By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Town council has announced plans to appoint a committee to oversee the Davidson cemetery in response to recent concerns over its condition.

Council discussed these plans, as well as more immediate actions to be taken, at its regular meeting at Davidson Town Hall on Tuesday.

A delegation, which included residents Clarke and Debbie Doell and funeral director Todd Lockwood, visited council during the meeting to voice their concerns and offer suggestions.

Distributing photos she took recently at the cemetery, Debbie Doell read a list of her concerns, including reports of heavy loads being hauled through the site and large mounds of clay being left atop of graves.

“We feel that there has been a lack of maintenance and direction, and we would like to address this,” she told council, adding that she wanted to offer constructive advice, and not “to run anybody down.”

Lockwood said that he hears concerns directly from families because of his role as a funeral director.

“I’m out there a lot,” said Lockwood. “I’m feeling the heat from families that want something to take place . . . We’re the last people they see out there.”

Mayor Clayton Schneider expressed his thanks to the delegation for coming and explained plans to form a committee that would include representatives from town council and public works, as well as Lockwood and possibly additional members.

The proposed committee would meet four times a year at the start and, as present issues are dealt with, could scale back to a couple of meetings annually.

Schneider said council wants to move forward and address these concerns, saying, “If we just work together, we can get some problems solved.”

His thoughts were echoed by other council members, including Coun. Tyler Alexander, who said the need for work was evident in several areas.

“I think we have the staff to do it,” he said. “We just need to get everybody on the same page.”

Doell said the mounds of clay are “impossible to work with,” even for families who take on the task of maintaining their own plots.

Lockwood said the preferred practice is to level a gravesite with existing earth once a casket has been laid, then to top it up with around six inches of topsoil.

“It’s a learning curve,” he said of the process of digging and filling in graves. “It’s not a problem, it’s just something that needs to be worked with.”

Council was also asked about the cemetery fund, to which donations can be made in memory of the deceased, but Edom said it has essentially run dry.

“There’s virtually nothing in it,” he said, noting that only around $450 was donated last year, and that the fund was drained last year as the town dealt with excess moisture.

Edom said another factor behind the delay is that the town equipment can’t move some of the larger gravestones.

He said that Remco, which manufactures the stones, will move them as needed, but won’t deal directly with municipalities, instead working through funeral directors.

Lockwood said he was willing to offer his help to the committee. He also suggested that the town consider increasing its cemetery fee, which currently stands at $100, compared to city cemeteries that charge between $1,500 and $2,000 and require the use of burial vaults.

After the delegation had left, Schneider identified several key goals, such as immediately dealing with the Russell family plot, which has been in a state of disarray for more than a year.

Speaking later to public works foreman Doug Torrie, who also attended as a delegation, Schneider said the town needs to find a good source of topsoil, as well as a location to store it, and then using the soil to top up graves.

He also directed the staff to remove the existing mounds from gravesites, and noted that council would look at updating the town’s cemetery fees and bylaws.

Torrie said his staff was instructed as of Tuesday to stop driving heavy loads through the site.

Debbie Doell said Thursday that she appreciated council members taking the time to listen to her concerns and that she felt hopeful about their response.

“I felt it was very positive,” she said. “I felt that they did hear what we were stating, and they made constructive suggestions.”

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Just as they pledged, Davidson School’s class of 2015 has already made history, as the smallest graduating class the school has seen in almost 60 years.

The class — with a total of seven students, all girls — held its graduation exercises in the school gymnasium on Saturday, May 16, before a packed house of friends, family, teachers and classmates.

But as guest speaker Karen McConnell said during the ceremony, “You ladies have left a mark far larger than the number of you.”

Expressing disbelief that the seven students, once awkward Grade 7 students struggling with their lockers, were now finished at Davidson School and on their way to adulthood, McConnell shared memories of her time teaching and coaching the girls, and left them with some sincere advice.

“You have one life, don’t play it safe,” she said. “What does your gut tell you? Follow your gut, it’s smarter than your head most of the time.”

Principal Jason Low also addressed the students, offering 10 pieces of advice he had learned over the years, and thanking those in the audience for taking the time to attend despite the busyness of the season.

“I know that seeding time is precious in our unpredictable part of the world and is crucial in ensuring a bountiful harvest,” he said. “As we sit here tonight, I think we are celebrating the greatest harvest you will ever have.”

Teacher Karielle Willner served as master of ceremonies for the 90-minute program, while Paulette Killoh led the processional, introducing each student as they entered and accepted their diplomas from vice-principal Cathy Rettger and Sun West School Division trustee John Collins.

As noted by Killoh, the class of 2015 was the smallest class Davidson School has had since 1957, when six students graduated.

Following the singing of “O Canada,” graduate Brooklyn Read introduced McConnell as the guest speaker. Her speech was followed by the principal’s remarks.

Awards and scholarships were presented by Davidson School Community Council chair Marcia McIvor, treasurer Denise Brecht and other community members.

Katelyn Riecken represented her class to pass the school colours to Grade 11 student Ben Nykiforuk, carrying on a decades-long tradition.

Elise McJannet, selected as the class valedictorian, reflected on the students’ time together. Six of the girls had been together since Kindergarten, while Paige Travers from Loreburn joined them in Grade 11.

“We are more like family than just classmates,” said McJannet, expressing her classmates’ mixed feelings on graduating. “We are anxious to explore new things, yet we are hesitant.”

She also recognized that the 13 years they spent together had presented their challenges, noting, “It’s had its share of bumps and ruts, but we’ve always been there to pick each other up and move forward.”

Referring to the class theme — “We’ll Make H15tory” — McJannet said it didn’t necessarily mean being recognized by the world, but rather being known “by the people we care about.”

Brooklyn Read and Liana Farrell provided a look into the future with their predictions for their classmates and themselves. A slideshow of old photos set to music, put together by Quinlyn Johnson and Elise McJannet, was well received by the audience.

Johnson and Travers offered acknowledgements towards the end of the ceremony, followed by the recessional and grand march, and finally a social.

The ceremony followed a banquet at Davidson Town Hall, emceed by Blair Frederickson, featuring toasts to both the parents and the grads, and the presentation of academic awards by vice-principal Cathy Rettger and other school staff.

For the complete story, including the list of awards presented, please pick up a copy of the May 25 edition of The Davidson Leader.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — They may have looked a little different on the surface, but underneath the grey hair and wrinkles, it was the same old class of 1965.

Shirley Blenkin, one of the organizers for the group’s 50-year reunion on Saturday, May 16, said that when the former classmates met up at Davidson School, they had some trouble recognizing each other.

“We didn’t have name tags on” yet, she said. “People just didn’t know who was who.”

“It was fun to try and figure people out,” said Marilyn Resler (nee Sarich). “There was just so many you couldn’t recognize . . . and then there was that big ‘ah-ha.’”

After the ice was broken, the group enjoyed an afternoon of reminiscing and getting reacquainted for their first reunion in three decades. Blenkin and Irene Frier organized the gathering over the course of a year.

Out of the class of 55 students who graduated from Davidson High School in the spring of 1965, 27 returned to town for the reunion. Including spouses and guests, about 40 were in attendance for supper.

The group met on Saturday afternoon at the school for a tour, guided by current principal Jason Low. They then migrated to the Davidson Golf and Country Club for dinner, enjoying a meal at the clubhouse.

Though they had the option of playing golf, Blenkin said, “they just all got busy visiting and never even thought about it anymore.”

Copies of the group’s black-and-white graduation photo were on display, while some had also brought their yearbooks, leaving them on the tables to solicit signatures.

Their Grade 5 teacher, Yvonne Doell, joined the class for supper. Blenkin said they also learned Saturday that their former principal, Ray Allison, died Friday night in Saskatoon.

Allison, a native of Aylesbury, served for 14 years as principal in Evasham, Creelman, Lucky Lake and Davidson, before joining the Biggar School Unit as superintendent of schools in 1965, according to his obituary in the StarPhoenix.

After half a century, Blenkin said most of her former classmates are scattered across Canada and the United States, while eight still reside in the district.

Some came from Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Melfort, but others further away had to send their regrets.

“It gets difficult to come that distance for supper and a little visit,” she said, adding that others were out seeding and couldn’t get away. “It’s hard to plan a time that suits everyone.”

Marilyn Resler and her husband Fred came the furthest, travelling 1,300 kilometres one way from Peachland, B.C., south of Kelowna.

“Things have changed since I’ve been here,” she said of the town, adding that they made the trip out to visit family in Saskatoon and Humboldt and were able to attend the reunion as a bonus.

Resler said she was having fun and enjoyed coming back to Davidson, adding, “It’s sort of like ‘once a friend, always a friend.’”

In recognition of the class of 2015 — which had its graduation exercises the same night as the reunion — the former classmates bought and signed cards of congratulation for each graduate.

John B. McJannet, one of the ’65 graduates, is the grandfather of ’15 grad Elise McJannet, while Jim Stone is the great-uncle of Liana Farrell.

Seven members of the class of 1965 have since died: Maureen Brown (nee Cammer), Ian Findlay, Dale Frier, Julius LePoudre, Laurie Lockwood, Wayne Low and Gerald Zdunich.

The class also met for reunions in 1975 and 1985; Blenkin recalled that the 10-year reunion drew the largest crowd.