Craik, Obituary

Luther, Ashley

Ashley Shandrel Luther

April 15, 1988 – March 1, 2019

Ashley was born in Regina on April 15, 1988 on her father Cliff’s 33rd birthday “the best gift ever.”

Ashley enjoyed her childhood growing up with her three brothers on Stillwater Farm near Aylesbury, Sask. She loved animals especially her kittens. There was rarely a photo taken without a kitty in her arms. Ashley loved spending time with her great-uncles Ken and Robert Leslie and her grandparents Myrna and Martin Luther at Riskan Hope Farm and also her grandparents Reg and Alice in Moose Jaw. She attended Craik School for her elementary years, growing up in such a loving community was truly a blessing that made Ashley the caring person that she was. She continued her education at Luther College High School where she enjoyed drama, cheerleading and was an accomplished swimmer, lifeguarding and instructing at Craik Regional Park in the summer. Ashley moved to Vancouver where she became a flight attendant for Sunwing travelling to many exotic destinations while also waitressing at Lucy’s Diner. There she met the love of her life Felix Heide from Germany. Ashley’s time at the ‘50s style diner sparked her interest in pinup modeling and she adopted her pinup name Elly Mayday inspired by a combination of the Beverly Hillbillies T.V. character Elly May Clampett and a nod to her aviation career.

At age 25 Ashley was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Rather than let this news dull her light, she decided it was her time to shine. Ashley was a pioneer modeling with her scars. It was the raw unflinching honesty of these photos that sent them racing virally around the world. Ashley was suddenly thrust into the limelight as an international role model setting the gold standard for body positivity, inspiring women of all ages to love themselves just the way they are. Ashley’s professional modeling career took off and she was signed in NYC, Miami and London U.K. landing the biggest contract of her career with Lane Bryant. Her photos appeared in Times Square, on buses, subways and billboards across the country. Ashley continued to raise awareness. She travelled to Australia and worked with ovarian cancer research and Women’s Weekly and the Ladyballs campaign. She had numerous modeling and speaking engagements across Canada. She received the Virginia Greene achievement award in 2017 honouring her life’s work.

Ashley leaves to celebrate her life and continue her legacy, her parents Deb and Cliff; brothers Dallas (Audrey), Dustin and Clinton; Felix Heide and family in Germany; grandmother Alice; numerous aunts and uncles and cousins. The family would like you to join them in a celebration of Ashley’s life at Aylesbury Hall on Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m.

Davidson

New SGI Requirements could put small collision Repair shops out of businesses

Leland Millham uses a diagnostic scanner on a pickup truck that’s being repaired at Legend Autobody in Davidson. Legend Autobody and other small collision repair shops are worried about the sustainability of their enterprises once changes SGI is making to the accredited repairer program take effect April 2020.

DAVIDSON—Small, mom and pop collision repair shops fear that new requirements for autobody shops to keep their SGI (Saskatchewan Government Insurance) accreditation will force them out of business.

SGI recently announced that it intends to introduce new equipment and training requirements that autobody repair shops must meet in order to retain their SGI accreditation.

SGI says the changes are needed due to how new vehicles are made. New vehicles have significant advancements in vehicle construction and driver safety technologies that require new tools, equipment and training to ensure the vehicles are repaired safely to the manufacturer’s standards.

SGI collision repair work is the main source of revenue for autobody shops.

“I feel this is going to close down a lot of smaller shops. I don’t know who is going to be left after this sweep,” Barry Millham said last Wednesday.

To read the full story, you’ll need to subscribe. Phone 306-567-2047, email davidsonleader@sasktel.net or click the Subscribe button.

Kenaston, Obituary

Hamre, Ronald

It is with deep sorrow that the family of Ronald Hamre, age 92, announces his passing on Friday, March 29, 2019 at the Meadows, Swift Current, SK. Ronald Clare Hamre was born on December 28, 1926 in Hanley, SK — the third son of Tandrup & Marie Hamre. Ron married Wynona Adams on August 4, 1949 and they lived in Kenaston, SK and Swift Current. Ron spent much of his early working career working in his parent’s Red and White Store in Kenaston. Ron held a Journeyman Electrician Certificate and was involved with rural electrification around Kenaston. He also operated a TV and radio repair business. Ron was very involved in the community, serving on the Kenaston School Board for many years, and for nine years on the Davidson School Unit board — two of those as the Chair. Ron was a Boy Scout Leader for many years and was proud to help several young men become Queen Scouts. He was a Mason and member of the Order of the Eastern Star, and was a past Master of both. In 1969, Ron went to University and he was awarded a Bachelor of Education with Distinction in 1975. He and the family moved to Swift Current in 1971 and Ron taught Electronics, Electricity, Machine Shop, and Math at the Swift Current Comprehensive High School. He also established a Photography Club and a Ham Radio Club at the high school. Ron retired from teaching in 1990 and was able to spend more time pursuing his hobbies — Big Band music, amateur radio, camping, photography, gardening, stained glass, and model boat building. Special thanks to the caregivers at the Meadows for many years of excellent care provided to Ron. Ronald was predeceased by his parents, Tandrup & Marie Hamre; his brother and sister-in-law, Glenn and Dorothy Hamre; his sister-in-law, Muriel Hamre; and by his brother-in-law, Jim Adams. Ron will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 69 years, Wynona Hamre (nee Adams); his children, Kathryn (Evanna Simpson) Hamre (Regina, SK), Nancy Kirk (Climax, SK), Lyle (Chris) Hamre (Fredericton, NB), and Alynne Hamre (Swift Current, SK); his grandchildren, Blair (Stacy) Wasmann, Jori (Emma) Kirk, Logan (Kayla) Kirk, Rhett Kirk, Kate Hamre, and Spencer Hamre; his great-grandchildren, Elizabeth and Aidan Wasmann, and Jaxon and Cooper Kirk; his brothers, Vance Hamre and Keith (Ethel) Hamre; and by many nieces and nephews. The Funeral Service for Ronald Hamre was held on Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at 2:00 pm from the Swift Current Funeral Home Chapel, Swift Current, SK with Rev. Eleanor Rockabar officiating. “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” was sung by the congregation, with Mary Henderson serving as song leader and pianist. The eulogy was given by Jori Kirk. Ronald’s grandchildren, Blair Wasmann, Jori Kirk, Logan Kirk, Rhett Kirk, Kate Hamre, and Spencer Hamre served as Honorary Pallbearers. A Private Interment Service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers and in memory of Ronald Hamre, donations made to the Alzheimer’s Society and the Meadows Auxiliary would be appreciated by the family. Funeral arrangements were in care of Swift Current Funeral Home, Swift Current, SK. For further information, or to leave a personal message of condolence on the family’s obituary page, please go to swiftcurrentfuneralhome.com

Davidson

April Fool’s prank inspired by Dundurn’s Wilson museum

Meet one of the newest editions to the herd at Read Farms. This cute little guy served as th emodel for our three-headed calf that was the star of our April Fool’s Day prank.

DAVIDSON—To quote Gordon Willner’s daughter Jessica Foster’s comment about the three-headed calf story: “No three-headed calves were harmed in this joke”.

A practical joke or an April Fool’s day prank isn’t born overnight. It takes a bit of thought and planning to pull it off.

In the case of the three-headed calf story that appeared on the front page of the April 1 edition of The Davidson Leader, this three-headed calf was born 20 years ago.

In 1999 I visited the Wilson Museum in Dundurn, where a stuffed two-headed calf that had been born in the area was on display. I found it fascinating and a freaky thing to look at.

The year before, I worked at a newspaper in Cold Lake, Alta. April 1, 1998 happened to occur on our publication day, so we played a joke that our offices had been flooded by spring runoff. Thanks to the magic of Photoshop, we created convincing images of water that was a metre deep threatening the computers. We even had coffee cups and rubber ducks bobbing in the floodwater. We included a story about how we persevered through this natural disaster to bring people the April 1, 1998 edition of their paper.

Despite the fact our offices were located on higher ground and the land around was bone dry, people fell for it, hook, line and sinker.

After seeing that two-headed calf in Dundurn, I decided if I ever got another chance I would do an April Fool’s Day joke using a three-headed calf.

The first opportunity was April 1, 2002, however, I didn’t own The Davidson Leader at the time and I was on a maternity leave with my first child.

The next time that April Fool’s Day was on a Monday, which is our publication day, was April 1, 2013. I started to make a plan, and then realized April Fool’s Day was also Easter Monday and we would be unable to distribute the paper until April 2.

After that, I hadn’t given it much thought until I realized in February of this year that April 1 landed on a Monday.

The calf was born March 24, the day I wrote the story, but the pump of believability was primed, so to speak, with the news that a cow near Leross, Saskatchewan had given birth to quadruplets in late March.

The story was easy to write. After a straightforward start, about a quarter of the way through, the reader was introduced to Dr. April Fool AKA Olaf Lipro. He is a reoccurring character in my April Fool’s Day pranks. Last April Fool’s Day he was a bylaw nuisance officer employed in the Inspections and Investigations Department of the City of Saskatoon. On April 1 last year, my husband received a letter from Inspector Lipro requiring him to obtain a backyard skating rink permit due to complaints that his skating rink was deemed an eyesore and failed to comply with City’s backyard rink regulations. The aftermath of that letter was fun to watch….he even filled out the City’s online forms to obtain a building permit so he could bring his rink into compliance.

…Back to the three-headed calf, the pug/Rottweiler pups was the second clue that something about this story was a bit fishy as was the detail the young vet had to consult his textbook while performing his first C-section on the cow.

After doing a bit of research on the website wikiHow regarding how to perform a C-section on a cow, the story took off from there.

I saved the reference to the fictional Newt Scamander for last, hoping it would tip off many readers to the fact it was a joke.

I let my children read a draft of the story. They immediately wanted to come out to the Willner Farm to see it, even my16-year-old daughter believed it. This was a bit disappointing because we had watched the Newt Scamander character in the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them a few days before.

The story needed to be more preposterous, so I added the bit about using straws from Tim Hortons and Twisted Sisters to suck out amniotic fluid. We double-checked on Friday prior to publication that Twisted Sisters was still closed for the season. Imagine my dismay on Monday when I saw on social media that the Chamberlain eatery had opened for the season April 1.

The key to the story was the fantastic Photoshop skills of Leanne Read, who had taken a picture of the calf that was born on her and Troy’s family farm. She even fooled her mother in-law. But we couldn’t have pulled it off without the consent of a well-respected farmer. Thank you Gord Willner.

So folks, now you know the rest of the story…

To all the people who believed there was indeed a three-headed calf born, I hope you are able to chuckle about it and not be too sore about being fooled.

It happens to me every April Fool’s Day too, just ask my husband who’s burned me quite a few times.

Readers are safe from these hijinks for the foreseeable future.

The next time April 1 lands on a Monday is in 2024, but this is also an Easter Monday.

Rest assured that you may continue to trust The Davidson Leader as a reliable source of local news. We appreciate your support. As a point of interest…this spring, local shed hunters have been finding spiral shaped horns northeast of Davidson and Kenaston. This coincides with reports of sightings in the Allan Hills east of Hanley of a wild horse with a horn protruding from its head…you may read more about it on April 1, 2030.

Davidson

April 1, 2019 edition

Lots to read this week including: Craik Skating Carnival, Music Festival, Peewee Huskies provincials, Raiders Hoopla, and much more.

To read the full paper, you’ll need to subscribe. Phone 306-567-2047, email davidsonleader@sasktel.net or click the Subscribe button.

The Davidson Leader is available at these fine retailers: Davidson – Stedmans, Shell, Riverbend Co-op Gas Bar and Food Store, The Davidson Leader; Kenaston: KC Distributors; Craik – Biway Groceries.

The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan