Those Were the Days was held at the Western Development Museum Aug. 9 and 10. Stanley Mills spent a few days helping get some of the many old antique gas tractors ready for the show and daily parade. Neil Milman of Maymont has been in charge to get other volunteers in to help out where and when needed.
They have two full days of fun activities for the whole family to enjoy. It all went over very well and many interested people attended. They had all sorts of old-time activities taking place. It was a real eye-opener to the younger children but even so, many and great memories to the senior folks.
Just to think after all these many years, the old-time machines are brought back to life and still can be run and also used. Some gas tractors take a great many hours to get them all tuned up and running. Parts are hard to get when needed and some are not even available to get. Some are handmade in the museum workshop or at some volunteer's shop.
The biggest holdback is to get volunteers' help when needed. The older volunteers are not able to do the heavy work anymore. Some of the younger ones just don't care and don't even want to work as a volunteer at all. It's so sad to see so many of the older volunteers have passed on and aren't with us anymore. Some of the main volunteers are still in the farm business and have very little time to spare volunteering, but they do their best to be there to help out. They are so grateful they get some good help for Those Were the Days from the Saskatoon Museum.
The calliope steam organ was back, a stagecoach and a few other items. The International Gas Tractor and Machine Club came in to make a good display and run the parade each day at 2 p.m. The Western Development Museum parade was held daily at 5 p.m. to end off each day.
There were a few older gas tractors, also the volunteers to drive them in the parade. The vintage car club put on a good display in the parade. Lots of other activities were going on such as wood sawing and splitting wood, the running of the elevator stationary engine, plus dog and miniature horse shows, old steamer tractors and many more things I know I have missed.
A pancake breakfast each morning went over well and it all ended on Sunday evening with a potluck supper for all the volunteers and workers. A big, big thank you does go out to all the museum staff and their families and to all the volunteers. The planning has started for the 2015 show. Volunteers are badly needed at any time.
Many are watching the moon these past few months. If you are, you may have noticed the moon's size. They call it the super moon. Each full moon for the months of July, August and September is at its closest position to the earth in a good number of years.
Kim and Melody Lamont of Kindersley have been spending a weekend in the area visiting friends and checking on their loved ones.
A big thank you to the councillors of the RM of Glenside for having the dusty potholes in the grid road all dug out and redone with a coat of gravel. What a treat to vehicle operators to drive on, also to have some of the top row of long tall grass and weeds along the roadsides all cut back.
Our humidity has been so high for so long now and we are still adding to it with so much more rainfall. Real downpours and thunderstorms, but no nasty hail storms so far and we hope not. Other places have had some hail.
It has been a really miserable time for the haymakers to get their hay cut, dried and baled up before more rain falls on it. Some are cutting green crops to make silage for winter feed.
As the fall comes on, a lot of the main crops are looking good. Most are past the flowering stage and are now filling pods and heads with plump grains. Some canola and pea crops are close to being ready to be swathed and some swathing has already started. The hot days we have had for a while now have really brought on the slower crops so fast. They don't look so late now.
With the heavy spring rains and high winds at the wild fruit blooming season, it has damaged the setting of much of the wild fruit. There are some chokecherries, but they are not like they should be. Saskatoon berries were very scarce and what was out there was poor quality.
