I just received word Joe Rymal of Campbell River, B.C, formerly of the Eagle Hills district, has died at the age of 99 years. Lloyd and Arabella Rymal and family came from Tyner to settle in the Eagle Hills area in 1934. Joe was a teenager. They farmed in the area until 1958. Joe married Bernice Smith and had a family of one daughter, Janet. They moved to Vancouver, B.C and later to Campbell River.
In the late 1940s a road was built from Battleford to Baljennie that was part of the old trail along the North Saskatchewan River. The road passed by the Rymal farm. The road had no gravel and when it rained it was almost impassable. Many times the Rymals were called upon to pull someone stuck on the muddy road or out of the snow banks in the winter months.
A new road was built through the Eagle Hills off Highway 4 well away from the river valleys and creeks. It featured a much-improved gravel surface.
Robert Maxwell of Edmonton, Alta. returned to North Battleford and Maymont on Jan. 7 to attend the funeral of his sister, Anna Brehon. They spent some time visiting with Stanley and Dorothy Mills. Anna's daughter, Colleen Aplin of Lloydminster, is working on a family tree for the Maxwell family. Their grandparents, George and Hazel Maxwell, came from Desboro, Ont in 1929 to make their home at Mount Hope and Baljennie and later Maymont.
Arctic air prevailed during the early days of 2017. The cold lasted long enough to give us a taste of winters past. The school buses were shut down for two days. A blizzard blew in one evening and made short work of the little snow we had and made highway travel difficult. The wind also interfered with the power lines, as the power was going off and on for a short spell. A few areas were without power for a short time. Now we are experiencing a sudden change, with a mild Pacific air mass moving in to be about for a few days or more.
