National Film Board restores 1919 documentary filmed at Old Wives Lake

Gordon Edgar - Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com

The National Film Board of Canada has digitized and released a 1919 silent black-and-white film titled “A Bird City”, filmed at what is now the Old Wives Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary near Mossbank, SK.

The film is a 5-minute relic of the early motion picture era, shot on 16mm film for the benefit of conservationists, bird watchers, and other enthusiasts.

Thousands of birds fill the skies above the lake, and “A Bird City” also features closeup footage of nesting sites, herds of pelicans, and the life cycles of birds like the Great Blue Heron, terns, gulls, pipers, and more.

At the time, the lake was officially named Johnstone Lake, after Sir Frederick Johnstone, who visited the area to hunt in 1861 with fellow British politician Henry Chaplin. Nearby Chaplin Lake, also an important migratory bird site, has kept Henry Chaplin’s name ever since.

However, local First Nations people, settlers, and other residents never stopped referring to the lake as Old Wives Lake, and in 1953 the government officially restored its traditional name. There are various accounts of how the body of water got that traditional name, but most agree that a group of older Cree women died there de- fending their tribespeople against a Blackfoot war party.

The interconnected lakes of Chaplin, Old Wives, and Reed received a designation of hemispheric importance in 1997 — one of only three such designations in Canada. Part of the Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network, the lakes are recognized as vitally important to many species, including Sanderlings, the Baird’s Sandpiper, and the endangered Piping Plover.

That designation is slightly at odds with the historical treatment of the site. Despite recognizing the area as environmentally significant, including a Migratory Bird Sanctuary established there in 1925, the primary use of the lakes is the mining of sodium sulphate. In World War II, a nearby gunnery air training school used the lake as a range — thousands of Canadian, British, and Australian aviators dropped bombs on floating targets, and the craters remain.

Saskatchewan still lacks a wetlands protection policy, and the area continues to suffer from agricultural and industrial encroachment. The Nature Conservancy of Canada recently purchased land on the shore of Chaplin Lake to help protect the area, noting that since 1970, bird species dependent on native grasslands have declined by up to 87 per cent.

“A Bird City” is an interesting watch and a reminder of the importance of being curious about, interested in, and protective of the natural wonders of the prairies.

Vanier, Cornerstone win awards at provincial drama competition

Drama students from Vanier Collegiate and Cornerstone Christian School entertained audiences with their respective performances of “Radium Girls” during this year’s provincials and took home several team and individual awards.

The Saskatchewan Drama Association’s provincial festival occurred May 4 to 6 at the University of Regina, with 12 Saskatchewan high school drama troupes performing.

Vanier won the best overall technical production and was runner-up for best visual production — two major awards. Students also won nine individual awards.

Cornerstone placed second provincially after being named runner-up for best overall production. Students also won eight individual awards.

Cornerstone Christian School

It was “pretty good” and exciting to place second provincially while the students did well and performed “their hearts out,” said director Tanya Johnson.

The judges thought the performance was strong, with the backstage judge loving the set and technical elements and the front-end judge appreciating the acting since it was a tough play for young people to perform, she con- tinued.

Both judges were present during last year’s provincials, so they commended the students’ courage for choosing a different type of play and lauded their work to improve themselves.

“So it was very, very rewarding to hear that from them,” said Johnson. “(Frankly), I really don’t know how they could have performed better. Every time we’ve performed the show in front of an audience, they’ve done so well.”

Esterhazy placed first overall this year, while it was second last year. Johnson noted that that school and Cornerstone cheered for each other when they received their awards.

Johnson added that it was an honour to represent Moose Jaw since the community has a strong theatre scene and history.

Vanier Collegiate

“We did very well. We were proud of our show,” said Grade 12 student Avery Seman.

“It’s always nice to be in an environment with so much theatre and so much creativity and so much passion for what you’re doing because it’s all these people who worked so hard to get there,” she continued. “It’s so nice to talk to people and interact and (I) made a whole bunch of new friends. It was wonderful.”

After regionals in late April, Vanier had two weeks to make small changes to its performance before provincials. With a chuckle, Seman said it was somewhat chaotic, but “that’s how drama works.”

One criticism the provincial judges had was how some students finished their lines quietly instead of loudly. However, the adjudicators applauded the troupe for a great performance and how well students had improved from last year.

“It (the positive compliment) was wonderful, especially being a part of that team last year and seeing their critiques … ,” Seman said, pointing out that judges also complimented them for memorizing their lines this year. “It definitely justified all the work we put into it.”

Co-drama teachers Gillian Muench and Ben Sackville were proud of their students and appreciated their adaptability and perseverance. They saw their students’ passion for theatre shine during their performances.

The students were told that while “Radium Girls” would be a different play because of its 1920s’ setting, there would be contemporary elements such as UV lighting and projections to complement the story, said Sackville.

Students were initially hesitant because they didn’t share their drama teachers’ vision, but during rehearsals, they became more excited about the show’s potential.

“That challenge brought the group together in a pretty complete way,” he added.

Vanier liked performing the same play as Cornerstone — an occurrence unlikely to happen again — because each presented the story differently, said Muench.

“Cornerstone’s production played to their strengths and our production played to our strengths,” she remarked. “And that was really evident.”

Muench added that there were also many learning opportunities for students, including workshops and feedback from judges.