December
12th, 2004:
We
have had some precipitation pretty well every day last week; not much at
any time, but it adds up. Yesterday was so warm that it came in the form
of rain, hardly welcome at this time of year. We went to Porcupine Plain
for the Farmers’ Market and found we had to walk very carefully. It’s
a bit cooler today, but still only about –10°. It blew hard all night
but I don’t see any drifts. I guess the snow is too crusted to blow.
George
Renneberg was at Miller’s for coffee last Thursday. It was good to see
him. He has been battling health problems all summer and fall, and
hasn’t been at coffee row. George goes in for surgery tomorrow, and the
good wishes of the whole community go out to him. We look forward to him
and Helen again becoming regulars at coffee.
I
asked George about his success at fishing this winter; he said he didn’t
catch any, but since his son, Dave, was with him, George deliberately
didn’t catch any so Dave wouldn’t feel bad. Sounds like big-hearted
George, doesn’t it?
They
tell me there are several ice-fishing huts out on the ice, on this side of
the points as well as further north. Which reminds me -
Doreen has a good, plastic ice-fishing tent that she is obviously never
going to use. Any interested buyers? We are asking fifty dollars for it,
and the money will go to Breast Cancer Research.
Jenny
is going to be one of ten core riders in next February’s “Prairie
Women on Snowmobiles” Ride for Breast Cancer Research. The core riders
travel the full 1,600 kms, but other women are invited to ride along with
them for as far as they like.
Each
core rider is responsible for raising $3,000, 100% of which goes for
Breast Cancer Research. Riders’ expenses for meals, fuel and lodging are
provided by local donations, so not a penny is used for administration.
Jenny has pledge sheets at her stores in Kelvington and Wadena
(Crawford’s Family Fashions) so if you would like to give her a boost,
stop in and make a donation.
Our
little coffee row group throws a loonie each into a pot at coffee, and all
of it goes to Jenny’s ride. Also, we have a number of photos and books
for sale at Jenny’s Kelvington store, and all the proceeds from their
sale goes to the fund.
Luckily,
we have some snow, so we are needling Jenny to get her snowmobile out and
get toughened up!
We
went to Hudson Bay on Friday, to have lunch with Mike and Marg and the
boys. Hudson Bay still has two elevators, so while the girls were shopping
I took a few photos. Why is it that we assume things like elevators will
always be there? All the years I have been taking pictures I rarely
bothered with elevators, yet they stood still, caught the sun, and were
very photogenic. In my railroad days I must have worked in thirty or forty
different stations, including that one in Mistatim, but have no pictures
of any of them. For some reason, I didn’t carry a camera with me in
those days, though I must have had one or two at home. What a pity!
Everett
Baker was a Sask. Wheat Pool supervisor in the forties and fifties; he was
also an avid photographer, working with color slide film almost as soon as
it was developed. He liked to take pictures of people -
on the job, on the street, or at their homes. His archives are now with
the Sask. Natural History Society, and frequently his photos are played as
slide shows on TV, or as exhibitions in libraries, etc. They are
wonderful! Not only are they good pictures, but each subject is identified
by name and the place the photo was taken, true vignette’s of Prairie
history. If you ever get the chance to see his work, don’t miss it!
