Category Archives: Elbow

Elbow, featured

Elbow draws together for Culture Days

Strongfield’s Sarah Leikam performs a traditional Ukrainian dance at the Elbow arena during the village’s Culture Days weekend on Sept. 30.

By Joel van der Veen

ELBOW — Since last weekend’s Culture Days events in Elbow, two people have agreed to join the Line 19 choir and three more have signed up to learn pickleball.

Not only that, but local musicians, inspired by the camaraderie of the Friday-night singalong, are planning to host monthly jam sessions.

By that measure, Culture Days was a great success, and one that continues to grow.

“This started as a dream,” said organizer Anne Wilson. “It’s just been wonderful. I can hardly talk about it, it chokes me up.”

Elbow was the site of three days of Culture Days events, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, drawing upwards of 700 people.

The family-friendly weekend is hosted by the Elbow and District Museum and organized by a local committee, with support from various people, organizations and businesses.

Culture Days events are held the same weekend across Saskatchewan and the rest of the country.

“It’s just an opportunity for people all across Canada to get together and celebrate culture,” Wilson said.

Wilson explained that the museum board applied for funding from SaskCulture and Saskatchewan Lotteries the preceding fall to host this year’s events, which are presented free of charge.

As organizer, Wilson said her vision this year was a celebration of Canada on its 150th birthday, with a focus on music.

“Culture isn’t just your roots, it’s a feeling created by like-minded individuals,” explained Wilson. “We’ve got a wonderful community . . . We’re situated in an amazing place with lots to do.”

As such, the events were planned with participation in mind, allowing attendees to play an active role.

Wilson worked with an organizing committee, who in turn enlisted volunteers from throughout the area, including Loreburn, Strongfield, Mistusinne, Central Butte, Hanley and Davidson. Continue reading Elbow draws together for Culture Days →

Elbow, Obituary

Obituary: O’Brien, Patrick

O’Brien, Patrick
March 19, 1930 — Sept. 27, 2017

Pat passed away peacefully in Moose Jaw with his family by his side.

Pat was born at Elbow on the family farm in the Harley District. He lived there his entire life, farming and raising cattle. He loved his animals, family and friends. He enjoyed playing cards with everyone.

Pat was predeceased by his parents, Lanora and Charles O’Brien; one brother Thomas; and one sister Ivy; two brothers-in-law Fred and Les Stevens; and one sister-in-law Florence.

He is survived by his sister Kay (Eric) of Maple Creek and his brother Donald (Sandra) of Elbow. Also, many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews.

A private family interment will take place at a later date.

He will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Donald, Sandra and all family members.

Elbow, featured

Sun sets on a tragic summer on Lake Diefenbaker

By Joel van der Veen

ELBOW — Peace pervades Lake Diefenbaker on a late September evening.

Few are out on the water, though a sharp eye can spot the odd boat far in the distance.

A lone paddleboarder makes his way across the horizon. From this vantage point, he is just a silhouette on the brilliant light painting that fills the sky — wispy, orange-tinted clouds against a pale blue backdrop.

The lake is calm and serene, almost deceptively so.

A sudden storm can catch boaters by surprise, and sometimes with fatal consequences.

The sun has set on another summer on Lake Diefenbaker — the deadliest one in recent memory.

Between late July and early September, four people drowned on the lake in three separate incidents.

Of those people, two lived in Loreburn and one was a Saskatoon resident. The fourth was an adult male whose place of residence was not made public.

Only one of the deceased — Ken Houben, 61, of Loreburn — was identified publicly.

After years without a drowning on the lake, local officials say this year’s death toll took them and other residents by surprise.

“We’ve never experienced a summer like this,” said Elbow mayor Rob Hundeby, a lifelong resident of the village. “Obviously, the (village) grieves with them . . . It’s a devastating loss.”

Cpl. Doug Gardiner, commanding officer for the Elbow RCMP detachment, acknowledged that the year had been “extremely unusual.”

Gardiner said he has worked in the region for five-and-a-half years. During that time, he said, there had been no drownings reported on the lake until this summer.

The corporal said he could not comment on the individual incidents as they remained under investigation.

Continue reading Sun sets on a tragic summer on Lake Diefenbaker →

Elbow, featured

Horsing around at Gallery 148

Checking out the restored rocking horse are Lois Kurp, from Victoria, B.C., and Sarah Hicks from Outlook.

By Joel van der Veen

ELBOW — This summer’s art show at Gallery 148 has drawn more than the usual number of neigh-sayers.

In this case, though, it comes with the territory.

The gallery on Saskatchewan Street is featuring a month-long show under the name “Horse Power,” featuring contributions from 10 artists.

Gallery owner Linda Kennedy said the name was suggested by contributor Dale Hicks from Outlook, following last year’s show on “The Art of Combines.”

“We just liked the name,” she said. “It’s such a catchy (phrase), it conjures up such interesting ideas.”

The show opening was held the evening of July 21, with several artists and many guests in attendance.

Refreshments were served and guests were also treated to a musical performance by “Just for Fun,” a vocal group accompanied by Dawn McTavish on keyboard.

Gallery 148 currently features the contributions of 29 artists. The “Horse Power” show will continue until Aug. 21, while the gallery is open till Thanksgiving.

For the full story, please see the Aug. 14 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

 

Elbow, featured, Loreburn

Party marks 50 years since Gardiner Dam’s grand opening

Pictured are the five control towers atop the Gardiner Dam.

By Joel van der Veen

GARDINER DAM — Roger Baldwin remembers his first day on the job.

Hired in 1962 by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA), his first assignment was at the Gardiner Dam, as an inspector for the shafts and tunnels then under construction.

The day he arrived, his supervisor, Dwight Kirton, took him to the top of a shaft 200 feet high.

“Don’t worry,” Kirton told him as they looked down. “It’s the last 12 feet that’ll kill you.”

Baldwin, now 78, was among the former employees who travelled back to the dam on July 14 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its opening.

An estimated 1,000 people were on hand for what was billed as “The Best Dam Party of the Summer.”

The crowd included many former employees of PFRA and the other agencies and contractors who worked on the project.

Dignitaries on hand included Ralph Goodale, the federal minister of public safety, and Scott Moe, the provincial environment minister, both of whom spoke during a brief ceremony.

Also in attendance were the descendants of Saskatchewan’s fourth premier, James Gardiner, for whom the dam was named.

The event was a joint affair organized by SaskPower, SaskWater, the Water Security Agency and the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport.

Joel Perry, Saskatchewan Parks manager for Danielson and Douglas provincial parks, said 1,100 hot dogs were served, along with similar numbers for ice cream.

“We lucked out, except with the wind,” he remarked Friday, “though in Saskatchewan, that means it’s good for no bugs.”

Attractions included face painting and a bouncy castle, along with displays from the Saskatchewan Science Centre and conservation authorities.

The visitor centre was open to the public, and area musician Will Ardell performed on stage following the program.

Serving as emcees were Mike Marsh, president and CEO of SaskPower, and Susan Ross, president of the Water Security Agency.

Marsh said the impact of the dam is widespread, including 100,000 homes powered each year by the Coteau Creek hydroelectric station.

The construction of the Gardiner and Qu’Appelle River dams also resulted in the formation of Lake Diefenbaker, which provides water for municipal and industrial use, as well as irrigating hundreds of farms. The lake has also spawned a massive tourism industry that draws thousands of visitors to the region annually.

For the full story, please see the July 24 edition of The Davidson Leader, or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

Elbow, featured, Sports

Art Knutson, 92, left a legacy beyond the rink

Art Knutson (skip), Ernie “Twink” Vaughan (third), Gerhard “Gay” Knutson (second), and Elmer Knutson (lead) won the Canadian senior men’s curling championship in 1978.

By Joel van der Veen

ELBOW — Their victories put Elbow on the map for a generation of curling fans.

A trio of brothers — Art, Elmer and Gay Knutson — and skip Doug Wankel made headlines in February 1967 when they claimed the provincial men’s curling title with a win over Harold Worth’s rink from Saskatoon.

Though Elbow was then in its boom years — its population had grown from 281 in 1956 to 470 a decade later, thanks to dam construction on the South Saskatchewan River — the Wankel rink was still widely seen as a long shot.

“They were the underdogs,” recalled Ernie Richardson, who skipped his own rink to four Brier wins between 1959 and 1963.

The Tankard win took Art Knutson and his teammates to the Brier, where they competed admirably, ultimately falling short of the national title.

But as friends and family recalled recently, that was merely one accomplishment in a life filled with them.

Art, who died in May at age 92, went from a Saskatchewan farm to the wartime skies over Europe, serving as a Lancaster tailgunner in the final months of the Second World War.

He was an accomplished curler who competed on the provincial and national stage for decades, as well as a dedicated husband and father.

“Anything he did, he excelled at,” said Art’s son Pat, who works for a printing company in Altona, Man.

Richardson, who grew up in Stoughton, said he met Art in the 1960s and felt a connection with the small-town curler. They remained in touch for decades, meeting up for an occasional round of golf.

“He was the kind of guy you couldn’t help but like,” Richardson told the Leader. “He never forgot where he came from.”

For the full story and more photos, please see the July 3 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.