The small hamlet of Mullingar is 11 miles northwest of Mayfair. In 1906, a pioneer named Mark Comerford who hailed from Mullingar, Ireland, named this hamlet after his home. Today the area is populated with seven Salisbury families who grain farm and cattle ranch.
A few generations earlier, the Salisbury name was heard of often. As with other small centres, Mullingar once boasted of many amenities including a local post office, hardware, grocery and lumber stores, a community hall, a church and two garages.
Some entertainment other communities did not have were skating, hockey and curling rink. Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Searle Company elevators were built and the Pool even operated an active stockyard. Erection of a " fresh meat" purchasing plant became a reality.
In the earlier years, Mullingar had an excellent baseball team and later softball. Sports day, an annual event, was eagerly anticipated every July.
All of the above are just memories and the head count is approximately 15 people.
Hidden in the rolling hills among a lot of bush and sloughs is Blue Mountain Outdoor Adventures, 21 miles west of Mayfair. Jason Moore, formerly from Saskatoon, with the Lighthouse Outreach organization, purchased this thriving business from original entrepreneur Stan Dudek, a local fellow.
Stan, his wife Sheila, and their two children relocated near Trail, B.C., two years ago.
This outdoor adventure business offers five paintball fields, equipment rental, five zip lines, wall climbing, ropes and challenge courses, camping accommodations, a swimming hole in the warm months, cross-country skiing and a skating rink in winter.
Biathlon competitions, national and provincial, are organized by former Mayfair teacher Doug Sylvester of North Battleford, and draw a lot of attention usually once a year.
Jason rents this facility for family reunions and other private functions. There are three cabins for rent. "Owl's Nest" sleeps six, a cozy small cedar suite sleeps three and "Sleepy Hollow,鈥� the largest with a wood-burning unit, accommodates 10 people. This fun place is very busy during the winter and a lot of school groups take advantage.
The ski trails are some of the best in Western Canada and are cleaned by a brand new grooming machine.
Many residents seek a warmer climate at this time of year. Leanne and Stephen Cherwinski, my neighbours, are no exception. They took in an all-inclusive one-week getaway to Mayan Riveria, Mexico. They leisurely soaked in sunshine, sandy beaches and ocean waves while sipping on pina coladas during their stay. Nightly entertainment is always a big attraction, thus including the musical Grease and an Elvis Presley impersonator.
The mode of transportation in the private resorts is a miniature train, and is a fun way to travel rather than continually walking from one place to the next. Grey iguanas and long-tailed, raccoon-like wild animals are in abundance at these tropical resorts. Keep your swimming gear packed in your suitcases for your next annual excursion.
Mayfair's snow angel, retired school teacher Ruby Rafuse, is continually shovelling snow for her friends, public walkways and the church entrance. In the cities, snow angels are honoured for their contribution to society. Everyone is very thankful for her endless hours volunteering in the community along with her excellent baking for various functions.
Farming near Whitkow, Ron and Joan Tomanek along with their daughter Chelsea (Scott) Schmidt's three children from Lloydminster, vacationed in Disneyland. Every winter the Tomaneks take in a vacation to warmer weather with their daughter, her husband and family. Disneyland is a wonderful place for the young and old with all of the bustling entertainment and wild rides.
Congratulations to Faye and Keith Liebaert, Esther and Eric Huard (grandparents), Madeleine Huard and Ruth and Paul Bilanski (great-grandparents), all living within the Mayfair area, on the birth of Holden Russell Liebaert of Brandon, Man. This precious bundle was born seven weeks premature, weighing four pounds, 14 ounces on Feb. 10 to Lauren and Kevin Liebaert. According to Faye, the baby is doing fairly well, but will be in the hospital for maybe one month with the medical staff keeping a watchful eye on him.
Valentine's Day kept many people shut in due to the massive snowfall. In my yard, we've recorded 10 inches. My husband, like other folks, moved the mounds of snow with his tractor blades. Department of Highways from Spiritwood, with the big snow removal truck, went into the ditch approximately eight miles east of Rabbit Lake early Sunday morning. The driver could not see the ditch. This truck services Highway 324, 40 miles until it meets Highway 378. These highways are potholed, narrow and winding with steep embankments in some places. Rural folks do face a challenge when driving on these secondary highways.
I wonder how the North Stars hockey team's ice fishing derby went on Feb. 14 with the terrible weather conditions. How many people got stuck with their vehicles on the ice, or was everyone driving 4x4s? This annual event attracts many people from afar, being that the prizes are attractive.
Many people in our area are spectators at Sask Prairie Hockey League games. Dave and I attend Maymont home games and some afar to watch son-in-law Kinley Sevick play. This is a very strong senior league including 1- competitive teams 鈥� Hafford, Meota, Cut Knife, Shellbrook, Battleford, Glaslyn, Maymont, Spiritwood, Radisson, and Perdue. Their playoffs commenced last week and are right on schedule.
The hockey terminates the second week in March and, alas, onto baseball and golf for some of the players.
Thank you to Lorna Pearson, Meota's news correspondent, for welcoming me to the team of reporters in last week's column. I got to know her personally while I owned a business in Chitek Lake for a couple of years. John (late husband) and Lorna resided there for many years and was a local reporter in the Spiritwood Herald newspaper before moving to Meota.
In next week's report, I will give information on Whitkow's past and present.聽
