The Friends of the St. Victor Petroglyphs were presented with the 2020 Everett Baker Award from the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society (SHFS). 听
The annual award is named after the first president of the SHFS, Everett Baker, an American immigrant who developed a strong interest in the province鈥檚 history. Baker believed in the significance of understanding the past with the goal of obtaining a better future.
He was born in Minnesota in 1893 and arrived in Saskatchewan in 1917, first working as a door-to-door salesman. He later purchased a half-section farm near Aneroid, married Ruth Hellebo and settled on the farm.
Baker soon became involved with burgeoning co-operative movement. He also started working as a field man for the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool in North Battleford in 1937.
Baker started travelling throughout Saskatchewan in 1939, capturing images of the province with his Leica camera. He became the first president of the SHFS, when the organization was created in 1957. 听
Based on the ideal of learning from history to improve the future, the annual award named after Baker recognizes particular efforts made in the province which have the objective of bringing the obscurer aspects of Saskatchewan鈥檚 history to the forefront.
The award also distinguishes individuals, groups or organizations who have gone above and beyond in sustaining and promoting Saskatchewan鈥檚 history.
The Friends of St. Victor Petroglyphs were chosen out of many organizations in the province to win this prestigious award. 听听听听
Hugh Henry, the current president of the SHFS, in the award letter wrote 鈥淭he Friends of St. Victor Petroglyphs have put in an incredible amount of hard work over the years. In addition to advocating for the site, they have fundraised for an array of planning and educational projects. These include commissioning two major planning studies for site projection and interpretation, a significant book that examines the archaeological and ethnographic history and interpretation of the ancient art at this site, numerous guided tours for visitors, newspaper articles and social media education and the development of a small interpretation centre in the hamlet of St. Victor, near St. Victor Petroglyphs Provincial Historic Park.鈥� 听听听
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