DAVIDSON — The community filled the Parish Hall this Remembrance Day to show their appreciation for the sacrifices made by Canada’s war veterans and service members.
Guest speaker, Major Ron Sarich began with a somber tribute to Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent. Speaking with his back to the crowd, he commented on the “cowardice” of the actions taken against the men before asking for a moment of silence.
Sarich shared his belief that when we remember those who served, we must also remember those who helped at home. He wanted to thank the women who worked in the factories, producing munitions and equipment for the war effort. He wanted to thank the service people who provided the troops with training before their deployments. And finally, he wanted to thank all of the farmers who had to stay back and provide food.
“All of these contributions, ” Sarich said, “were necessary. If they didn’t have equipment or food, our troops couldn’t have done anything. Everyone gave and sacrificed so much to support the men and women overseas. We can’t forget them either.”
Ron selected a couple stories that had been shared with him by veterans that had served in prior war efforts. While the first story was meant mainly to entertain, Ron had picked a much more serious tale for his second.
Sarich spoke of a group of men flying a mission over Germany. In this particular instance, the bomb payload became dislodged and fell from its support harness only to wedge itself in the floorboards of the aircraft.
A nervous crew was then forced to return to their base with a live, unsecured bomb firmly reminding them of the gravity of war. Ron never learned why the bomb didn’t go off. He said it could have been a ‘dud,’ or “perhaps the arming cycle didn’t complete.”
“I chose that story because if it could happen to [them], it could have happened to others who weren’t so lucky to have the arming cycle not complete.” The story, he said, “shows how risky those missions were, even before they got under enemy fire.”
After thanking the students for the “wonderful slideshow,” Sarich concluded by presenting Gord McRae, president of the Davidson branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, with a framed picture he had personally taken over 20 years ago.
The picture of a U.S. Navy Sturgeon class boat, taken in April of 1983, surprised Sarich. He took the photo from the belly camera of the CP-140 Aurora, and was shocked to see the shadow of his plane clearly visible in the boat’s wake from 125 feet above the water. “It wasn’t planned, ” Sarich says, “so it came as rather a pleasant surprise to get that picture back.”
McRae thanked the major for speaking and indicated he will have the photo displayed in the Davidson Museum for everyone to view.
McRae and Sarich both expressed their thanks to the Davidson Inter-Church Association, the Sherlock 553 Cadets, and to everyone that came for making the commemoration possible. McRae also thanked the Davidson Co-Op for providing doughnuts and refreshments before closing the day’s service.
Category Archives: featured
Thieves steal trailer
DAVIDSON—People may want to find better ways to secure their trailers now that it appears thieves are hauling them out of town and out of province.
Craik RCMP report that sometime in the early morning hours of Nov. 3, an enclosed trailer was stolen from a residence on Government Road in Davidson.
The trailer was parked in the back alley next to a house. The trailer was fitted with a hitch lock. The suspect(s) cut the hitch lock and drove away with the trailer and its contents.
Police report that similar trailers have been stolen from surrounding areas recently and contents from these trailers have been discovered in central Alberta.
Craik RCMP ask that anyone with information about this crime or other crimes to contact them at 306-734-5200 or to call Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers.
“Looking for Aiktow”
DAVIDSON—“Who lived here before Grandma and Grandpa?”
This was a question Joan Soggie said she asked her parents as a child. She was curious to know the story of those who had lived on the land where her parents farmed near Beechy.
She grew up on the edge of the Matador Ranch so she was always aware of the native prairie.
She also knew of teepee rings and buffalo rub stones. She heard stories, so she had to ask about who had lived there before.
“It always bothered me we didn’t know the history of our own land,” she said.
The answers to her questions go back hundreds even thousands of years. Unsatisfied with the answers to the questions she’d received, which only seemed to cover the area’s recent history of European settlement, Soggie completed a life-long quest by writing a book to answer them.
In her book “Looking for Aiktow; Stories Behind the History of the Elbow of the South Saskatchewan River” Soggie takes the reader on a journey not only back in time but also down the South Saskatchewan, a river that was as vital to the land and its people hundreds of years ago as it is today.
“This is like a memoir to the land,” Soggie said. “It gives validation to this part of the world.”
The story is told chronologically. She uses first-hand, documented accounts wherever possible.
The focus of the book is the Elbow and the South Saskatchewan river and its valley.
Readers get to journey down the uncharted river with Peter Fidler in 1800 as the Hudson’s Bay Company’s man navigates through Cree, Blackfoot and Gros Ventre territory. Other adventurers, traders and explorers follow, as do their accounts and interactions with legendary chiefs such as the great Plains Cree Chief Mistickoos.
Soggie takes great care in documenting the first nations peoples who lived and hunted at the Elbow. She details bison hunts as witnessed by explorers of the day. She includes a story of the Elbow massacre as passed down through oral tradition by its lone survivor.
Soggie married and moved to Elbow in 1964 just as plans for the South Saskatchewan River Project were forging ahead.
To read more, please see the Nov. 17, 2014 edition of The Davidson Leader. To subscribe, phone 306-567-2047
Cyclones gearing up for 2014-2015 season
DAVIDSON—Friday, Davidson Cyclones Senior hockey team kicked off the 2014-2015 season by hosting the Leroy Braves.
The Cyclones enter the season coming off two wins in exhibition play against teams from the Saskatchewan Valley Hockey League. The most recent game was last Saturday when the Cyclones played host to the Beechy Bombers winning 7-5.
The Cyclones managed the win despite being short players.
Coach Jason Shaw said three Cyclones, Cody Danberg, Pat Cey and Kyle Bortis were in Saskatoon for the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The three men were members of the 2004-2005 Saskatoon Contacts team that went 16-4-1 in the Saskatchewan AAA Midget Hockey League enroute to a 4-1 win over Gatineau and a Telus Cup national championship.
The Cyclones didn’t lose any players during the offseason and are welcoming a few new faces. Brett Ward of Saskatoon has joined the squad on defence. Ward most recently played for the U of S Huskies. Garret Ward (no relation to Brett) is new to town and is playing forward for the Huskies.
Davidson’s Allan brothers Colton and Tory are playing together once again. Tory has returned to play hockey in his hometown. Last season Tory was playing for Georgia’s Columbus Cottonmouths in the Southern Professional Hockey League.
Coach Shaw said the goal is to keep the players healthy so as the season wears on, they’ll be able to carry a robust roster into the new year when playoffs roll around.
“If we can keep everybody healthy…it depends how we play in January, February and March,” Shaw said of their shot at another league title.
Behind the Scenes of Remembrance
By Helen Lee
On Nov. 6, Craik School students, teachers and community members paid tribute to the war veterans at their annual Remembrance Day Ceremony.
Students saluted soldiers in various ways including poetry, song, wreath-laying and artwork. The audience was also treated to a touching online video interview presented by senior students with former Lieutenant-Colonel and Commanding Officer of the Canadian Armed Forces Ryan Eyre entitled “What It Means to Remember”.
Student Aiden Sanden presented a cheque on behalf of Craik School to Lance Brown, president of the Craik branch of the Royal Canadian.
Behind the Scenes of Remembrance…
The Davidson Leader had the opportunity to speak with one group of performers to find out what they learned while creating such a heartwarming and memorable performance.
The Grade 3/4/5 class chose to perform a beautiful rendition of “If You’re Reading This” by Tim McGraw. While the group sang, a power-point slide show played in the background that consisted of photos of local war veterans and their headstones at Craik Cemetery.
Behind the scenes of the well-received fanfare of the ceremonies, the students learned some valuable lessons in history while they put their presentation together. The students researched their own family’s history to see if any of their relatives were involved in past wars.
Some students came to learn of grandparents, aunts, uncles and other distant relatives who were indeed directly involved in battle. They learned of family members they had never met, relatives who never made it home… relatives now buried in Europe.
They also learned of the important roles of those who were not able to enlist for various reasons but “kept the home-fires burning” which allowed our soldiers to leave for war, knowing their homes and families would be taken care of while they were away.
Student Parker Ackland said that through his research he realized that his middle name Brakeland (Howarth) honours both his great-great-grandfather and his great-great-great-grandfather. Both men served in the military during the World Wars.
When asked what they enjoyed most about learning their family history, Kelsey Fahlman answered, “I thought it was cool to learn about my Grandpa Fred (Barnett) going to war, it got me more in touch with my family history.”
Aleah Wall learned about “war brides” during the project as she visited with her great-grandma Joyce Mills. She learned about Joyce’s work in factories in England and was able to see a picture of Robert and Joyce Mills’s wedding that took place during Second World War while Robert was stationed in Yorkshire.
Besides the performance being both entertaining and emotional, teacher, Jody Kearns goal “was to have students make personal connections to their ancestors.”
Now that they know the history, they too, can remember… LEST WE FORGET
Kids go to work
By Emily Read
Wednesday November 5th was take your kid to work day. Take your kid to work day is a day where grade 9 students from places around the province get to experience working with a parent, relative, or family friend and learning about the job they do.
I went to The Davidson Leader and worked with my mom. I started the day off by taking pictures of kids in my class in their workplaces. Next, my mom showed me how the newspaper is created and how the ads are placed. I found it pretty interesting to see how the pages start and what they do to make the paper complete in a week. I spent the rest of my morning sorting old newspapers that will be bound into hardcover books, which will be stored in the archives with the rest of the books dating back to 1904.
I talked to a few of my peers to see how their days at work went.
Sarah Allan was working with her aunt Laura Williams as a dietician with the Heartland Health Region at the Davidson Health Centre. They were planning a baby feeding class and learning about swallowing disorders.
Gracie Allan was working with her dad at the farm and helping out around the yard. “It’s not my dream job… at all. My favourite part is my grandma making me food.”
Jacob Schilling was at Napa working as a mechanic with his dad and grandpa. He said his favourite part was working on different kinds of cars.
“I’m working with my dad and Albert, we are pounding posts all day in the barnyard trying to get ready for winter,” said Parker Smith.
Lynzey Sanden was helping teach Grade 2 with her sister-in-law at Silver Spring Elementary School. “My favourite part is the little kids that walk up and ask me silly questions.”
Reegan Taylor was changing tires at Kal Tire with Glen and Murray. He said his favourite part was squeegeeing the windows of vehicles.
Breanna Shaw was working at Home Hardware, moving boxes and stocking shelves. She was just helping out anybody that needed something done. “My favourite part is fluffing all of the Christmas trees.”