Hats off to Dave Hyndman of Spiritwood who has spent 40 years as a news reporter for the Spiritwood Herald. He has seen many changes over the years, especially in technology. He started using a typewriter and fixing the errors with white out fluid. His finished product would be mailed to the head office in Shellbrook and there the staff would at times recompose his work. Hyndman feels it is time to hang up his hat and for someone much younger to take over the reins. That someone would have to reside in the community and have good writing skills. He wrote as he was still teaching school years ago.
On July 20, Fran and Gerald Ewanchuk of Whitkow joined their daughter Brittany, husband Mike Ciona and baby Natalie for an Alaskan cruise. They took the Inside Passage, which included stops at Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Glacier Bay, which lasted for one week. The following are Fran鈥檚 words: 鈥淲e left our farm in the capable hands of our youngest daughter Tiandra, who was working at Spiritwood vet clinic. This job was during the summer break from the university in Saskatoon in which she is enrolled in veterinary medicine.鈥� Some interesting cruise stats are: officers and crew on the Noordam ship are 778, nationalities of crew 46, distance travelled all together 1621.10 nautical miles, average speed 14.06 knots, fuel use 340 gallons. I thought the number of eggs consumed on the ship was somewhat amazing, listed at 28,800. They really enjoyed this trip and encountered great weather.
Many people ignore the signs that Saskatchewan Health Authority posts in public places. Scent sensitive environments ares strongly being opposed by some people. The posters read please refrain from perfumes, aftershaves, room sprays and other scented products. I am sure those who wish to ignore this are avid readers. Please be considerate of others.
Again, fall suppers are upon us. Mayfair鈥檚 is sponsored by the Catholic Women鈥檚 League and is to be held at Mayfair hall Saturday, Nov. 2.
Please mark your calendar for the farmers market at the hall on Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Eating a healthy nutritious meal is essential to everyone. Laurie Calder, owner (again) of the Snack Shop on 101st Street in North Battleford offers home cooked meals at reasonable prices. She offers a kids menu and is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday. She is quite busy so she has to employ two full-time and two to three part-time employees every day. It is nice to see a small business doing well up against many fast food chain restaurants.
Another quaint, petite eating establishment is about 100 miles north of the city, and for those of you who are busy fishing and hunting past Spiritwood and Leoville area, this place is a real treasure, operated by Louise Beaulac. It seats 12 and is called Taste of Home, which is exactly what the name stands for. Again, the menu is not outrageously priced and is fine dining at its best. She also recently got an RTM mini motel built by True North in Prince Albert hauled to the Leoville site in July. Louise tells me, 鈥淧eople started coming into the restaurant and I started talking to them, finding where they are from and what they were doing here.鈥� She said customers were on route to Spiritwood or the other direction north of Leoville to Big River late in the evening because there was no accommodation in Leoville. You guessed it 鈥� the rest is now history. Hometown Suites is now open for business.聽
Oldest son Curtis arrived back home from Scott Lake on the border of North West Territories and Saskatchewan from his job as a professional fishing guide early September. He reported that for the past three months or so, there were just a handful of warm days and the rest of the time guests and staff at the lodge were fighting the cold elements of nature. He was anxiously waiting to be back into the field for harvest.
Happy harvesting everyone, as the few days of warmer windy weather is putting a happy smile on faces.
The September long weekend, Georgina and John Youst鈥檚 girls, Dana, Nicole and Raelene with their children were at the family farm for a quick few days to visit. The oldest daughter, Dana, resides near Craven with her husband Duval and two kids, Olive and Dryden. Nicole, their middle daughterand her husband Justin Jordan live in North Battleford with Bodhi and Lincoln. Raelene, a registered nurse, hails from Swift Current. The Yousts鈥� daughter-in-law Jodie along with child Kastyn, who live in Meadow Lake, also came to take in some family time.
The hamlet of Mayfair has an eye-catching new rural municipal shop erected by contractor Larry Ledinsky from Spiritwood. The construction should be completed later this fall. It is located just east of the old shop building and across the road from the hall.
Entertaining family members is just natural for Lorena Lafreniere. Her sister and niece from Red Deer, Alta., were here for an older sister鈥檚 birthday in April and also an August wedding held in North Battleford.
There is now a new catering service in the area. The owner has two adult helpers and herself preparing and serving the food and is a former restaurant owner who has the food safety handling course. Email me at [email protected].
The Farmers Market this past Saturday at Mayfair hall saw many buyers purchasing from the local vendors. There was a steady flow of people viewing the variety of goods, which left them and the vendors feeling happy. The Christmas Market and Craft Sale is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 24, in the hall, so, crafters, get busy.
