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By Lloyd Mackey
THERE IS a Talkin Donkey on Highway 97 in Vernon, not far from the landmark
Vernon Lodge. It is a “hub,” says manager Carol McBain – a place where people can get specialty coffees, snacks and light lunches and
they can meet family and friends to talk.
McBain makes a key point about the place: It is Talkin Donkey, not Talking
Donkey or Talkin’ Donkey. “I know it is bad grammar to leave out the apostrophe. But it is less
complicated.” Patrons, young or old, are encouraged not to order and run, but to stay and
talk. It is a place with some ambience, where people can come and connect.
Four years ago, Captain Sean Wong, then pastor of Pathways, the local Salvation
Army church, helped parishioners to fulfill a dream by establishing the Talkin
Donkey.
The Talkin Donkey is named for the beast in the biblical book of Numbers,
chapter 22, who belonged to the prophet Balaam. The unnamed donkey saved his
owner from certain harm by providentially and miraculously speaking up at the
opportune moment.
McBain says the coffee house is a work in progress. “Right now, we are brushing shoulders with a lot of people. We hope that in time
we will be able move to another level, to enter lives, bringing hope.”
McBain and her assistant manager, Jennifer Thompson, try to paint a picture of
what makes the place tick.
Folk of all ages come by. “Seniors like to come for lunch. Often, college students study here over coffee
and a snack,” says Thompson.
She adds that local bands and groups perform on Friday and Saturday evenings.
One such performance can be found at www.youtube.com, using the search terms ‘Strawberry jam talkin donkey.’
While they perform for free, the groups are permitted to “pass the hat or sell their CDs,” notes McBain.
The objective, in time, is to use Talkin Donkey profits for projects that line
up with the organizers’ “environmental and social conscience.”
Their baristas – the people who are well-trained to grind out those specialty coffees – are using fair trade beans. And there are products for sale that come from
crafts persons working in less developed countries.
Many of the products already available have come through the Kelowna Salvation
Army system. McBain says she is currently checking out the possibility of
getting more products – some from Ten Thousand Villages marketed through the Mennonite Central
Committee.
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Most of the 14 employees are in their teens or early 20s. Some work full time,
and others are college or university students who come in evenings and
weekends.
For the McBains, the Talkin Donkey was a long-time dream, and they are grateful
that their church made it possible. The pastor who originated it has moved
along, as happens often in the Salvation Army. His successor, Major Phil
Franco, provides whatever support is needed. And a church management team
provides the accountability structure.
While the food service and coffee-making talents are important, so are “people skills,” the manager points out.
And she says visitors from other communities – some from the prairie provinces – have asked questions and expressed interest in trying the same thing in their
own cities or towns.
McBain would like to strengthen the donkey motif through the display of donkey
figures and artwork. Some people have provided posters and figures of Donkey,
the little guy from the Shrek movies. But she is always on the lookout for more.
For more info: talkindonkey.ca.
December 2009
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