It was a fun-filled weekend for the employees of SaskPower's Boundary Dam Power Station and their families as the Crown corporation celebrated BD's 50th year of pumping out power from the same site.
SaskPower's acting president Garner Mitchell, made the trip to Estevan to spend some time with the 300 or more employees who were enjoying the family gathering on the front lawn and within the plant.
A Friday celebration for employees and families only was enjoyed by most of the SaskPower group and plant manager Mike Zeleny reported that over 250 people attended the Friday evening social and dance which also included entertainment.
Tours of the plant on Saturday attracted a lot of "kids and grandkids as well as several hundred people from the general public," said Zeleny who had joined Mitchell for a plant tour, even though both are very familiar with the inner workings of this particular power generating giant.
Former employees who had either transferred from Estevan or had retired, also found their way back to Boundary on Saturday as did current employees who enjoyed spending some time with spouses, friends and children with outdoor activities and interactive games on the lawn while others took in the plant tours.
A couple of tables of memorabilia, dating back to the opening of the first power unit at Boundary Dam in 1960, were available for viewing in the canteen. They brought back good memories for many who recalled working either on the first two units, or subsequent units that were installed in the 1970s. BD now has six units, combining for about 825 megawatts of electrical power production today.
"There were a lot of things going on around Estevan this weekend, so the people must have spread themselves around very well because we've had a bigger than expected turnout for our events and I hear the other places are reporting good attendance too," said Zeleny, commenting on the fact that Estevan was also playing host to a major cultural festival and a Relay for Life event at the same time.
Mitchell said the anniversary party was a good opportunity for former employees to check in once again to see what changes had been made over the years and to swap stories. He said he enjoyed the opportunity since he had been a construction manager and operator at the plant at one point in his career.
