The Meeting Lake Round Hall was the scene of an 80th birthday celebration for a lady who still volunteers in Rabbit Lake but has resided in North Battleford for many years. Ruth Hrynewich received many good wishes from numerous family members and friends coming from great distances. Her children, Diane Tribble, Stanley Hrynewich from North Battleford, Linda Pauls from Spiritwood and Cathy Klics from Meadow Lake, graciously hosted a tea July 11. Ruth is my husband's auntie on his mother's side of the family. After attending this event, we drove to Meota for a Gregoire family reunion. The turnout was lesser than five years ago and maybe Auntie Germaine Nachtegaele's (nee Gregoire) funeral held on the previous Monday had an effect on this. After attending the funeral of 99-year-old Germaine, some relatives from a distance did not want to return for two weeks in a row. In the Gregoire family, my Uncle Paul is the only person in that generation who is still alive. He resides at Harwood Manor and his wife Madeleine (nee Bruynooghe) is at River Heights Lodge. Both are in their 90s.
At the reunion, some came from great distances. Sister Ann-Marie Fransoo (my first cousin) flew from Paris, France, while others came from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and various points in Saskatchewan.
July 11, Meota also hosted a biker veteran's reunion across from the hall where our gathering was. I've never seen so many motorcycles at one time, parked and slowly disappearing as the night closed in. They had a couple huge tents set up with an excellent band.
A 29-year-old man was killed on his bike, en route to Meota on Saturday afternoon in Glaslyn. I am sure this put a damper on this well-known veterana’ fundraiser.
July 4 was the wedding celebration of Desiree Mischuk and Michael Seth of Saskatoon. Desiree is the daughter of David and Maryann Mischuk. She is enrolled in the dentistry program at U of S. Michael has played basketball and, you guessed it, yes, he is very tall. If guys were under six feet tall, they appeared very short compared to a lot of Michael's basketball colleagues. I've never been to a function with such tall people in attendance. Many other guests commented on this also.
A pig roast was a special meal at the 68th wedding anniversary for Orville and Ann Pollard of Saskatoon, the second weekend in June. This was held at Darrell and Bev Pollard's farm with many relatives and friends. The unfortunate thing is that they were unable to join in this festivity due to illness. They moved to Saskatoon many years ago with Darrell taking over the farm.
We are wishing Rollie Pelletier a speedy recovery after unexpectedly having a pacemaker put in last week.
Our son Greg was back for a quick visit to my cabin at Chitek Lake, a friend's cabin at Emma Lake and Saskatoon two weeks ago. Emma Lake was really bad from all the forest fires burning in the vicinity. Hopefully he will return from Red Deer, Alta. one more time this summer to catch up on family visiting.
Waterhen Lake has been a special camping spot for the family of Leanne and Stephen Cherwinski for the last seven years. Every year they have good times with their children and grandchildren. This past week was a scorcher, thus making lake activity great. Hopefully my fun lake activity will kick in shortly, after I have finished sprucing up my cabin with paint, new siding, some windows, doors and a screened in deck facing the forest. Everything takes time when one has to hire carpenters and an electrician. A screened deck gives a cabin a new dimension, thus making it a great place to entertain guests.
Dave and I took our two oldest grandchildren, Parker and Keri from Maymont, to the RCMP Musical Ride at Fort Battleford, July 13. There were many people pushing baby strollers in the rainy weather at this spectacular show. My cousin Godfrey Gregoire from Dauphin, Man. happened to be sitting near us. He is a retired RCMP and previously trained musical ride horses for four years and participated as a rider for two years. His younger brother Gordon from London, Ont. is a retired member of the force and also was in the musical ride. There was a larger crowd in attendance.
A 100-year-old family farm heritage award is a wonderful achievement for Gerald and Fran Ewanchuk of Whitkow area. They had a family reunion on the July 11 weekend at the family farm to celebrate this milestone. Gerald's parents, Walter and Stella, previously resided at this location. Walter still drives to the farm to be in the country, sometimes staying a night or two at his small house. Stella is a retired schoolteacher and does a lot of volunteer work in North Battleford.
Saturday, the Speers Homecoming committee is hoping for a little cooler weather for the 100th birthday celebration that is planned to last the entire day. If you have any inquiries, call Diane Jones at 306-246-4214.
Jason and Brenda Buziak, formerly of Kindersley and now residing in North Battleford, opened up the new truck wash on the north end of the city this past spring. Jason was in the oil industry for nearly 20 years and is also farming near Whitkow area. He graduated from Mayfair School in 1992.
Congratulations to Lynn Martin, former teacher and principal of Mayfair School and former teacher in Spiritwood for the last 11 years, on her retirement. She plans on spending more time with children and grandchildren. Her mother, Ruth Martin (Lawrence), taught at Mayfair School for many years and now Lynn's daughter Ashley is a teacher in Prince Albert. Ruth and Lawrence sold the farm four years ago and moved to Saskatoon.
