Hafford was very busy this past summer with the Canada Day celebrations, Summer Sizzler, Jaws of Life, the beginning of football and of course harvest season. If you live in or near the village of Hafford, I am sure the summer went by very fast for you and your family with all these activities to take in.
People came from all around the town including Lloydminster, North Battleford and Saskatoon.
Hafford also had lots to offer people from all walks of life and ages - things of interest at the sixth annual Summer Sizzler, always on the third weekend of August, like a Saskatchewan Roughrider watermelon helmet carving contest with the winner getting a set of Rider tickets donated by the Bar-K Hotel and Bar.
Other activities for the Sizzler included, for the first year, a car show with all money raised from the show going to Hafford District Care and Nursing Home for the purchase of three new beds. At the show Doug Scarrow of Saskatoon and his 1962 ragtop Caddy cleaned up, winning the Summit Racing sponsored Kids' Choice and giving him a $50 gas card donated by Husky Energy from Wainright, Alta's Nick Fountain, father to North Stars' Rick Fountain who is a returnee to the Stars this year. The winner also appears on next year's car show poster as well as receiving a prize package valued at over $250.
Next on the long list of things to do was the Canada Day Celebrations July 1 where people watched flag-raising at the end of Main Street with Russ McNutt as MC. One of the care home residents cut the cake.
If you still didn't have enough of Hafford, then they had a demonstration of the new $30,000 Jaws of Life for the crowd with volunteers like Viking coaches Ryan Barnstable and Shaun Dubyk. The Saskatoon STARS team touched down to show how quick they can execute a landing, pick up an accident victim and take off back to the nearest trauma centre like Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon or even Winnipeg for treatment for a life-threatening incident.
If you had no interest in those events, or maybe no time as you are a farmer or a farm kid, you were probably getting ready for the Hafford Central Vikings football season that started with camp the third weekend of August with tryouts by guys from as far away as Blaine Lake and Borden, such as Mike Horner, Riley Rookes and Storm Thompson.
The team started with a pre-season home game Aug. 29 against Hague, then the opening season game Sept. 4 against Dalmeny. The team travels long distances to play at other towns like Outlook, Rosetown and Unity.
This doesn't even include rookie camps every few weeks in these places where the team will play Rosetown on a Friday, then on Saturday go to Unity; but this is the life of an up-and-coming Grey Cup winning Saskatchewan Roughrider or an Alabama Crimson Tide NCAA championship or maybe the Super Bowl winning Pittsburgh Steelers on the new Iron Curtain Line like the 1970s' Jack Ham, Jack Lambert and Mean Joe Greene.
Greene was known as Papa Joe by family and friends as in his off-season he was a gentle giant whereas his on-field demeanour was totally different if things did not go his way or if teammates weren't playing up to the team's expectation.
Finally with the older farm people and football players, it was the start of harvest season - of course late due to a lot of rain and cool weather so they have to burn the midnight oil literally and harvest by the "harvest Moon" Canadian Music Hall of Famer Neil Young sings about.
So whether you're a resident or a volunteer at the Sizzler, a football player or a farmer, or just a visitor, you had lots of things to tickle your fancy or stimulate all your senses with the "hot times in the small town of Hafford."
