The melt is happening, but oh so slowly, and we will soon be complaining about the dust and our dirty cars, then the bugs on them. We will likely jump from winter straight into summer, but none too soon. There's action around town to get the water moving as the area is quite flat. The ice in front of the Do Drop In will soon be gone as that has been a treacherous area for our seniors to navigate for some time. At least none of the broken bones happened there.
Duplicate bridge was played at the Do Drop In on Tuesday evening with the winners being Glen and Julie Moore first and Margaret Dyck and Donna Scherman second. They all had a fine time and lunch after.
Another pioneer, from the Belbutte area, Betty Johnson, passed away in Spiritwood March 30. Betty taught school in Belbutte until that school closed and then she taught in Spiritwood until she retired and had moved there by then. She donated her body to "science." She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.
The sold sign has gone up on the sign at Gladys Lehman's house here in Meota. She is so happy in her new home in Caleb Village in North Battleford where she has been since October. April 1, Gladys had a hip replacement operation in Saskatoon and has come through wonderfully well, considering she will be 92 years old in June. A spunky gal, weall agree. For the first time in months Gladys can sleep on her right side, pain free.Her daughter Louise and Derk Kok fromDorintosh and Yuma, Ariz. are back here to be with her and help out.
The next shuffleboard tournament will be held on April 26 at the Do Drop In, so get your name in to Robert at 306-892-4626 or Linda at 306-892-2179 so the slate can be drawn up ahead of time. Latecomers will be added if necessary.
The next regular meeting of the seniors will be held Wednesday, April 16, at 10 a.m. in their hall. Your attendance would be appreciated to help with ideas and programming. The date in the monthly program put out by the village has been changed.
Have you all enjoyed the curling? Because Beijing is 14 hours ahead of us the games have been televised late, so most folks just record them, for watching later, or watched the replay. It would have beenmore excitingif Canada had done better, but that's how it goes.
Ken Parker, of Olds, Alta. was among the snowbirds who were in California when the earthquake struck. Ken was in Palm Springs, he was sitting quietly readingin a mobile home, when he heard this racket outside and sounds like something was rubbing against the walls. His heart stopped for a few seconds while he listened to try to figure out what it was. Then there was dead silence, it was over and he knew he had experienced his first earthquake. This one measured only 5.1 in the Los Angeles area,while the one that shook Chile read 8.2, and they surely had lots of damage and some loss of life.
Norwegian Whist was played in Valleyveiw Towers II April 4, with residents Shirley Tebay and Bev McCrimmon hosting. Three tables enjoyed a fun-filled afternoon and social time together. Top scores were by Bev McCrimmon, Pat Chapman, Linda Ard and Mae Johnson. A tasty luncheon closed the day. It was nice to have Millie Kliev back to join us after her mishap and recovery.
In the spring issue of the Saskatchewan paper Prairies North, a resident writes in accusing the paper's survey of the best places to eat,of having missed the Battlefords . There was a survey, by members of the public who wanted to write in to tell of the best places in the province to eat. There was no mention of The Great Wall in North Battleford and he found it one of the best Chinese restaurants he has eaten in, and he has travelled many parts of the province. I had never heard of it so asked some of the locals about it and sure enough there it is on 102nd Street, right downtown. I couldn't find it in the phone book either; while some cafes have whole page ads, I never found theirs. At first I thought what a funny name for a restaurant, but then realized it was named after the Great Wall, in China. Another one to try out some day.
My sister-in-law at Comox, on Vancouver Island reports that she had a rat in her bird feeder regardlessof the fact it has a wiremesh around it to keep the squirrels out. She said they can easily come to the island by boat or ferry.
The nutritional speaker that was booked for Monday morning at the hall was cancelled due to illness, and will be rescheduled. So watch for that notice.
Contract Bridge was played Monday evening at the Do Drop In with the top score going to Linda Ard and second to Georgina Humphreys. Well done!
On sorting through my video tapes from the 1980s I played the one I made in Edam in 1988, of the evening Michelle Cameron spoke to the public and showed off the gold medal she had won in synchronized swimming, that year,with herpartner, Carolyn Waldo. She was introduced by her Uncle Robert L'Heureux and she did a fine job of telling of her experiences and how hard they worked for four years before the Olympics in 1988.
Two of my granddaughters, Jordan and Brooke Calladine of Lethbridge, Alta. are eager young competitive swimmers and were privileged to meet with and talk to two Olympians. They met and had lunch with Canadian Olympic swimmer Richard Hortness and his Olympian wife, Darcy. Back in the day, Richard swam with the girls' head coach Peter Schori in Medicine Hat and he also swam one year for the University of Lethbridge. Richard swam at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic games and was also a member of the men's relay team. Darcy was a member of the women's rowing team and competed at three Olympics 2004, 2008 and 2012. The Canadian women's rowing team won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012. She took up the sport of rowing in university. They are now both retired from their sports but their stories are inspiring!