Brrr! What a nasty winter prairie storm we all endured the weekend of Nov. 7. It will be one nobody will soon forget, but the change in the weather is an eye opener, especially for younger people who haven鈥檛 experienced this so early. Remember, winter officially starts Dec. 21. Prairie folks have to be tough, because with the changes in season so drastic, the winter woollens have to be nearby. Be prepared if you鈥檙e heading out on the highways and byways.
Hockey is in full force and now one has to remember the name changes for minor hockey. Jeremy and Tanya Buziak鈥檚 14-year-old daughter Madison, who lives in Saskatoon, plays for the U15 girls鈥� Comet AA team. Jason and Brenda Buziak鈥檚 15-year-old Keyra is playing on the Saskatoon girls鈥� U17 AAA team and is billeted at Jeremy鈥檚 place. She formerly lived with her parents in North Battleford. Grandparents Lorna and Russell Buziak were unable to travel home after they watched hockey in Saskatoon this past week. The highway was closed at Langham and Borden Bridge was impassable.
Many schools, businesses and functions have been at a standstill due to the storm.
Granddaughter Theresa to Valerie and Rick Taylor of Mullingar, who lives in Hinton, Alta., is happy with the results for 19-month-old son Carson, who underwent serious surgery in Toronto. Carson鈥檚 story was covered by Global News Hour. Will relate part of it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been one week [as of this past Tuesday] since Carson was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer. His mother, Theresa, had read an article which hit home with her as she suspected something wasn鈥檛 right. She took a light and shone it on her son鈥檚 right eye and noticed a white glow in his pupil, which should normally be black.鈥�
Three tumours that were removed by laser in the left eye, but the large tumour in the right eye has left this energetic little guy with only one eye. The family are so fortunate this procedure moved so quickly. He is currently at the Sick Children鈥檚 Hospital in Toronto with his parents and they expect to be back home in a couple of days. He is the youngest child of the LaFrance family.
My neighbour Shirley Lamontagne was delighted to have her oldest son Calvin (Lynn) from Grand Forks, B.C. drive to stay for three days. They made the trip in one day, as with COVID-19 they chose not to stay in a motel en route. They usually visit her and some of his siblings once a year.
Our community is in shock to learn Eddy Clark, who resided on the family farm for all of his 68 years of life, suddenly passed away of a heart attack Nov. 13. He is survived by his two adopted sons Shay of North Battleford and Curtis of northern British Columbia and two grandchildren, infant twins. Eddy鈥檚 siblings are Cathy (Walter)Tomanek, Carol Dewing and Bill (Barbara) all of the Battlefords. Our condolences to the Clark family.
Ed rented out his land, but was still involved in farming as a hired hand for a local farmer and he also raised bison.
In 1976 Gordon Lightfoot recorded The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, chronicling the fate of a ship that sank November 1975 on Lake Superior. Every November this tune comes to haunt me. Twenty-nine crew members died when the 2,600 ton vessel went down. How many of you remember this sad day in Canadian History?
Who recalls the weather conditions Nov. 4? A neighbour recalls wanting to wash her outside windows in early afternoon. This was fine, but as she was trying to do the windows facing south, it was way too hot, so she waited until 5 p.m. to complete the task. Three days later, no one in their right mind would ever dream of washing windows in a major snow storm.
