The Rural Municipality of Old Post No. 43 celebrated Canada 150 along with its 50th anniversary on July 29. The event was held at the Outpost in Wood Mountain Regional Park where a large-sized crowd was in attendance for the steak fondue. Glen Peutert, reeve of the RM, recounted the history of the rural municipality. He acknowledged the many reeves and councillors who served the RM over the past five decades. Peutert pointed out that there was a display of the lists of reeves and councillors, maps of how the RM developed to the present, and he threw in some interesting local trivia. For example, Edmund Feser, John Rotariu and Billy Ogle were hired as the first grader operators for the RM back in 1967. A family-friendly magic show and comedy act performed by twin brothers followed the supper.
The Rural Municipality of Old Post was incorporated on January 1, 1967. Since the 1920s the area exploded in population and agriculture production developed with the coming of the railway and other infrastructure like roads and telephone lines. By 1967, the year of Canada’s Centennial, the RM had six divisions with 33 townships and spanned about 87 km along the U.S. border.
Today, the RM is smaller and the population has dropped due to changing agricultural practices and the closure of some infrastructure. It has 18 townships and spans 38.6 km along the U.S. border. The RM’s population now numbers 394, dropping 17.1 per cent from 2001. Old Post encompasses 1,757 km² of hills and grasslands. The main occupation in the region is farming and ranching. The municipality today includes the communities of the village of Wood Mountain, and the hamlets of Canopus, Elm Springs, Killdeer, Lonesome Butte, Macworth, Quantock, Strathallen, West Poplar and Willowvale.
The RM has also undergone some reorganization since its incorporation 50 years ago. After 18 years in 1985 Division 4, which had nine townships, was transferred to the RM of Mankota No.45. In 1993 Division 3, which was comprised of six townships, was transferred to the RM of Waverly No. 44. The same year Division 6 was renamed Division 4, and Division 5 was renamed Division 3. In 1991 Canada Post closed the post office in Wood Mountain, but the RM entered into an agreement with Canada Post and continues to operate the mail service.
There have been seven reeves, 58 councillors and 10 administrators over the past 50 years. One of the longest-serving reeves was Carl Anderson. He was the RM’s first reeve and served for 17 years. To acknowledge the dedication of all these individuals, the RM has created a commemorative plaque listing all of the reeves and council members and the years that they served within the individual divisions. The plaque was on display at the celebration in Wood Mountain together with maps showing how the RM has changed boundaries over the years. After the event, it was hung in the Municipal Office.
The rural municipality, in conjunction with the provincial government, is in charge of maintaining highways in its area, and it provides policing, fire protection and municipal governance for the rural district, with a reeve as its administrator.
