame you can hear all the mining now. That never used to be there.
@@MustDoCanada I work in the mine :D. It doesn't really bother me too much. Maybe I am just used to it. I also grew up in Asia so the air/noise in Fort McMurray is still extremely clean compared to some cities over there.
I have definitely also seen a few of your other videos prior to Engstrom, but didnt realise you were the famous vloggers!
@@nuksyed haha oh really? the one right at Engstrom Lake? haha yeah, I know what ou mean about Asia. I don;t mean air quality though. Back in the day, it was home to family camping and you could wake up to the loons each morning. Now I just hear cannons, but it's still pretty. Alberta is taking away its provincial park status though so hopefully they don;t ruin it
@@MustDoCanada Oh I misunderstood, thought you were talking about he mines near town. I think they have a gas plant/oil refinery right by Engstrom that makes all the noise. You are right, unfortunately, it is definitely audible from the lake. Positive note, it probably keeps some bears away haha
Great video! You guys are awesome!👍✌
I have just moved back to Fort Mac 6 months ago. What youshowed and described sounded wonderful. Is there any place you would recommend that would be beautiful to paint a landscape of?
hmmmm, well, as you know, the landscape has changed a lot since the fires. I didn't explore a lot on the this trip, but I did like the view over the big bridge from Abasand (near the cemetery). Down by Macdonalds Island as well, if u take the trail to the end where the two rivers meet is quite nice. Out at Engstrom Lake is nice, despite the sounds of mining nearby now :(
@@MustDoCanada thanks!!!
I was born here and starting to get interest in Canada, unfortunately I will never go there
Keep going man
Learned welding there forty five years ago
Hey man this is my town this town make me become rich I love this town I never forget 111 Charles Ave that’s my area lol
haha really? You worked out in the oil mine?
Yeah Yeah I used to work Suncor but now I’m working syncrude Scaffolding carpentry
I recommend this channels who want to learn english speaking as well as vocabulary. Aslo , request to this guyes please add subtitle. Any way its wonderfull video. Keep it up.....
Interesting! Okay, we will try and do that. It's hard because our videos are so long haha
Heh 😏 Fort Mac hey? I’m from Grand Prairie 😁
Nice, ya know, that's pretty much the only city/town we haven't been to in Alberta yet.
You forgot the secret waterfall!
Where is that? Or what’s the name?
I am thinking of moving to Alberta myself. dont know where exactly. but i want to get away from Ontario. Anyone else have recommendations?
Why the move? For cities, we like Calgary the best but Edmonton has a lot going for it as well.
@@MustDoCanada I just want to experience something new outside of all this mess. i have only ever lived in ontario. and now, with the way things are going...i do not resonate with anything that the current policies here are attempting to focus on.
I do not recognize the nation i both grew up in and call home, despite having been born here. I came here as a one year old, and it is the only home i know.
@@musings.By.Marivii Well we're not quite sure what to say. We can't speak to Ontario specifically, but for us, Canada is just as good now as ever before. Maybe better. You mentioned nation, so I'm not sure Alberta would change that. But generally speaking, Calgary and Edmonton are the big cities. More progressive. Lots of things to do. Calgary is close to the mountains. More conservative places would be Red Deer, etc.
You was naughty 😁 after that I think life teached you a lot
haha yes I think so
The best truth'
You do okay on skates.
Thanks!
My brother in law is from Mexico City and his accent is very different from Karla's.
Interesting!
Hi! This is absolutely an informative video, thanks.
I'm about to make a decision between Edminton and Fort Mcmurray. Yet, my only criteria is where I can earn most (in edminton or f. mcmurray?). I hope you may inform me about it.
Hard to say. Most of the money in Fort Mac is in Oil & Gas so if you work out there, it is usually good money
I have heard that Fort McMurray has a problem with drugs and such, is that true or is it only rumors?
I would say it does. Anytime you get high-paying jobs that don't require much educated, and a highly transient workforce that's largely male, there will be drug problems
@@MustDoCanada F... You ain't the first person to say that to me, so it's not a dream like city as they say...
@@veselinmitkov84 Do people say it's a dream city? I mean, I know plenty of people there wit families who stay out of drugs. You can make great money and if you're smart, use it to retire early. Of course, many people ignore the smart part and spend it on stupid things and end up staying there forever. On the flip side, drugs seem to be a problem everywhere these days...
Hello sir. In fort mcmurry keyano college is good college for International students?
hmmm, I'm not too sure. I would think it is good for the type of work in Fort Mac. If taking something like business or other things, I'd probably go to a bigger university
it's funny I'm from calgary and living in fort mc. haha
haha we switched places
Hey mate,
Who can help me to get some information about fort mcmurray??
I mean opportunities as an International student??
hmm sorry man, no idea. I moved a long time ago.
ayo I live there
❤ nyc video… hey sir, can u tell me about currently demanding part time jobs in fort mcmurry because im moving to this place as student… thnks❤
That area must be crap now that those trees are gone
Is that house in Abasand?
it is! Alpine court
I was there years b4 the fire
I remember the gas station at the top of the hill
I m searching for sonia but i couldn't find out. 😂
Mate, 99% chances that I will work in a FORT MCMURRAY company, Let's see what's going to happen, I am 18
haha awesome. Be smart with the money :)
I lived in Fort Mac and we would NEVER allow Mexicans or non real Canadians into Fort Mac.