May 15^th, 2005:

A pretty nice day, temperatures in the upper teens, sunny, but windy. It seemed like a nice day for a drive, so we picked up Joyce Weber and went down to My Three Son’s Greenhouse, northeast of Kelvington. The girls shopped, and I wandered about taking pictures. They have an old log barn that is on its last legs but makes for good photographic material.

I don’t know why I still take pictures of tame flowers, as I have thousands, but every once in awhile I see some that look interesting. I don’t even try to remember their names - when I was a boy, there were roses, petunias, lilacs and peonies. Now there are thousands of new ones, and they keep inventing more.

Last Wednesday, we took our slide shows to the Red Deer Nursing Home in Porcupine Plain. There were about forty people there from both the nursing home and the hospital and I believe they really enjoyed the show. I tried a new show on them, a short one of wildflowers from Greenwater Park and area. It went over well.

Water was turned on in the Park last Wednesday, so no more hauling with tanks. They let the water run for a good long time, to wash out any impurities. No more saving our shower water in the bathtub! I still see half-tons with tanks of water in the back going past - too much competition for the standpipes in Uskatik?

I borrowed a book from Bernard Hayunga - it is called “It Happened in My Lifetime” and was written by Albert Winje, illustrated by Grant Kriger, and edited by Kathryn Wade. Albert lived north of Kelvington in the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s and was a logger, blacksmith and self-taught pilot. Many of his stories have to do with mercy flights, often made at night. It sounds like he had an on-going battle with the Department of Transport who objected to his night flying and tried to shut him down. On a trip back to Saskatchewan and Kelvington in the ‘90s, Albert stopped in at our studio south of the Park, and we had a good visit. I wish I had known him longer.

I knew Grant Kriger when he worked for Vern Randall in Tisdale, as that is where I had my car serviced, and I had many good conversations with him. I didn’t realize he was an artist. He loved speed and raced cars, motorcycles and snowmobiles. He died several years ago in a snowmobile accident.

It’s hard for us to imagine how primitive this area was just sixty or seventy years ago. I was talking to Bill Reed’s mother at Porcupine on Wednesday; she said her family moved to northeast of Porcupine Plain in 1927 when she was a young girl. She can remember coming to Greenwater on an annual outing. There was no beach at all, just a granary which stocked a few staples and one boat to rent. Travel was usually by team and wagon. In Winje’s day, a lot of settlers and trappers were completely out of touch through weather or lack of roads and telephones. In cases of serious injury or illness, someone had to carry the message by foot or horseback, and Winje had to learn to land and take off in terrible conditions. It’s a wonder he survived!

On Good Morning Canada yesterday, they had the Langley Ukelele Band play a couple of numbers, and what a thrill!

There were twenty or more students with ukeleles and one with a bass fiddle. I never knew ukeleles could sound so good! Apparently they are doing some touring, so if you ever get a chance to hear them, don’t miss it. You can read about them on www.langleyukes.com . (By the way, they claim the correct pronunciation of “ukelele” is “oo-kelele, not “you-kelele”.  My dictionary doesn’t agree, so take your pick. It can also be spelled “ukelele” or “ukulele”)

I am sorry to say that East Central Connection and the Hudson Bay Post-Review will no longer carry The Greenwater Report. You can keep up with it on my web page at www.thegreenwaterreport.com  where it is posted every Monday, or in North East Chronicle, Kelvington Radio, Wadena News, Foam Lake Review, and Wynyard Advance-Gazette.

Things are gearing up for the summer! I talked to June Woulfe last week, and she said the Marean Lake Golf Course will be opening for the long weekend, likely next Friday or Saturday. They offer golfing, camping, snacks, etc. They run a nice operation; we will go over there for lunch one of these days.

The Beach Café has been open daily since Mothers’ Day, and the Park Store will open next weekend. The Park staff are back, raking leaves and cleaning up before the tourist rush.