Vol. 104 No. 32
THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013
Box 40, 102 3rd Ave West, Biggar, Saskatchewan S0K 0M0
email: tip@sasktel.net
20 pages
Phone: 306-948-3344
www.biggarindependent.ca
Ruthilda Centennial Celebration T
he tiny village of Ruthilda with nine permanent residents saw an astounding amount of over 500 people for their weekend centennial celebration. Attendees were mainly from Saskatchewan and Alberta, but others ventured from Sydney and Langley British Columbia, Winnipeg, California and England. Breakfast Saturday served 250 and the catered supper Saturday sold 350 plates. Others came for the parade, afternoon activities and the dance. The weekend started off with registration on Friday, and a short welcome program. Special guests of “Ruth” and “Hilda”, from whom the name of Ruthilda was obtained, told a short history of the town and businesses to get us started. These characters were played by Jolene Richards and Amber (McLeod) Roth whose great grandparents settled in the area. Then a wiener roast meal followed. After this, we were entertained by Bonnie Logan, family story teller and musician. She told stories of growing up in Ruthilda area and strummed some tunes on the banjo. The Ruthilda Squares square dancing group, danced away for us until the fireworks at 11. At the same time, there was a Raiders Ball Reunion of past and present ball players and the weekend ball tournament
Centennial murals . . . Centennial murals on display on the former garage of Main Street Ruthilda during the centennial weekend were painted by Kathy Richards. Gerald McLeod and John Waddington, former residents began with the first ball game outside after supper. Saturday began with a pancake breakfast, and then even though a rain slowed us down, the parade of many tractors, cars, trucks, bikes, ATVs went on as scheduled. The RCMP and flag bearers began the parade and the mayor, Jerry Gilles driving the firetruck followed the last entry. Floats included Ruthilda Post Office,
Springwater, and Clemence Field with Kelly Block, MP also having a float. The rain slowed up the ball tournament, but things got started near 11 p.m. There was a fastball game as part of the day too which entertained a great crowd. There were seven mixed orthodox ball teams in the tournament with all ages involved: S h i p m a n s, R i c h a r d s, Simpsons, Nakonechnys,
I’ll take some of those . . . It was a busy day Tuesday at the weekly Farmers Market, which is a great place to pickup some fresh items. This table has some delicious carrots and lettuce. If you like fresh baking those items can be found there as well. (Independent photo by Daryl Hasein)
are posing in front. The pictures depict the town features of the railway, elevators, church and water tower. (Submitted photo)
Peters, Springwater and Jirickas. The beer gardens were organized by Ruthilda Elks group and the Stranraer Elks helped out with the dance. The booth had many volunteers working throughout the long day serving over 500 burgers, pies, and other treats. The afternoon activities included bingo, and children’s activities, such as The Balloon Man, face painting by Crystal Craig, fish pond by the Waddington family, balloon shaving, cotton candy and a “Bouncy Castle”. Thank you also to the young girls who helped with the kids activities. There was Fick’s Petting Zoo throughout the day, with over 30 animals, with emu and baby chicks a highlight. In the large outdoor tent, there were was also a craft fair with several tables of vendors selling their wares. Thank you all for coming. People also could participate in walking tours of the town and cemeteries, which were provided in their registration bag. Their bag also included souvenir pictures, magnets, pens, etc. Souvenirs were on sale all weekend which
$1.25
include T-shirts, golf shirts, bunnyhugs, historical calendars, history books and caps all with our Centennial logo on them, designed by Kathy Richards. These items are still available for sale. Contact a committee member if you would still like one of the above. There are various historical markers throughout town to present the village history. Thank you to the researchers and organizers. A pictorial history was also set up as a slide show in the hall during the morning (because of the rain) and again while we lined up for our supper. Thanks Larry Brown, Fred Bierness and crew. Special murals, painted by Kathy Richards, are mounted on the former garage of Main Street. These pictures depict the town features of the railway, elevators, church and water tower. A highlight of the afternoon was the Quilt Show held in Ruthilda’s historical United Church. The church was full of quilts, including one made by Joy Hinchcliff at age 83, several made by Gertie Brown for her children many years previous. There were
quilts from Laura Ewson, Carol Schmold, Janine Shipman, Jolene Richards, and Amber Roth- of the Plenty Piecemakers Quilt group. Some quilts were new and some older, like one made in the 30’s for the hired man, or one made in 1979 by Donalda Aylward. There was also a painting display of young artists of the area and other crafted items. A special surprise was Hazel Mcleod’s spinning demonstration that she willingly gave us. Thank you to Carol and Laura who hosted this event. Also, thanks to the Quilt Group for making and donating several aprons which were raffled off as door prizes. The supper Saturday was catered by Lee’s catering of Oyen and “Touch of Grey” from Biggar played for our Saturday dance. There was a silent auction ongoing all weekend, with many donations from surrounding businesses and individuals of over 30 items. Thank you all both donators and buyers! Also in the hall were historical displays of the town, the Ruthida Elks and Royal Purple, and also Ruthilda ball. There was a raffle of 2005 Ruthilda hats and aprons. After the excellent supper meal, Bonnie Logan entertained us again. We were also given another awesome fireworks display at 11. Things began again Sunday with a muffin and coffee breakfast, and then a church service, organized by Carmel Waddington with special guest speakers, Alan Porter and Randall Nelson who told of their memories of Ruthilda. We also had the pleasure of listening to Angela Sloman sing a couple pieces, accompanied by Keith Young on the keyboard. We wrapped up the weekend with a brunch in the hall and final farewells. The Centennial Celebration was enjoyed by all, with many positive comments made by those packing up and leaving our community. On behalf of the entire Centennial Committee and executive Dianne Sloman, Kathy Richards, and Janine Shipman we would like to give a big thank you to all who helped support our centennial by your sponsorship, volunteering and attendance. A very successful weekend celebration!