Some of the gravel roads in our area require slower driving due to big ruts developing over the past three weeks. Sharon Babiy who lives near Meeting Lake Community Pasture reported 11 semi-trailers loaded up many cattle two weeks ago, causing some of these nasty road conditions.
Near Mayfair two graders went into the ditch because of the slippery state of the roads.
Mayfair Recreation Board is needing workers for Wednesday, Nov. 9 and Monday, Nov. 14 at Gamex in North Battleford. If you are able to spare a few hours please contact Alice Grigor at 306-246-4212.
Peresphone Theatre in Saskatoon has again pulled off a 鈥渄ifferent鈥� performance, which is being held over until Saturday. Mimi, a sexy French female 鈥渃lown鈥� goes on a blind date with a different man pulled from the audience at every performance. The play is an unscripted adventure and every time performed it is essentially a new production. It is suggested one should attend two times because what happens the night you go is singular to your experience and will never happen again. Basically for one night, we鈥檙e all on a blind date together.
The next performance is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and adapted by Michael Shamata, Wednesday, Nov. 23 and extended until Sunday, Dec. 11. Tickets are selling quickly because it is a family show. The box office telephone number is 306-384-7727.
Could a person even imagine living to the age of 107 and even longer? Well this is the story of a remarkable pioneer, Pauline Augusta Page, formerly of Mullingar, who has resided in Saskatoon since 1993. Her husband Earl passed away in 1968. I do not know this woman personally but her daughter-in-law Joan taught in Mayfair for many years. Joan was married to Donald Page, who owned a school bus line and was a mechanic.
Pauline was born Oct 26, 1909 to Charles and Matilda Comerford, one of nine children. A prairie fire burned the family home one month before Pauline鈥檚 birth. They moved to the Metropole district near North Battleford for two years before returning to Mullingar. In 1913 a large two-storey house was built and it is still standing. The Comefords were among the first settlers to come from Ontario and Charles was the first Mullingar postmaster.
Pauline and Earl raised five children and two daughters are still alive 鈥� Bev Coutts of Saskatoon and Linda (Vern) Tessman of Provost, Alta. Vern taught school in Mayfair for a few years before moving to Provost to continue his career. He also grew up in the Mullingar area.
The following information is from daughter-in-law Joan and daughter Bev.
Pauline lives alone in a low rental seniors鈥� complex, receiving home care and meals on wheels a few days a week. She still reads books with large print, plays bingo and listens to hymns. Her eyesight is slowly failing and her hearing isn鈥檛 like it used to be. This remarkable lady can carry on an interesting conversation. She has vacationed in Arizona but when the new law was enforced that Canadians needed passports, the machine could not acknowledge hers because of her age of over 100 years. Her passport had to be registered manually.
Her first hip replacement was performed in 1995, but she broke her other hip at age 106 and requires a walker. Other surgery was removal of her gall bladder and appendix together at age 105. Her daughter Bev is a nurse and she told the doctor that her mom was experiencing gall bladder attacks at age 98, but medical staff advised she was probably too old to risk surgery. Appendix surgery is urgent, so Bev requested the gall bladder be removed at the same time and her mom miraculously survived.
Pauline flew to Churchill, Man. Along with daughter Bev at age 105 years to see the polar bears. Her last trip to Mesa, Ariz. was in 2014. She 鈥渄ropped鈥� the puck for a Blades hockey game at their request also at 105 years of age.
On her 107th birthday, family from Vancouver Island, Alberta and various places in Saskatchewan were delighted to be in attendance to celebrate this special occasion and are hoping to return for a few more. Bev frequently makes the three-hour drive to visit her mother.
Pauline has six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren with the youngest being three years old. Apparently she had to wait quite a while before becoming a grandmother. Her husband died before the first grandchild was born.
What is Pauline鈥檚 secret to longevity? Answer is no alcohol and no tobacco. She was also a hard worker who persevered many hardships. A belated happy 107th birthday, Pauline, from all of us in the Mayfair/Mullinger area. Bev told me her mother receives the Regional Optimistand the first section she turns to is the obituaries. She is an amazing person.
In 1929, former Mayfair teacher Ray Stokalko also celebrated a birthday the same date as Pauline Page. If you do the math his age can be revealed. Ray and his wife Helen moved to Saskatoon more than 20 years ago.
Sally Salisbury has been kept busy entertaining her company this past while. Her two sisters and nephews have visited at different times during summer and fall. She also drives to LaRonge to visit them and usually stops in at her daughter Mary鈥檚 place in Prince Albert.
There is a Remembrance Day service scheduled for 3 p.m. on Nov. 11 at Mayfair Hall. Retired Lt. Col. Ghislain Bellevance from the Battlefords will be the guest speaker. He was in the army for 37 years. Rollie Pelletier is also in charge of organizing a few of these services in the Hafford and Speers area.
Many Rider fans will be experiencing an empty feeling by not ever returning to Mosaic Stadium. This place is more than 100 years old and has hosted many functions with many people returning year after year. Last time I was at Mosaic was for a sold-out Paul McCartney concert in August 2013. Let the good times roll in for the opening at the new stadium in 2017 and eventually fans will create many fond memories as they did in the past.
This time of the year many clinics are set up for flu shots, but one is not to be held in Mayfair this year. Monday, Nov. 7 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Rabbit Lake is our closest centre or Thursday. Nov. 3 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 17 from 2 to 5 p.m. in Hafford. We still have the wellness clinic the first Thursday of every month from 1 to 3 p.m. with a nurse in attendance.
Mayfair All Saints Church fall supper is Saturday at the hall from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Preschoolers are free. Tickets for ages six to 10 years are $5.00 and $12.50 for adults.
Farmers are anxiously awaiting decent harvest weather but Mother Nature still has not wanted to co-operate. In our area some have been testing their equipment to try to put the wet grain through, but it is a slow procedure and hard on the combines. The snowfall has greatly varied within a radius of a few miles, but it is looking as if winter has definitely arrived at Chitek Lake. The heavy wet snow was almost a foot and a half deep on top the roof of my cabin.
