Dear Editor
This is a letter of deep thanks to the kind folks of Saskatchewan. Last July I was touring out west. I was there for two reasons: to teach and perform and to find my roots.
My grandfather was a homesteader. My father was born and raised on the homestead. When my brother, sisters and I were growing up, my grandparents, who by then had moved to Ontario, talked about their adventure filled years out on the prairie. There were pictures, too. Wonderful, evocative pictures of the house my grandfather built, my father and his brothers as little boys, my grandfather and his threshing gang, and vast expanses of land.
Last July I decided to try to find my grandparents' homestead. I had little clue of how to find it, but with the clever help of my friend and guitarist, Sam Sharkawy, who was on tour with me, and with the help of so many generous folks from Saskatchewan, my dream of finding and standing on my grandfather's land came true.
When we arrived at Round Valley, we were warmly welcomed by neighbours Judy and Butch Boskill, who invited us to their table and plied us with tea and home made cookies as they brought out maps, pictures and history books. Meeting the Boskills was thanks to Mervin Bosch at the RM of Round Valley office.
The meeting of Mervin was thanks to Glen and Edna Wasmuth, who graciously offered their help during our stay with them.
Thank you to the Western Development Museum who generously allowed me to photocopy a newspaper article mentioning my grandfather, Avery Ghent, and his home made ferry, "The Maid of the Mist".
Thank you to the many people who helped to make our Saskatoon performances a success: Shelly Loeffler, Shannon Brunner, journalist Ned Powers, the folks at CFCR Radio and CTV Saskatoon, McNally Robinson, and the many warm people who came up from the audience to offer help and advice.
On behalf of my family, I'd like to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for helping us fulfill a life long dream. I'm looking forward to seeing you again this July.
Rita di Ghent
Toronto, Ont.
