MAYFAIR ‑ There's nothing like taking a break from a stressful ordinary life and packing up for a couple days to rejuvenate. Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa at Manitou Beach was my thoroughly enjoyed getaway.
Sunday there were about 30 people of all ages relaxing in the salt water, although the posted maximum is 100. It was sort of a tossup; enjoy the outdoors as the temperature was balmy for this time of the year or take a plunge in 103 F water. Two other pools were 100 and 99 F. Opportunity doesn't come often, so I chose the latter. Watrous, which is close to Manitou Beach, is approximately 230 miles from our farm.
One of the places visited was Danceland. The owner is Millie Strueby. Her husband Arnold passed away in August at age 94. A brother Art and wife reside in North Battleford. I had coffee at Danceland and Millie was more than willing to give me the history if this historical building.
Between Clavet and Colonsay en route to Manitou Beach, the traffic was slowed down and at one point halted for 20 minutes for road construction. Four 60 km/h zones went for miles, adding an extra hour on to my travel time. Traffic was heavy on the highway in both directions. Aecon from Alberta was the contractor of this highway building project.
Heartfelt sympathy to Francis and Gerald Ewanchuk of Whitkow on the sudden passing of her 86-year-old mother, Dorothy Youst of North Battleford. Dorothy and her husband Victor (who died more than a decade ago) farmed east of Mayfair and she was our local postmistress for many years. She relocated to North Battleford after Victor's passing to be closer to some of her adult children and more involvement with activities.
To move a great distance away and start a new chapter in a person's life isn't for everyone, but this is what a retired Whitkow couple recently did. All the best to Barbara and Keith Carley who sold their acreage to a British Columbia couple. Carley's three children attended Mayfair School for part of their education. Daughter Celina married Jim Rogers who farms and rents a big chunk of land in the district.
David and I attended a beautiful memorial service for our daughter-in-law's mom, who passed away last November in Saskatoon. Sixty-four-year-old Barbara Matheson Yanko's colleagues expressed praise and love for their hard-working friend and many tears were shed. She was employed at the University of Saskatchewan for more than a decade and she truly loved her job. In one of her visits with me in 2019, she said many foreign students still called her Mom after many years, because of her helpfulness and ability to connect to others in a genuine, sincere manner. Barb had two daughters, two grandchildren and many children's grand pets.
The flaming colourful leaves on deciduous trees are being swept away by the prairie winds. This is just a reminder that the landscape will be changing in a couple of months whether we want it or not.
Just a reminder to everyone to stay safe this Thanksgiving weekend as the traffic will increase tremendously. Maybe due to our fourth wave of COVID-19 people will choose to stay home rather than being out and about.
