Saskatoon HOME magazine Spring 2022 by Saskatoon HOME magazine

SPRING 2022

DESIGN • RENovatIoN • laNDSCaPING • BuIlDING • DÉCoR

SaSkatOOn

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Creating a

Flower-Filled

Life

Down to the StuDS

in Buena Vista

HOMEtown Reflections

Milk DeliVery

Colour of the Year 2022

Very Peri

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INSIDE 4

HOME FRONT A Greeting from the Publisher

2022 COLOUR OF THE YEAR Very Peri

~ Photo Pantone Color Institute

CREATING A FLOWER-FILLED LIFE Fresh Cut Flowers Close to Home

DOWN TO THE STUDS A Buena Vista Transformation

ON THE COVER CREATING A FLOWERFILLED LIFE - PAGE 12 “I don’t ever want to know everything about gardening,” says Chantelle Fourney. “To have new knowledge is a beautiful thing.” ~ Photo Lillian Lane

Home Milk Delivery

The Eb and Flow of Form and Function

HOMETOWN REFLECTIONS

EVOLUTION OF THE FLOOR PLAN

MAUREEN’S KITCHEN A Cookie Shape for Every Occasion ~ Photo Maureen Haddock

~ Photo Lillian Lane

SASKATOON HOME SPRING 2022 |

HOME FRONT Spring is here! The days are getting longer, you can hear sounds of baseball at the neighbourhood park and, after months of shoveling, that big pile of snow on the driveway is finally melting away. As our trees come out of hibernation and grass starts to grow again, the city shakes off the winter “Blah” and embraces springtime “Oh Yah!” With rejuvenation in mind, I am excited to share this spring issue of Saskatoon HOME magazine with you. You may have noticed a few changes in our look and hope you will enjoy our fresh new style shaking things up for 2022. We’ve changed up our printed format to enhance our reader experience as well as making it more environmentally friendly. Our core mission to bring you professional, unbiased and inspiring stories from right here in Saskatoon remains the same and in this issue we have all our usual goodness. Read about a flower farm acreage, an ambitious renovation in Buena Vista, and the evolution of the floor plan. For some of you, we have a trip down memory lane to reminisce about the rise and fall of home milk delivery. For younger readers, it’s a piece of recent history you might not have known about. Imagine your daily milk delivered right to your door by a horse named Glen or Jim. And there’s much more to enjoy! I hope you love this issue as much as we do. Happy Reading!

Amanda Soulodre OWNER & PUBLISHER

Issue 57, Spring 2022 ISSN 1916-2324 info@saskatoon-home.ca

Publishers Amanda Soulodre Rob Soulodre

Editor Karin Melberg Schwier

Contributors Jeff O’Brien Julie Barnes Karin Melberg Schwier Lillian Lane Maureen Haddock The booking deadline for advertising in the Summer 2022 issue is April 21, 2022. Contact Amanda for more information. Email: amanda@saskatoon-home.ca Phone: 306-373-1833 Text: 306-717-0663 Saskatoon HOME is printed four times a year. Subscribe to receive every issue direct to your mailbox for $20/year. Visit www.gethomemagazine.ca.

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2022 COLOUR OF THE YEAR Very Peri

BY: KARIN MELBERG SCHWIER PHOTOS: PANTONE COLOR INSTITUTE PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri is a whimsical new hue based in calming blues but with a dash of just enough red and violet to make its presence also very dynamic. Pantone’s Color Institute has offered up what it sees as a “symbol of the global zeitgeist of the moment.” To make a debut as Colour of the Year is a big responsibility for a little swatch, this year more than ever. Very Peri has literally never been seen before. For the first time in the history of Pantone’s Colour of the Year, a brand new colour was invented, reflecting the transformation to this new world. “As we move into a world of unprecedented change, the selection of Very Peri

brings a novel perspective and vision of the trusted and beloved blue color family, encompassing the qualities of the blues. Yet at the same time with its violet red undertone, Very Peri displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expressions,” says Leatrice “Lee” Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute.

A Blend of Faithful Blue, Energetic Red Each spring, Lee speaks with Saskatoon HOME about the new selection. She calls Very Peri a blend of the faithfulness and constancy of blue with the energy and excitement of red. “This happiest and warmest of all the blue hues introduces an empowering mix of newness,” she says. The colour is also a reflection of the digital technology and the ubiquitous glow

from devices that permeate society today. “It’s unusual to refer to blue as ‘happy,’ but when you add that red element to it, that’s exactly what happened,” Eiseman added. It’s been two years of turmoil and intense isolation and, according to Pantone, this year’s colour is all about the transitions people are experiencing. Pantone, the ‘global authority and provider of professional color language standards

SASKATOON HOME SPRING 2022 |

and digital solutions for the design community,’ has been choosing the “it” colour of the year that influences all manner of industries for over two decades.

interiors, enlivening a space through unusual colour combinations, according to Pantone. Very Peri is versatile and suited for use in an array of different materials, textures and finishes. Homeowners and designers may use it on a feature wall or incorporate it in furniture and home decor. It will no doubt be on display as accents in window coverings, acting as an intriguing and eye-catching pop of colour in a variety of applications.

A Hopeful Hue for the Home Very Peri injects a sense of playful freshness into home

All About Transitions It’s a brand new world, and Lee believes this Colour of the Year choice, along with the complementary palettes selected to pair with it, can do their bit to make the coming year feel a bit better. “With all of the conversation around doing a ‘refresh’ to bring some positivity into our lives, we felt it important to create a newly formulated Pantone hue that would best express

the symbolic nature of color inherent within Very Peri,” Lee told Saskatoon HOME. “If we can let loose with a little vibrant primary joy, that will feel pretty good, too. Karin Melberg Schwier (For more information about the Colour of the Year and Lee, visit: LeatriceEiseman.com.)

PAST COLOURS OF THE YEAR

2021-1

2021-2 2020

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PANTONE® 18-3838 Ultra Violet

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Creating a flower-filled life

Fresh Cut Flowers Close to Home Asking Chantelle Fourney to name her favourite flower is akin to asking her to choose a favourite child. Amaranth, calendula, dahlias, lupines and peonies all spring to mind. “My favourites change with the seasons,”

12 | SPRING 2022 SASKATOON HOME

she says, adding that rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) and sunflowers are favoured in the fall. She’s cultivated dozens of flower varieties since moving to her family’s Grasswood acreage with husband Daryl and three

sons in 2018. (Their home was featured in the fall 2019 issue of Saskatoon HOME). After purchasing the property, Chantelle told her family: “We are going to be acreage folk now. We need to learn how to grow things.’”

The tabula rasa of the family’s five acres is every gardener ’s dream. The couple carved out one acre for a fruit orchard, one acre for a haskap berry maze and another acre for the cut flower garden. With 120 apple trees,

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BY: JULIE BARNES PHOTOS: LILLIAN LANE 80 cherry trees, 350 raspberry bushes and over 800 haskap bushes, tending their prolific produce is a timeintensive family affair. They also grow saskatoon berries, sea buckthorn, buffaloberry, currants,

gooseberries and ground cherries. The haskap maze was sketched out by Chantelle’s eldest son, Foster. She asked him to draw a maze with one entrance and one exit, “and a spot in the middle where Mom

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Chantelle, Daryl and their sons pose by the swinging chairs in the early days of their haskap maze, which continues to fill in more and more each year. At its maturity it will reach six feet high. “We pick the haskap by the bucket,” says Chantelle. “They’re better than a blueberry and not as messy as a raspberry.”

Photo Credit: Carrie Gauthier, Little Black Dress

hli

can sit.” Patio stones line the pathways between the three-year-old bushes, which will eventually reach six feet tall. Over in the flower garden, meticulously planted rows of dahlias,

14 | SPRING 2022 SASKATOON HOME

snapdragons, zinnias, sweet peas and more burst with colour every summer—the brilliant result of Chantelle’s eagerness to keep learning and immersing herself in the pleasures of gardening. Perpetual Student and Teacher “Learning as a gardener never ends, and that’s such a beautiful thing,” says

Chantelle. “I don’t ever want to know everything about gardening—to have new knowledge all the time is a wonderful thing. It keeps the cobwebs off the brain.” When Chantelle was just starting out, she learned the basics by reading the back of seed packets. “That’s how I grew my first garden,” she says. She now gleans new knowledge

from horticulture classes offered by the University of Saskatchewan, by reading gardening books and connecting with a local community of flower growers. “It’s a group of women who all support each other—if one of us is having problems germinating something, there’s always someone to help out,” says Chantelle.

A former kindergarten teacher, she is also keen to educate her sons, who join her in the garden every day during the growing season—helping with planting, weeding, deadheading, harvesting and clean-up in the fall. When the boys are deadheading the calendula, Chantelle asks them why this step is important. Foster

hli

Flowers and leaves were pressed into the setting concrete path that divides meticulously planted rows of dahlias, snapdragons, celosia, sweet peas, and dozens of other flower varieties.

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Fletcher, Foster and Forest join Chantelle in the garden every day during the growing season—assisting with planting, weeding, deadheading, harvesting and fall clean up.

explains that it allows the plant to channel its energy into producing new blooms. “I think it’s really good for children to be out here and helping,” says Chantelle. “It really helps them appreciate food, where it comes from and how much work it is.” Workshops are another means for Chantelle to

share what she’s learned with others. From the end of July, until the first frost, she hosts about 20 workshops each year, covering how to craft a “beautiful balanced bouquet,” and includes tips to ensure lasting blooms. Participants take home their creations and “everybody leaves happier,” Chantelle says.

Blooms for Beginners “There’s no wrong way to garden,” says Chantelle. Whether budding green thumbs start with a few pots, a raised bed or an acre of land, anyone can grow blooms for a bouquet, or for the bees. Chantelle says knowing the zone (Saskatoon is zone 2b) and local frost dates are the first step towards

a successful garden if planning to start from seed. The frost date is “the most important because a lot of the flowers you will start four, six, eight or 12 weeks (before the final frost), so just count backwards from your last frost date.” It’s not an exact science, she says, so keep an eye on the weather forecast. If the temperature SASKATOON HOME SPRING 2022 |

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Chantelle arranges a bouquet at one of the tables she designed for the summer workshops she hosts. Attendees learn the basics of bouquet design and take home their floral creations.

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dips too low, witnessing your efforts wilting away “can be devastating,” she says. “If that happens, go to the greenhouse, pull up your socks and try again.” She also recommends starting small. “For a cut flower garden, pick three to five favourites to start with. Don’t try to grow

one of everything. You can add something new every year, but if you start with too many it gets overwhelming.” Some of Chantelle’s flowers (such as her dahlias) are over four feet tall, so it’s important to ensure there is enough space for the plant once it

bl ia (

reaches its full height. Amending the soil is Chantelle’s final tip. This involves loosening the soil and replenishing it with nutrients and minerals by adding compost, other organic materials and perhaps fertilizers to the mix. For the novice gardener,

some of the easiest flowers to grow in this climate are cosmos and zinnia, Chantelle says. She also suggests calendula because they produce continuous blooms all season long. Another recommendation is strawflower. Resembling a daisy with papery

SASKATOON HOME SPRING 2022 |

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BOUQUET BASICS Once there’s a handful of fresh blooms for a bouquet, there are some extra steps to take to extend the life of cut flowers. Chantelle shares the following tips in her workshops:

Pull the leaves off any part of the stem that will be submerged in water. “You don’t want leaves in the water because that’s where the bacteria comes from,” says Chantelle. The stem will soon start to decay.

Set yourself up for success by sanitizing your vase. Soaking it in water with a dash of bleach for a few hours will ensure your vessel is bacteria free. Once your flowers have wilted, sanitizing the vase again before storing it will allow you to skip this step next time.

Once arranged in a vase, change the water daily. “If you don’t want to drink it, neither do the flowers,” Chantelle says.

Snip stems on an angle—this increases the surface area for absorbing water. As soon as the stem is cut, put it directly into a bucket of water.

Keep the bouquet out of direct sunlight, away from ripening fruit, in a cool place. Many fruits produce high levels of ethylene (a few examples are tomatoes, bananas and apples). Ethylene causes your flowers to age more rapidly so it's best to keep them separate. Give the stems a fresh angle cut every few days.

petals (which are actually leaves), strawflower s come in a variety of vivid shades and work well in dried arrangements and wreaths. “Everlasting bouquets are very popular,” she says. Part of the gratification of gardening for Chantelle is the connections she’s made with other growers. “Connect with someone you know who loves to grow,” she says. It’s important to have others to share in the successes, failures and challenges.

20 | SPRING 2022 SASKATOON HOME

“I tell the people who come out to my garden, ‘You are going to see all my successes. You won’t see all the things I killed because they’re not here.’ Just remember that. Look at your successes—it’s a great life skill to be able to do that.” Julie Barnes

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Down to the Studs s A Buena Vista Tran formation

Sometimes the best laid plans…. turn into something better. For Sharon and Scott McDonald, they fully expected to level a nearly century-old home in Buena Vista and with building plans for an in-fill in hand,

they dreamed of moving into their new home within months. But the pandemic threw a wrench into the works. As they weighed their options, the empty-nester couple had a second look at the 95-year-old house and

thought maybe something new wasn’t the way to go. “We had lived in the Buena Vista area before,” explains Sharon, a Private Banker with RBC. “In fact,” said Scott, a Portfolio Manager for CIBC Wood Gundy, “we

BY: KARIN MELBERG SCHWIER PHOTOS: LILLIAN LANE had owned two previous homes on Seventh Street East within one block of Buena Vista Park. We always wanted to stay here but when our two children were young, we couldn’t find a home big enough and within a

SASKATOON HOME SPRING 2022 |

After Park that was up for private sale in 2019. Sharon and Scott knew the location was perfect; lots of mature trees, close to the river and a short walk to their downtown offices prior to the pandemic.

Before reasonable walk of a French Immersion school, so we moved to River Heights.” When the couple’s two children left home, they

24 | SPRING 2022 SASKATOON HOME

Well Lived In

began to consider another location. A former Buena Vista neighbour let them know about a house across the street from Buena Vista

The 1927-era home was first occupied by Alvin and Lilian Mabee. He was a machinist with the CNR and the couple celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in 1980. Alvin was an active member of the Nutana Lawn

Bowling Club, directly across the street.The Mabees owned the property until 1981. The second owner lived in the house off and on for many years and put it up for sale when she decided to return to her home in Manitoba. “We are only the third owners of this nearly century-year-old property,” said Scott. “The house was almost completely original when we took possession and was definitely not habitable. We had sold our River Heights home and

Before

were living on the top floor of Nutana Towers, with such a lovely view and expansive terrace we felt no pressure to do anything. We had plans for an in-fill but we realized we wanted a smaller home, easily maintained

and within walking distance of the shops and restaurants on Broadway, downtown and the river.” Sharon and Scott scrapped the in-fill idea and started thinking about working with what they had. This just over 1,000 sq. ft. bungalow across from a beautiful park, a home sorely in need of lots of love and attention. Change of Plans The couple went back

to their builders, Beech Developments, who were excited about the renovation project. The house had some roof leakage a few years before and new shingles had been installed, but the interior damage had been done. Sweat equity work got underway May 2020. The interior damage to lath and plaster on the ceilings required demolition back to the studs and Scott’s phrase, “while we are at it, we might as well add….” was born. “We demolished the

interior ourselves and loaded nine Loraas bins of lath, plaster and other building materials.” Given the ‘original,’ untouched state of the home, a complete replacement of plumbing, heating and electrical was completed to ensure the home would be safe. Rescue Mission “We loved the century-old window and door trim, which was all numbered, removed and saved SASKATOON HOME SPRING 2022 |

After

Removing walls allowed for long, unobstructed sightlines, giving the illusion of much more square footage.

Blending modern style with original character has paid off with a seamless look that respects the original home. 26 | SPRING 2022 SASKATOON HOME

for re-installation. That, the original interior doors and glass door knobs, vent covers was all we were able to salvage from the house,” says Sharon. “We tried to save the original oak flooring but the damage was too significant.” Getting materials was a challenge due to supply chain hiccups and the cost of building materials soared during the reno due to the pandemic. The couple saved some of the 100 year-old details, including a skeleton key that still worked in the front door, but most elements were beyond the best-by-date. The couple added character in keeping with the original era of build, character that was surprisingly missing. Sharon and Scott added a fireplace, custom

mantel and shelving to match the new galley kitchen cabinets and new custom oak hardwood throughout the home. The kitchen features two granite waterfall countertops that blend well with the recreated character and salvaged original materials. Favourite Destinations During the pandemic, travel has been largely out of the question since Sharon and Scott moved in on February 28, 2021. The transformation makes the need to stay at home so much more pleasurable. “The attic—we call it the ‘snug’—is one of our favourite spots,” Scott says. “We widened and improved the stairway access both upstairs and downstairs which allowed us to create a cozy upstairs TV area overlooking Buena Vista Park and a new

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downstairs cycling room for Sharon. The south facing sunroom at the front of the house is a lovely space for coffee in the morning.” The McDonalds added a custom cedar pergola, front and back decks designed by Beech Developments and landscaping that allowed Sharon and Scott to expand their ‘socially distanced’ entertaining space during the pandemic. Transformation 1927 to 2021 “I was able to see some ‘good bones’ in the original, inhabitable home,” says Sharon. “The large south and west facing windows and four original piano windows flood the interiors with light. By removing

walls between the kitchen, dining and living rooms and in combination with the nine foot-plus ceilings, we’ve created a sense of space in a small home. My design vision to create a modern, open home while still respecting the original character is complete” It’s been 25 years since Sharon and Scott called Buena Vista home. They’re happy to be part of the neighbourhood again, and grateful the pandemic gave them a silver-lining opportunity to transform and save an historic home. Karin Melberg Schwier

The upstairs attic, a place the homeowners call the snug, is one of their favourite repurposed spots.

Widening the staircases to the attic and basement allowed for more accessible and functional spaces. 28 | SPRING 2022 SASKATOON HOME

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Saskatoon's last milk wagon, from the Co-op Creamery, is presented to the Western Development Museum (on 11th Street West at that time) after its final run on, May 26, 1962. Present are Glen the horse, and (left to right), Glen Le Beau, manager of the WDM; Ted Shields and Al Leedahl, Co-op drivers; George Shepherd, WDM curator; A.R. DeManby, Co-op Creamery manager. Photo Credit: CoS Archives - S-SP-B-4975

HOMEtown Reflections

BY: JEFF O’BRIEN

HOME MILK DELIVERY

For those of a certain age, home milk delivery feels like a long time ago. Something from our childhoods, with images of smiling men in pristine uniforms, bottles clinking merrily in the early morning sunshine. But milk delivery has been around for a long time, and

in Saskatoon, it lasted a lot longer than you might think. Public Health Regulations

Left to its own devices, milk is a germ factory. That means if you wanted fresh, drinkable, milk (especially in the absence of refrigeration), you had to either have your

own cow, goat or camel, or get it from someone who did. For those living in cities, that mostly meant getting it delivered. This was not without its dangers. You wouldn’t have wanted to buy milk from an 18th century London milkmaid, trudging through

the filthy streets carrying open pails of milk. And while she and her open pails were long gone by the time Saskatoon came along, milk production and delivery continued to be responsible for diseases like scarlet fever, typhoid and diphtheria. Like the dairyman in Caswell

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The Jersey Dairy was a small outfit in Saskatoon before the First World War. Smaller operations like this didn't buy bottles, rather they just poured straight from the jug. Photo Credit: Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - LH 739

Hill who diluted his milk with water from a contaminated well, causing an outbreak of typhoid there in 1909. Tuberculosis was another threat, but it came from the cows themselves. In 1920, one in six Saskatchewan dairy cows was estimated to carry the disease, causing a quarter of all childhood tuberculosis. As a consequence, every aspect of the production and delivery of milk offered for sale in Saskatoon was regulated, from the health of the cows to the cleanliness of the equipment, right down to the size of the windows in the cow barns. Saskatoon’s first milk bylaw was passed in 1906. Some of the provisions feel a bit odd nowadays. People shouldn’t have needed to be told not to wash milk jugs in the same trough the horses drank out of. Or not to use the milk wagon for transporting “swill, garbage or other offensive material.” But when

32 | SPRING 2022 SASKATOON HOME

Purity Dairy Building, ca. 1947. Built in 1929 for the Davis Dairy Co. in 1929, it still stands at 733 Broadway Avenue. Photo Credit: Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - A-1684

you see something like that in a bylaw, it’s usually because someone actually did it. In 1915, Saskatoon became the first Canadian city to require pasteurization. You could still buy raw milk, but only from specially-licensed

dealers. In 1920, 70 per cent Saskatoon’s milk was pasteurized and was sold by two companies, Scott’s Dairy and the Saskatoon Pure Milk Company. Only ten per cent came from the handful of raw milk dealers,

with the rest from the 150-odd privately-owned milk cows allowed under city bylaws (for personal consumption only). By the 1950s, the tiny raw milk dealers and the privately-owned milk cows

A Silverwood's Dairies horse-drawn wagon shares Saskatchewan Crescent with traffic in the late 1950s. Photo Credit: Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - LH-3178

were long gone. Unless you got your milk under the table straight from a farmer, your milk would have come from either Co-op, Palm, Purity or Hill’s. Thanks in part to price controls instituted by the provincial Milk Board, retail sales made up only five per cent of total sales. The rest

was delivered bright and early every morning straight to your door, courtesy of the city’s milkmen and their horse-drawn wagons. Early Deliveries At their peak, there were 63 horse-drawn milk wagons on Saskatoon streets each day.

Those days started early. In summer, the milk wagons were on the road by 3:00 a.m. to get the deliveries done during the coolest part of the day. Did people complain about the ungodly hour? You bet they did. “Illinois farmers plan a publicity campaign to make the

public milk conscious,” the newspaper noted, tonguein-cheek. “Saskatoon’s milk delivery men do it every morning between four and five o’clock.” But milk was vital to a healthy diet, particularly for children. Early delivery meant it arrived fresh and cold just in time for breakfast, when it was mostly drank. Otherwise, it had to sit until the next day (frequently without benefit of refrigeration) reducing the quality and potentially the safe consumption of this most perfect of foods. In 1944, milk delivery here was finally restricted by law to 7:30 in the morning (later changed to 7:00 a.m.). The horse-drawn milk wagons had advantages over delivery trucks. An experienced horse could actually teach a new

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The last horse-drawn wagon on its final run, May 21, 1962, pulled by the soon-to-retire Glen.

Photo Credit: Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - LH 3286

Palm Dairy trucks on First Avenue, 1955.

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Photo Credit: Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - QC-363-3

The Beauty of Live Edge Furniture

An overturned wagon, detached wheel assembly, and milk in the street was the aftermath of a decision by a horse to bolt on Coy Avenue near Taylor Street, July 29 1953. Photo Credit: CoS Archives - S-SP-B-1936-002

man the route, pulling the wagon up to the next house and stopping at the ones he forgot. The horses were also able to walk the route while the driver did his paperwork, or made the deliveries on foot, coming back only to load up. Not something you’d want to try with a delivery truck! The horses also had minds of their own. One summer day in 1957, a driver who had stopped for lunch in Nutana came out to find horse and wagon gone. The horse had pulled the wagon up Broadway, across the bridge and through downtown, navigating traffic and traffic lights, to a blacksmith’s shop in Riversdale, presumably to see about getting some new shoes. Horses also sometimes bolted, occasionally with disastrous effects. And there were accidents, although they appear to have been fairly rare and mostly not that serious. But traffic on city streets grew enormously in the 1950s, putting the slow, plodding milk wagons in increasing peril. Co-op Creameries Fire On the night of October 25, 1948, a horrific fire at the Co-op Creameries stable at Avenue G and Walmer Road killed 29 horses. Discovering the fire, two local men were able to rescue two of them from the dark, smoke-filled

barn before being driven out by the fire. Fed by the large quantities of hay in the loft and the sawdust insulation in the walls, the blaze took two hours to control, with every available firefighter in the city called out to fight it. The next day, the other three dairies, the city’s two major bakeries, the Arctic Ice Company and several private individuals loaned Co-op their spare horses and harness, which, along with trucks from two of the local van lines, made sure daily milk deliveries could continue uninterrupted. The End of An Era But the modern world was catching up. Saskatoon’s dairies got their first motor delivery trucks in the late 1940s. In 1959, the three remaining companies announced they would soon be fully mechanized. Co-op held out the longest, retiring the last of its horse-drawn wagons in the spring of 1962. For many, it was a heartwrenching moment. The horse-drawn milkwagon was a powerful symbol of simpler days. Before atom bombs and sputniks, before automobiles and suburbs. Before the war, back when the world was a less complicated place. And also, people loved the horses. Children, especially, but not exclusively.

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The milkman and his horse navigate winter road conditions on 31st Street West, out on the city's sparsely-populated western fringe, Feb. 27, 1951. Photo Credit: CoS Archives - S-SP-B-596-005

When Co-op announced late in 1961 that it would soon be fully mechanized, a woman called to ask if she could buy the horse on her route. Saskatoon’s last milk horse made his last run on May 21, 1962. Children ran alongside. Glen was photographed and saluted, feted and interviewed. One family drove in sixty miles to say good-bye to him. His final job was to pull the wagon to its new home at the Western Development Museum, where it still is. As for Glen, he and a stablemate went to live with that former customer. She bought them both for $600.

Milkman Jim Fabian with his wagon and horse, also named Jim, July 29, 1957.

The Decline and Fall of Home Delivery In 1957, the local dairies cut milk delivery to six days a week. It went to five in 1966, then four in 1974 (no more Saturday deliveries), then to two days in 1975. By then, home delivery accounted for only 30 per cent of milk sold here. In the

36 | SPRING 2022 SASKATOON HOME

Photo Credit: CoS Archives - S-SP-B-6721-001

1990s, there were still 2,500 home delivery customers in Saskatoon, and 20 milkmen. But now, they were independent franchisees who paid a hefty price for their routes. When the Milk Board stopped regulating the price

in stores, it dealt them a mortal blow. “You couldn’t give your route away,” one driver recalled. In 2008, there was only one milkman left in Saskatoon, an ex-dairy farmer from Warman named Don Weightman. When he retired in 2016, most of his

deliveries were to daycares and schools, with only about 15 home delivery customers left. And that really was the end of an era. Jeff O’Brien

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MAUREEN’S KITCHEN A Cookie Shape for Every Occasion

There are many ways to create shaped cookies: molding, stamping, spritzing, cutting or carving. I have tried most of these methods, but I adore cookie cutters, old and new. Cookie cutter s are collectible, and I have seen

them made of various metals, plastics and even wood. They come in every shape, and although they may date back to the 16th century, they became very popular in Europe by the 18th century. In Joplin, Missouri, there is a National Cookie

Cutter Historical Museum, and knowing it exists helps me justify my modest but growing collection. Cookie cutter s are extremely easy to collect because they are light in weight and travel well from far away countries or local

BY: MAUREEN HADDOCK antique stores. Truly old cutters have little handles on the solid backs of the shapes. I love to hunt for such rarities. I treasure and use a 1940s heirloom set of tiny cutters that once belonged to my mother-in-law. I keep this set handy, year-round, SASKATOON HOME SPRING 2022 | 39

TIPS:

• If you don’t have a cutter in the shape you desire, just draw a stencil, and use a sharp knife to create your cookies. • Cookie cutters are great for cutting pastry, sandwiches or even toast. • Do you love your cookies thick or thin? The thickness changes the eating experience. • I love to make a plate of trees for almost every season, and since we have snow in Saskatchewan for eight months of the year, I often sculpt delicious icing into snowy peaks. to make pastry decorations for pies and puddings. Recipes are also collectible. Once you have found recipes for shaped cookies that please your family, file them so they are easily accessible. I believe cookies must be delicious, not just pretty. The cookie flavour must be enhanced by the icing. The perfect pairing will create the best taste memory and leave everyone wanting more. I make Simple Sugar Cookies and Vintage Gingerbread Cookie Cut-outs regularly, but I have also made shape cookies from chocolate dough and maple

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syrup dough. Honestly, I always return to my family favourites. I have been baking these cookies since the early 1970s, always paired with these memorable icings. We like our cookies on the thin side, but every family has its own preference. Of course, I try new icings from time to time and I did discover a new flow-style icing that tastes delicious with my gingerbread shapes. For more information on this and other icings visit www.getabiggerwagon.com. Maureen Haddock

Simple Sugar Cookies Preheat oven to 400°F You will need butter, granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, eggs, vanilla, baking powder and salt. Dry Ingredients 2½ cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt Mix well using a whisk. Set aside. Moist Ingredients ¾ cup room 1 cup granulated temperature butter sugar Cream together using a hand mixer. Add: 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla Mix well after each addition. Add dry to wet ingredients. Incorporate the dry

mixture into the moist, using a wooden spoon or spatula. Chill the dough for at least one hour. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the dough into shapes. Bake at 400°F for 6 to 8 minutes, until just golden at the edges. Simple Sugar Cookies are perfect paired with Fluffy Lemon Icing.

Fluffy Lemon Icing

¼ cup butter, creamed ¼ teaspoon salt 2 cups icing sugar

1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Beat icing ingredients until fluffy. Spread on cooled cookies.

Vintage Gingerbread Cookie Cut-outs Preheat oven to 350° F Moist Ingredients ½ cup butter ½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup cooking molasses ¼ cup warm water

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Blend in molasses and water. Dry Ingredients 2 ½ cups all-purpose ½ teaspoon soda flour ¼ teaspoon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg ground ginger ¼ teaspoon allspice ½ teaspoon salt Mix the dry ingredients together using a whisk. Mix dry into moist ingredients and refrigerate dough in a bowl for at least 1 hour or overnight. If refrigerating overnight, let dough warm for half an hour on the counter before rolling. To Roll: On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out desired shapes and place on parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake cookies in a 350°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are firm and beginning to brown around the edges. Let the cookies cool on wire racks and frost with icing. This gingerbread recipe isn’t sweet and needs a good icing to complete the flavour. Children seem to love the taste.

Simple Decorator Icing

1 cup sifted powdered sugar ¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon butter 2 to 4 teaspoons milk and desired food colouring

I mix the almond extract and food colouring into the milk, then blend with the butter and icing sugar. If you want to cover the entire recipe of vintage gingerbread cookies in icing, you will need to double this amount. More milk creates a glaze. Less milk lets you pipe it onto the cookies. I prefer to sculpt the icing onto the cookies using a butter knife.

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EVOLUTION OF THEE bFLOOR PLAN a nd Flow of Th e

BY: KARIN MELBERG SCHWIER

Form and Function

Over the last 30 years, homeowners, designers and builders have changed the face—actually, the floor—of the old homestead. Anyone who’s watched a home renovation show in recent history is well acquainted with the awe-inspired breathy approval of “open concept.” That and double vanity, spa ensuite, main floor mudroom/ laundry, vast walk-in closets, great rooms and massive kitchen islands. Those elements are some of the most sought-after in a new build or renovation today. But trends have changed over the years, and a look back provides some perspective on what homeowners have considered ‘must haves’ over time.

What Once Was Ken Redekopp, the construction manager with Boychuk Homes, a longstanding family-owned builder, has been with the company since 1971. The home builder has been developing neighbourhoods in Saskatoon for over 70 years. Ken has witnessed the evolution of what it means when people think of home sweet home. “Mike Boychuk built his first home here in 1947,” says Ken. “He intended on living in it, but someone came along and offered to buy it. He started another home, and the same thing happened. That was the start of Boychuk Construction.” About 7,500

new homes later, Ken says construction companies have learned to flex with changing expectations. “In the 1970s, homes were the basic 864 to 1040 square foot, three-bedroom, one-bathroom home. No attached garage.” In the late ‘70s, people started itching for a bit more room so Boychuk started offering larger buildings with attached garages for people who could afford the big leap. “Today,” says Ken, “it’s a minimum two-car garage. Even four-car is a requirement for some homeowners.” With the new-found interest in more open living, the square footage of homes has steadily increased and those

separate rooms have all but disappeared.

Kitchens Once closed off little sweatshops where the woman of the house prepared meals in cramped quarters, the kitchen was a small enclave from which meals magically appeared. A nod to family togetherness was the kitchen ‘nook,’ an awkward little built-in, maybe with bench seating. The breakfast bar is reminiscent of the nook, but now serves as more informal dining. Hived off kitchens are a thing of the past, Ken says. “Kitchens have morphed into wide open spaces with plenty of storage and work areas. Large islands SASKATOON HOME SPRING 2022 | 43

A TV on a floor stand is a thing of the past. New home design calls for wall mounted or higher shelving that frees up floor space in the entertainment area.

Photo Credit: Boychuk Construction

open up to great rooms and family rooms with fireplaces, big screen TVs, large dinette eating areas. These are almost a must-have today. And of course, stainless steel appliances and built-ins are now standard.”

Formal Living, Dining Rooms Once seen as a dash of elegance, these rooms seemed to stand empty, a shrine to some future possibility. Who didn’t have a grandmother or an aunt who

kept plastic protectors on the dining room furniture and periodically dusted a huge fake floral arrangement on the rarely used formal table under a periodically dusted chandelier? “No more formal dining rooms now,” says Ken. “The idea is open and flow through from the kitchen into a dining area, not separate living and dining rooms.” With the open concept, rooms bound by walls and doorways give way to multi-use space.

Bedrooms “The number of bedrooms has changed over the years,” Ken says. “In the 1980s and ‘90s, there was a demand for four-bedrooms beyond the typical three-bedroom standard. That seemed to taper off for a while, but now we’re seeing that demand go back up. Larger two-bedroom bungalows have been gaining in popularity in the last few years, too.” Ken adds that tiny bedroom closets are a thing of the past.

A standard item on the wish list in new home builds today is a spa-like ensuite. This trend involves devoting much more square footage to this area than ever before.

44 | SPRING 2022 SASKATOON HOME

Photo Credit: Boychuk Construction

Large walk-ins with built-in custom cabinetry, shelving and double rods are the norm.

Bathrooms, Ensuites “The days of the one-bathroom home are gone,” says Ken. “Back in the ‘70s, if there was a two-piece half bath off the master bedroom, you were lucky. A shower stall 30x30 inches may have been added. Now,” he adds, “the ensuite bath has become spa-like. Huge luxury bathrooms have his and her vanity sinks, soaker or whirlpool tubs and huge 5x5 foot showers or larger.” Separate spaces for freestanding tub and those large walk-in showers mean bathroom floor plans are larger. Smaller bathrooms are still spacious and many homes are built or renovated to include one dedicated to other bedrooms. Guests or the family member who want to get away from it all now have a bedroom in the walk-out or basement with its own ensuite. Even small main or half baths today are “all dressed up with plumbing and light fixtures,” he adds. “No more chrome two-handled faucets and drop-in enamel

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sinks. Now you see maybe single-lever black or pewter finishes with under-mounted china or vessel-style sinks.”

The Laundry It used to be standard that the laundry room was downstairs whether the basement was finished or not. Just beyond the rumpus room, around the corner from the furnace was the cramped laundry with washer and dryer. Usually it was Mom who did the job, hauling folded laundry upstairs in a basket on her hip. Today, it is not uncommon for a laundry room to be a home's show stopper space, with chandelier light fixtures and beautiful custom cabinetry. Many laundry rooms have also clawed their

46 | SPRING 2022 SASKATOON HOME

way out of the basement to the second floor to be near the bedrooms for hauling convenience. Another common sight is stackable washer/dryers located in the large mudroom of the home. Muddy clothes no longer track through the house, but instead go right into the washing machine. Fabulous Fixtures In the 1970s and ‘80s, there was a limited range of choices in interior finishes and materials. It was a time of laminate countertops, mahogany doors and shag carpeting. Will that be white or chrome? “Choices today are unlimited,” Ken says. “Granite or quartz countertops are

Photo Credit: Boychuk Construction

expected. You have a choice of interior doors, door knobs, hardwood, cabinets, flooring, wall finishings, you name it. All in a range of quality and prices.” The only limitation is imagination and budget. Homeowners today are much more likely to enlist an interior designer, decorator or architectural technologist to help with design and decor. In the old days, only the very wealthy paid for that type of guidance. Today it is much more commonplace. The Future Mystery Buyer An emerging attitude has altered what homeowners want in designed spaces. They’ve tossed out that vague question of ‘what is good for resale?’ Of course, bizarre décor and design may not help when it comes time to sell, but there is no longer as much concern about pleasing potential future buyers. “At one time, there was worry about what goes into a home and how it will affect resale,” says Ken. “Today this

There’s no doubt 2020 and 2021 were—and 2022 still is so far—time to stay close to home. It’s been a chance to reflect on living spaces and renovation activity escalated. Maybe a little hiccup when material prices (like lumber) soared. But during a time of hunkering down, people were rethinking how they live, what they want and how their living spaces might work better for them. Today’s homes are built to a much higher standard of building products, Ken adds. “Building specifications have changed from 2x4 walls with R8 insulation and dualglazed aluminum sliding windows to 2x6 walls, R20 or greater insulation and PVC triple-glazed low-e argon windows.” Built to Suit A little walk down memory lane can provide some perspective on what once was popular, efficient and desirable in a home, and what might be worth resurrecting. The rule about fixtures and floor plans today seems to be there is no rule. It does boil down to what people want and what they can afford. “Everyone needs a home with the basic living room, kitchen, bedroom, baths,” says Ken. “But the challenge is getting the right floor plan and finishes that fit the budget and address the individual tastes and needs of the people shopping for a new home or planning a renovation.” Karin Melberg Schwier

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