Saskatoon HOME magazine Summer 2023

Victoria Park

TO

For anyone pondering a backyard water feature, it pays to remember it’s like getting a pet. It brings a lot of joy, but also requires maintenance and TLC. ~ Photo Lillian Lane

TOO

The Breakdown on Green Bin Composting

~ Photos City of Saskatoon

The Queen of Tarts

~ Photo Bob Turczyn

~ Photo Amy Thorp

~ Photo Maureen Haddock

HOME FRONT

After an extended, ornery winter and a fleeting spring, we are happy to welcome summer in Saskatoon.

As we embrace the warmth of the season, we’re excited to bring you stories that will inspire you. Whether you’re looking to create a peaceful oasis with a fountain or pond, if you’re considering renovating a heritage home, wondering about solar energy and composting, or if you simply want to explore one of Saskatoon’s most beautiful historic parks, we have something for everyone.

First up, we dive into the world of ponds. From traditional designs to modern installations, we help you put a toe in to see if a water feature is right for your yard. We’ve got tips on how to create and maintain one properly so you can enjoy its beauty for years to come.

Next, we head over to Victoria Park, a true gem in the heart of Saskatoon. We take a look at its rich and colourful history, and highlight some of its most iconic features.

As we continue to honour our city’s heritage, we explore a stunning Caswell Hill renovation in one of our most historic neighbourhoods. This home had seen better days, but with the help of skilled contractors, the dedicated homeowners transformed it into a modern yet charming abode that lovingly preserves its original character.

We also explore sustainable living options, with features on solar panels and composting. We’ll help you understand what’s involved in converting that sunlight to electrical energy, and you’ll learn what your new green bin is all about. With rising energy costs and concerns over the environment, more and more homeowners are turning to alternative energy sources and eco-friendly practices.

Finally, we sweeten things up with a feature on homemade tarts. Whether you’re an experienced baker or just starting out, you’ll find plenty of inspiration and guidance in Maureen’s Kitchen.

As always, we hope this issue of Saskatoon HOME inspires you to create the home and outdoor space of your dreams, whatever those might be. Enjoy the warmth of the season, and we’ll see you in the fall!

Amanda Soulodre

OWNER & PUBLISHER

Issue 62, Summer 2023

ISSN 1916-2324

info@saskatoon-home.ca

Publishers

Amanda Soulodre

Rob Soulodre

Editor

Karin Melberg Schwier

Contributors

Amy Thorp

Bob Turczyn

Jeff O’Brien

Julie Barnes

Karin Melberg Schwier

Lillian Lane

Maureen Haddock

The booking deadline for advertising in the Fall 2023 issue is July 21, 2023

Contact Amanda for more information. Email: amanda@saskatoon-home.ca

Phone: 306-373-1833

Text: 306-717-0663

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HELLO, NEIGHBOURS!

Pack your bags! It’s a great time to visit North Dakota for an unforgettable, affordable holiday. Say hello to the rugged outdoors of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and nearby cities ready to greet you. When getting away is this close, what are you waiting for?

TO POND OR NOT TO POND Creating Backyard Ambiance

BY: KARIN MELBERG SCHWIER

PHOTOS: BOB TURCZYN

There was a hole in the ground when Al Ritchie's spouse went in to work at the university one morning. By the time Sandra came home, Al had transformed the crater into a beautiful rockencircled pond and waterfall. It wasn’t Al’s first rodeo with a backyard fount. In fact, the rock pond went through a few iterations before he was satisfied, and he’s learned a few things about the life aquatic along the way.

Al, a public elementary school teacher, and Sandra, a student affairs administrator at the University of Saskatchewan, now both retired, purchased their Nutana Park home in 1981. Today, their backyard is a show stopper, as seen above.

As befits any true oasis, the water source is a serene focal point. First, a small waterfall sculpture dribbled its way into stone bowls. That evolved into a bathtub-

sized pool. Al was still itchy to go bigger and more natural looking. That meant collecting big rocks from farmers’ fields.

“We love the peace and tranquility. It turned out beautifully,” he says, and shrugs. “But it’s why I have a bad back.”

Pondering the Possibilities

How does a homeowner determine whether a pond, waterfall or fountain—or

all three—is good idea? Answering the question is either encouraging or discouraging to potential ponders.

Jonathan Ahlstedt of Ahlstedt’s Landscape

Contracting has worked on everything from smaller water features with hidden subterranean basins and waterfalls to elaborate large scale six-figure ponds.

“Ponds generally appeal to people who spend

a lot of time in their yards who are already okay with sizable yard maintenance,” he says.

Whether or not a homeowner is a “pond person” is also a consideration. Like adopting a pet, it requires boning up on how to keep it happy and healthy. It requires an attentive master.

Attentive, yes. Fussy, maybe not, according to Al. “My opinion is that a perfectionist should never pond,” Al suggests. “A pond is better as a wild thing, not a sculptured yard or manicured grass.”

And it can be addictive. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a true pond owner who was satisfied with just an above-ground structure or their first in-ground pond. They’re always tweaking.”

Location Location Location

“It’s best to select a location that has some tree canopy for partial coverage,” says Jonathan. “Sunlight is nice so you can see the water and its inhabitants, but it also accelerates the growth of algae. It’s best to have a balance.”

Besides the issues of sun, shade, detritus from trees, wind and the yard’s traffic flow, selecting an inviting spot for enjoyment is an important consideration.

“Our pond was built at the same level as our deck. We put it right beside the deck so we can see and hear it as we sit with coffee in the morning, drinks in the evening or as we enjoy the afternoon shade.”

A pond doesn’t require the same inspection bylaws as do pools. Rather, it falls into the

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design “common sense” category, says Jonathan. That includes making sure where all underground utilities are located.

Drilling Down

When Jonathan installs a pond of any significant size, he uses a small excavator. A thick rubber liner is necessary to prevent leaks. Still, he forewarns clients that “there is no easy fix if it is punctured.” The pond must be drained, and damage patched. One pro tip: once the pond hole is excavated and once the lining is installed, an old rubber car floor mat or carpet can be placed under any object on top of the liner that may cause damage due to weight or awkward shape. This padding should be placed under any stones or sculptures on top of the lining as well.

Al was a long-time member of the Saskatoon Water Gardening Society. He put that knowledge to use when he decided to expand his own. “I believed 10’x8’x2’ was reasonable,” Al says. “Depth is important for anyone who tries overwintering fish with a bubbler and heat to keep the oxygen flowing and surface free of ice.”

Keeping water moving with a pump and fountain is the basic requirement. Adding oxygen is important and a waterfall helps. Adding an aeration machine “is the ticket when accommodating a large amount of plants and fish. The more oxygen, the better,” he says. It also means less algae.

“And mosquitoes don’t like moving water,” Al says. “Fish do like their larvae,

so that combination tends to make our backyard pleasant during mosquito season.”

Getting Your Greens

The pond surface needs plant covering on up to half the surface to offer shade for stress-free fish.

“You should incorporate a shelf along one side of the pond or something like stacked bricks. Various plants prefer different water depths. Spider plants look good with bits trailing in the water,” he explains. “Of course, you need a bulrush and or a cattail which can be dug out of a ditch.” These plants clarify the water; they’re heavy feeders so a fertilizer tab pressed into the growing medium keeps them vibrant.

Keeping the water clean, and plants and other pondlife healthy, is a constant.

“You always have to net and skim debris off the surface,” says Al. “But not the bottom. You want to leave that little underwater environment alone so you don’t stir up sludge.” And unless it really gets out of hand, he adds, don’t worry about algae. Fish love to snack on it.

Small Sweat Equity

If the equipment is working properly and the lining is sound, the pond, fountain and waterfall can gurgle away happily from spring through fall. When it’s time to put it to bed in September or early October, Al drains his with a pond pump and hose, always moving the hose to various trees and plants around the lawn. Pond water and soil are rich in nutrients. After it’s drained and plants

removed, he goes at the bottom with a wet-dry vac. The sludge is removed and the pond refilled. The refill is necessary since without the weight of the frozen water during the winter, the sides will collapse from the pressure of surrounding frozen soil.

“This process takes the longest time,” he says. “My 2,000 gallon pond takes four hours to drain and refill. I would guess add about five hours a year in maintenance. So mine isn’t much fuss at all.”

Fish Tales

What’s a pond without fish in it? Just a puddle. But fish have a pesky habit of hiding in the plants. That’s not to say he and Sandra don’t love their goldfish. So much so, they’re hauled inside to a 50-gallon aquarium in the fall where they can be enjoyed all winter in full view.

Pond people who want fish year around put them in an aquarium or cold storage container (cool but not freezing so the fish don’t eat and almost hibernate). Jonathan says most residential ponds simply don’t have the space required to go deep and wide enough to reliably sustain fish year around.

Transporting fish to their winter home is pretty straightforward.

“As the water drains,” explains Al, “we net the originals and the new baby fish and take them in a bucket to our big aquarium downstairs. As they reproduce outside in summer, we maybe put eight in and take out 12 or 13 in the fall.”

POND WORTHY PLANTS

Jonathan Ahlstedt of Ahlstedt’s Landscape Contracting recommends the following plants to bring life to a home pond, varieties friendly to this growing zone (Zone 3b, formerly 3a).

1. Hyacinth Floaters

2. Papyrus King Tut

3. Parrots Feather Red Stem

4. Corkscrew Rush Spiralis

5. Marestail

6. Moneywart

7. Prince Tut

8. Papyrus Giant Dwarf

9. Pickerelweed Purple

10. Banana Red Abyssinnian

Al Ritchie's favourite pond plants include:

1. Spider plant

2. Bulrushes or Cattails (easily harvested from ditches and sloughs for free)

3. Yellow Monkey Flower

4. Marsh Marigold

5. Hardy Water Lillies

6. Ultra Violet Tropical Water Lily

7. Water Hyacinths

All Good Things

At 85, Al is still fit and spry, and knows physical activity is a good thing. But the pond does take some effort and Sandra does a lot to keep it going. Since a recent knee replacement, he’s looking at the pond end game.

“I feel sad the time is approaching when I’ll have to put this satisfying hobby to bed. But,” he muses, displaying the serenity a gurgling pond has instilled. “I think we can donate our fancy

goldfish, drain the pond, give away the boulders and offer our aquarium to the Aquarium Club.”

He brightens at a comefull-circle possibility. “We’ll buy one of those vertical water features again, the stone bowls that catch the waterfall. We’ll enjoy the soothing sounds of trickling water, bird and butterfly visits and dragonfly flybys. We’ll still have that peace and tranquility without quite as much effort.”

Karin Melberg Schwier

What do you want your gift to do?

306.665.1766

“If other people can answer the call, our community will be a really nice place to live.”

– Fundholders Jonathan, Andrea, and family

BY: KARIN MELBERG SCHWIER PHOTOS: AMY THORP

Couple Restores and Preserves Caswell Hill Heritage STAYING IN CHARACTER

When Candyce and Scott Boyd first looked at 623 Bedford Road, they felt the need to rescue and restore. Candyce, an interior designer who graduated from Vancouver College of Art and Design in 2012, is guided by her motto “love where you live” and the couple knew this 1928 property could once

again be adored after “some major TLC.”

“I’m not sure if we have old souls at heart or just really enjoy the challenges and coziness of older homes, but this was our fourth character home we remodelled,” says Candyce, owner of William Wolf Design. Scott owns Brick City Masonry and together, the

couple has been building new homes and flipping old ones for over ten years. They knew a good thing when they saw 623 and bought in 2016.

First Impressions

“There were many things to love like the huge park-like yard, but I think what first caught my eye was the front

entry,” says Candyce. “As soon as you walk in, there is this beautiful wood banister leading upstairs. Typically older homes can be darker, with a heavier feeling from all the wood details. This was different; the light was incredible. Such a bright home with all the original details.”

They kept many, like

Before Before

After After

the original door bell. Strangely enough, the windows and doors were in excellent condition, too.

A Keeper

“Most homes in Caswell Hill of similar style and age haven’t been structurally so well taken care of.”

The house was 1800 square feet, and an addition was made in the early 1980s. As they dug in, they discovered a solid build with bones in perfect condition. They loved it so much they had to call it home for themselves.

“We are both extremely passionate about history and architecture, so we knew we wanted an older home with a lot of history.This can be tricky in Saskatoon; it’s a harsh climate. So many of the homes we looked at were in knock-down condition with dirt basements, slanted… I was going to say floors, but, well, everything slanted. This one was different.”

Getting Down to Work

“We were so excited to see that the previous owner had not painted the doors and trim,” says Candyce. Often

new homeowners either live with the fact original wood was painted, or they tackle the mind-numbing task of scraping layers of paint.

“We did refinish all the woodwork. There was a significant amount of smoke residue. We stripped and restained absolutely everything. The walls are all plaster and painted with an oil-base paint. So we had to wash, remove and re-paint

using the same product. If we used a latex-based paint, it wouldn’t stick or it would bubble and create problems down the road.”

Candyce recalls the suspense and excitement as they removed all the carpet and discovered original hardwood flooring. The carpet had done an excellent job to protect it.

“It was all in mint condition. This is also very rare,” she says. “It’s funny how excited

you can get over old flooring!”

The renovation took roughly six months, and Candyce says the most extensive and challenging aspect was working with existing openings.

“We like to maintain the original character as much as possible.The kitchen had three windows and four doors. It took so much creativity to design a kitchen that would work with traffic flow, the ideal cooking triangle and our wish list. It was tight, but we made it happen!”

Rosy Retrospection

One thing definitely not included in that original character was the colour pink.

“So much pink!” Candyce laughs. “I’m not kidding. Everything!” Candyce laughs. “She—I started calling the house a she. When I say pink, I mean pink walls, head to toe

The only bit of pink in Candyce and Scott’s restored home was a subtle suggestion in the baby’s room, unlike what they confronted start of the reno.

pink carpet, layers and layers of old pink wallpaper.”

Glad to see the last of that hue, Candyce chose lighter paint colours like Chantilly Lace throughout to create an illusion of more space. And to give the house back a little dignity.

“Paint can be so, so tricky in these character homes,” she cautions. “The lighting is older, the red wood tones and yellow wood floors can be difficult to work with. A bright white was ideal against the woods, since the paint actually seems warmer that it actually is. For bedrooms, we went with neutral colours and a funky wallpaper.”

Down Through Generations

The Saskatoon Henderson Directory lists “a new home” built at this location in 1928 with City tax records referring to the

Kitty the cat rests on the built-in window seat in the master bedroom.

“effective ag e,” meaning substantial renovations were done in 1933. In 1929, the homeowner, Robert Seddon, managed the Canadian Government Elevator on 11th Street West. He and wife Clara had two children, Thomas and Ena.The Seddons had lived in Saskatoon from 1915. Presumably, they were not responsible for the pink decor.

Thomas went on to medical school. He posed for a commemorative photo with fellow students of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in 1938. It appears Tom and his wife Marion took over the home after the parents died. Tom passed away suddenly in 1996 and Marion, a 1942 St. Paul’s Nursing School alumna, died in 2006. The home was vacant when Candyce and Scott bought it.

A well-designed kitchen can make the most of limited work space.

“We believe the house stayed in the Seddon family for three generations,” says Candyce.

Structural Constraints

Sometimes blowing out walls and gaining square footage isn’t an option, “but that doesn’t mean you can’t seriously upgrade the finishes and improve the overall use of space,” Candyce says. The couple wanted to maintain the original layout, believing that to be part of its charm.

“We stayed true to the original details, refinishing hardwood floors, fir casing and doors. We wanted to keep as much of the character we could,” she says. “We wanted to stay true to the original design of the late 1920s and early 1930s.” It was customary then to design homes with smaller separate spaces. “People had less clothing, less ‘stuff.’”

Candyce grounded the interior design in that look and added “a few modern twists.”

They fully upgraded the main floor kitchen with custom grey cabinetry and granite countertops, added some “killer bright white subway tile and new lighting,” says Candyce. “We scraped layers of wallpaper and it was fascinating to peel away the years.”

One new element in keeping with that aesthetic is Candyce’s favourite feature. The new custom coffered ceiling in the dining room is striking, but seems in keeping with the house’s character.

“The dining room needed a key feature,” says Candyce. “This led us to create the coffered ceiling. It took some major convincing, since our drywaller is a family friend. I am happy to say that a good ol’ case of beer still goes

it’s breathing new life into tired homes, or building your dream home from the ground up. Bella Vista’s experienced team does it all in record time, with minimum disruption, by strongly connecting with your vision.

a long way!” The result, she adds, is stunning.

Though the couple had planned to stay in the house, but in 2022, with growing children Beau and Nova, cats Kitty and Lady, they made the difficult decision to sell. They bought another property just outside the city.

it’s the best burglar system in town. But there’s absolutely nothing better than snowy nights spent in front of the old wood burning fireplace, probably just like the Seddons did back in the 1930s.Today, the home has a wonderful blend of old charm and contemporary. We miss her.”

WHEN THE WALLS TALK

Candyce and Scott came across numerous little treasures buried by time behind casings and under floorboards: Co-op Dairy glass milk bottles, old flyers and coupons dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, tickets to the Manhattan ballroom (nibbled at the edges by mice) and so many skeleton keys! Behind a piece of trim, Scott found a 1932 coin, perhaps hidden there by one of the Seddon children. As they excavated a garden, they found the perimeter of an old foundation. Digging further, they wondered if a cookhouse or summer kitchen may have stood there as they unearthed old dishware and cooking utensils.

The homeowners fell in love with the light and character, and their modern touches complemented that circa 1928 heritage.

A BRIGHT IDEA

Shedding Light on Your Home's Solar Potential

Last fall, Drew Sebesteny installed nine solar panels on his home in Dundonald. “I’ve always been interested in having solar panels,” he says. “I think everybody, at some point, is going to end up with solar panels on their house—it just seems to be the smart thing to do.”

Two programs helped

him harness his home’s solar potential: the Canada Greener Homes Grant, and the City of Saskatoon’s Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) program, the latter of which not currently accepting applications.

Drew says the payback period for his panels is about 20 years. “It’s quite

a ways out, but for me, it’s also knowing that I’m using a more renewable source of energy. Even if I am not paying for them super fast, at least I can feel a little bit better about not using non-renewable resources.”

He says that although the past winter seemed to have more cloud cover

BY: JULIE BARNES

than usual, he’s excited to see how much energy his panels generate this spring and summer.

Energy Made Visible

A new mapping tool called MyHEAT Solar, launched by the City of Saskatoon, will help take some of the guesswork out of the process for

residents who are curious about their home’s solar potential.

MyHEAT, a Calgarybased company, partnered with Google to build the residential solar map, says James Henry, director of growth and sustainability at MyHEAT.

“The maps that MyHEAT builds today are all built in partnership with Google, accessing rooftop data and solar potential data

for those rooftops, directly from Google,” says James. “What MyHEAT builds on top of that is the entire web interface and platform that builds the customized financial and environmental calculator.”

Saskatoon homeowners simply plug their address into the site, which then populates data on their home’s total hours of annual, usable sunlight and how many square

metres of rooftop are available for panels (based off 3D modelling of your home and shading from nearby trees).

After selecting your home’s energy provider (Saskatoon Light & Power or SaskPower), and entering your average monthly electricity bill, the site suggests how many solar panels you should install, based on your monthly electricity usage and the size of your roof.

MyHEAT Solar shares your estimated upfront costs, the number of years it should take to pay it off, total savings after 25 years and the environmental benefits: how many tonnes of carbon dioxide saved, and how that translates to a specific number of

trees grown for ten years or cars taken off the road.

The site also directs users to a list of qualified solar contractors in the city, and provides a link to the Canada Greener Homes Initiative, so homeowners can find out of they are eligible for a grant.

Significant Solar Potential

James says there are about 60,000 viable rooftops in Saskatoon “that are suitable for solar, based on their size and orientation.” That’s about 77 per cent of the rooftops in the mapped data set.

“If you look at a solar irradiance map, parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta are much better for solar potential just

Owners of single-family homes can plug their address into MyHEAT Solar to learn about their home’s solar potential, based on data from Google.

based on the sun’s path and exposure, and also cloud cover and weather patterns—it’s much better than places like B.C., Halifax and southern Ontario,” says James.

If each of those 60,000 rooftops were to add an average-sized solar system, the city could harness just over 1 million megawatt hours per year, says James. “That’s a pretty abstract number to digest, but it’s equivalent to roughly taking a million cars off the road or planting 76 million trees that are grown for 10 years. And it’s equivalent to 4.6 million tonnes of (saved) CO2 emissions.”

The map doesn’t always account for the rooftop area on detached garages. “Whether or

not a building is mapped with solar potential, is down to whether Google has been able to identify that as a structure and do the processing on it,” says James. In that case, there’s a calculator for homeowners to enter the total area of their garage roof and the direction it faces, in order to get a complete picture of the solar potential for their home.

Although commercial and industrial buildings show up on the MyHEAT Solar map, it’s designed for residential use, says James. The hours of usable sunlight will likely be accurate for these buildings, but, due to differences in electricity rates and solar installation costs, owners

of commercial properties should consult a qualified solar installer for a detailed assessment.

Taking the Next Step

The solar mapping tool is considered a first step. Homeowners interested in adding a solar panel system should contact local providers for a more detailed assessment and estimate.

After Drew Sebesteny plugged his address into the site, it calculated that his roof receives 1,524 hours of usable sunlight per year, and that his system should save 128 tonnes of carbon dioxide over its lifespan, which is equivalent to over 2,100 trees grown for 10 years, and about 28 cars taken off the road.

“My findings from the site definitely support what I found out during the installation process,” he says. “All the information you need is in one place and it’s all tailored to my home. It might not entirely make the decision for me, but would give me the confidence to reach out to a solar company and get the ball rolling. It also helps turn all of the guesses and assumptions I had about solar for my home into something much more concrete and actionable.”

Julie Barnes

Interested in seeing your home’s solar potential? Visit: solar.myheat.ca/saskatoon

Photo: City of Saskatoon

511-45th Street East | Saskatoon, SK | S7K 0W3

Phone 306-934-0660 | Email info@majesticcabinets.ca www.majesticcabinets.ca

VICTORIA PARK HOMEtown Reflections

It’s all different now. The City Gardener’s House is gone, and the Mitten Brothers concrete block factory. The lawn bowling club folded a few years ago. Cliff Widdows' amusement park isn’t even a memory anymore, nor the dance pavilion that drew people by the hundreds on warm summer nights. But still, Victoria Park remains what it has been for more than a hundred years: a people place.

Earliest Beginnings

Victoria Park is older than Saskatoon. The old Bone

Trail—originally a Métis and First Nations trade route— used to cut through it. It later became a settler trail. When the Temperance Colonists came in 1883, they built their first ferry crossing here. In 1903, the famous Barr Colonists camped up at the end, near Avenue B.

But the Victoria Park we know today owes its beginnings to those all-important urban amenities: sewer, water and electricity.

When it was first surveyed in 1905, it was just another riverfront subdivision. Soon,

most of the properties had been sold, and there were houses and businesses here, including the concrete block factory (where the community garden is now) and the Arctic Ice Company warehouse, which stood where the badminton club is. In 1907, the city built the first electrical generating station and pumping plant where the waterworks are now.

Then in 1911, City Council decided to turn it into a park.

“The New Riversdale Park”

It’s not clear why we needed a park here. The

BY: JEFF O’BRIEN

land alone cost a whopping $90,000—more than twice as much as for all the other city parks at that time combined. Nor was it easy. Some property owners held out for more money. Others were hard to find. In tracking down one owner, a city report notes that, “Ernest Duffus of the Livery Stable should know his whereabouts.” Another was thought to be living “near Coleville.” But our favourite was the guy whose address was given as C/O Bridge Gang, La Pas, NWT, via Hudson Bay Junction.”

But they persevered,

Boats moored at the Saskatoon Boat Club docks, ca.1940s.

Photo: Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - LH-3554

and the new park was officially created on December 9, 1911.

Commonly referred to as “Old Powerhouse Park,” it was formally named on December 16, 1913, in honour of Queen Victoria.

In 1944, the city began filling in the bend of the river there and grading the riverbank, which was quite steep. This continued into the early 1970s. It wasn’t just dirt they put in there. Many of Saskatoon’s oldest buildings ended up in Victoria Park. As one-time City Commissioner Carl McLeod remarked in 1985:

“It’s all fill. [The] old Hudson’s Bay building is in there. The old Court House,

Riversdale Pool, 1963.

Friends enjoy a summer day at the Municipal Bathing Beach, 1915.

Photos: (top) Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - LH-5247; (bottom) City of Saskatoon Archives - 1048-0403

that too many people thought we should have saved. The old Bank of Montreal building... They’re all in there. It’s high quality rubbish.”

The Municipal Bathing Beach

Opened on July 15, 1925, the Riversdale Swimming Pool is Saskatoon’s oldest public pool. They often called it the “Avenue Itch Pool” in those days, either because it was on Avenue H, or perhaps owing to the primitive method of chlorination used at the time. But before that, people swam at the Municipal Bathing Beach. This was simply an area of the river near where the swimming pool is now. Originally roped off, it was later enclosed by floating wooden docks. There was a lifeguard on duty, and amenities included a diving platform and change rooms. The beach itself was

separated into men’s and women’s areas. Despite this, it was an immediate hit when it opened in 1914, echoing with shouts of merriment from the crowd of bathers. “Clearly,” the newspaper remarked, “this was the most sensible thing the Parks Board has done to date.”

Shooting the Chute

The beach closed in 1916

because of dangerously high water levels. When it finally re-opened in 1920, it was bigger and better than ever. They brought in sand to make a proper beach and built new, larger change houses. A paddling pool was constructed for the little ones. In 1922, they added the city’s first ever water slide, a 100-foot-long “water chute” made from an

old bowling alley, that you rode down on a toboggan. It was a “thrill-producer for both tobogganists and spectators alike,” the newspaper exulted.

“The

Joy Zone”

In 1923, a local entrepreneur named Cliff Widdows got a five-year concession to run an amusement park there. He built a dance pavilion,

Spectators watch the antics on the water slide at the Municipal Bathing Beach, 1924.

Photo: City of Saskatoon Archives - D500-IV-342-002

Crowds line the shore at the Saskatoon Boat Club’s 1952 regatta.

Competition is intense at the Victoria Park Lawn Bowling Club, ca. 1934.

Photos: (top) City of Saskatoon Archives - S-SP-B-1555-002; (bottom) Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - LH-5264

brought in a merry-goround and made provision for all manner of concerts, public meetings, dances (sometimes five nights a week), sports, rides and games, along with food and drink stands and other entertainments. Victoria Park was to be an entertainment resort to rival Manitou Lake, and people flocked by the thousands to Saskatoon newest pleasure park, dubbed “the Joy Zone” by the Saskatoon Daily Star.

That year, someone also donated a pair of elk calves to the city, which fenced off a two-and-a-half acre enclosure for them in the park. Later, we got two

more, one of which promptly jumped the fence and was never seen again. There may have also been a chained-up bear at the park (it escaped once, but didn’t go far), and even a coatimundi was on display for a time.

But the amusement park ran into financial difficulties. By 1925, it was deeply in debt. When it re-opened that year, it was without Cliff Widdows. The enclosed dance pavilion was gone, too, possibly repossessed and removed by the company that built it. They still had dances there, but on an open-air dance floor (weather permitting). In 1928, the Parks Board chose not to renew the amusement

park concession, and the remaining buildings were removed. So, too, was the elk enclosure. The bathing beach was long gone by then, closed for good after the swimming pool opened.

Sports in the Park

There have been sports facilities in Victoria Park almost since the beginning. But the grand-daddy of them all is the Riversdale Lawn Bowling Club, which operated continuously for 85 years starting in 1929, before closing in 2016. Today, there’s a community garden there. The Riverside Badminton and Tennis Clubs are relative newcomers. The Riverside

Tennis Club was originally in Kinsmen Park near the University Bridge, while the Saskatoon Badminton Club was downtown on 19th Street, next to the old arena. In 1965, both faced demolition to make way for bridge construction. Instead, it was decided to move them into a joint facility in Victoria Park, which opened in February, 1966.

Saskatoon Boating Club

In 1940, a group of local sailing enthusiasts formed the Saskatoon Boating Club and petitioned the city for use of a stretch of riverbank in the park. A boathouse with an attached,

Photo: City of Saskatoon Archives - D500-IV-342-001-2

Photo: City of Saskatoon Archives

Photo: Jeff O'Brien

Photo: Saskatoon Star Phoenix

Elk were a curiosity at an enclosure near the City Gardener's house, 1923.

Weekly entertainment at Victoria Park, courtesy of the Saskatoon Amusement Company, June 28, 1924.

The Mitten Brothers’ 1907 concrete block factory building, 2008.

Planters were made from the factory building after it was demolished in 2008.

two-storey clubhouse was built on the foundations of the 1920s dance pavilion. The club was very popular, with social events and annual regattas. But in those days, Saskatoon flushed its raw sewage straight into the river. There was an outfall just upstream of the boathouse and effluent tended to pile up against club’s floating docks, sometimes as much as a foot deep, according to one report. In 1948, the city connected all the river outfalls into a main interceptor sewer, taking it downstream to a central treatment plant, which greatly improved conditions at the Boat Club.

In 1969, the boathouse burned down. By then, the club was already in the process of moving to Blackstrap Lake, although it had planned to take the building with it. For years after that, groups like the Saskatoon Canoe Club pushed for a new boathouse and launch. They were finally built as part of preparations for the 1989 Jeux Canada Games, and officially opened

Lions SkatePark

Built in 2003, the Lions SkatePark was initially a hard sell. A city report had listed several possible sites for it, including G.D. Archibald Park and Kinsmen Park (which was the skateboard community’s preferred location). But in every case, residents and community groups pushed back angrily. Skateboarders, it appeared, were not wanted. Except in Riversdale, which welcomed them with open arms. Construction of the park began in June of 2003, and it officially opened that September. There were problems, with reports of fights, thefts and even someone having a knife pulled on them. Security was hired the following year, and since then, things appear to have settled down.

Reconciliation Circle and the Pagoda

The most recent additions to Victoria Park are the Zhongshan Ting pagoda,

and “The Coming Spring,” a commemorative artwork by Canadian artist Gordon Reeves. Commissioned by the Saskatoon Tribal Council and the City of Saskatoon, “The Coming Spring” was unveiled in 2018 as a response to calls to action by the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. That area of the park has also been renamed “Reconciliation Circle.” The

pagoda, which was built in 2015, commemorates the experiences of the first Chinese immigrants to Saskatoon.

And with them, the past and present come full circle, here in Saskatoon’s beautiful and historic Victoria Park.

Jeff O’Brien

by Queen Elizabeth II on October 18, 1987.

The Zhongshan Ting pagoda, 2023. “The Coming Spring” by Gordon Reeves, 2023.

Lions Skatepark in Victoria Park, 2006.

Photos: Jeff O'Brien

An Idea, A Place, A Way of Life

It started as an idea for a new kind of aging-in-place community for individuals 55 and older - unique, innovative and forward thinking.

The idea melded with the place: 400 acres of natural prairies located only 5 km south of Saskatoon. Here one can see the horizon, hear birdsong throughout the day and still see the stars at night - a place to breathe, relax and rejuvenate.

From the idea and the place sprang the community. Here you will find a way of life where health and wellbeing are embraced, where sunshine and fresh air enhance daily living, and where residents thrive in an environment of mutual respect and freedom of choice.

Welcome to Crossmount! We are a vibrant 55+ aging-in-place community, 5 km south of Saskatoon on Lorne Avenue (Highway 219). Five sizes of bungalow style homes are available. Homes are designed for safe aging-in-place with onsite health services available so you can stay in your home even if health needs change. Crossmount is pet friendly. Home maintenance, snow removal and landscaping are taken care of by our friendly staff. Homes come with security systems, making travelling easier. Community gardens, walking trails, an onsite cidery & event venue, apple & pear orchards, cross country skiing & skating, are a few of the amenities you will find at Crossmount. This community is nestled into a beautiful natural prairie backdrop, with thoughtfully designed exquisite landscaping throughout. Last sites in our first neighbourhood of homes are now available. For more information about our independent homes or to book a personal tour, please email info@crossmount.ca, phone 306-374-9855, or connect through our website.

BY: MAUREEN HADDOCK

MAUREEN’S KITCHEN

The Queen of Tarts

Making pastry was once considered a simple task that was passed from generation to generation. It is wonderful to learn a baking skill by watching a loved one demonstrate the steps. Such kitchen memories stay with

us forever. If you aren’t ready to try making pastry yet, you can purchase tart shells in the freezer section of your grocery store. Gluten-free pastry shells are also available.

Most tarts begin with

a pastry shell which can support any one of a variety of fillings. I have at least a dozen pastry recipes that I trust, but many have a light and flaky texture, more suitable for a pie that would be eaten with a fork.

In the summertime, I like to hold a tart in my hand, and walk around my yard. A plate of tarts made with my buttermilk pastry can be served from the tailgate of a truck after a wiener roast, at a summer picnic or at

a block party. These sturdy tarts are great on the go.

A tart buffet, at any time of year, makes for easy entertaining because most tarts freeze well and can be made ahead. You can freeze tarts made with any filling that you have seen frozen in a grocery store, and yes, meringue topping freezes well.

There are two types of tart fillings. Some fillings are baked in raw pastry shells. Butter tarts and pumpkin fillings fall into this category. Other fillings like lemon custard or my Sour Cream Raisin Tart filling require

stove top preparation and are added to pre-baked shells. Most filling recipes meant for a standard pie can be divided into 12 tarts.

In the summer, I like to have frozen, pre-baked tart shells on hand so I can make glazed fruit tarts in minutes. Visualize fresh strawberries drizzled with glaze, topped with real whipped cream and served from your fridge on a hot evening. You can also bake phyllo pastry into tart shells and fill them with fruit or mousse.

Maureen Haddock

Tips for Making Pre-baked Tart Shells:

Start by making your favourite pastry recipe. Roll the pastry and cut it into circles to fit the cups in the tart pan. Refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to bake.

To bake tart shells without filling, prick the bottoms and sides of each shell using a fork. Place a paper cupcake liner inside each raw pastry shell and cover the liner with pie weights. I own clay pie weights, but dried beans also work.

Bake tart shells in a preheated 425°F oven for 10 minutes. Then, carefully remove the liners with the weights and return the shells to the oven for another 5 minutes. Set the shells aside to cool before filling.

Easy, Delicious Buttermilk Pastry

This recipe creates a truly unique, crisp pastry and is one of my favourites. The recipe makes one double crust pie or 18 tarts. I use the scraps to make shapes that I can bake and freeze to float on soup or garnish a bowl of pudding. Shapes are also perfect for embellishing the top of a pie.

Moist Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, chilled and cubed

1/3 cup vegetable shortening or lard, chilled and cubed

3/4 cup buttermilk

Method:

I cut the butter and shortening into small pieces the evening before I make the pastry. Store the prepared fat in the refrigerator.

In the morning, add the cold butter and shortening to the dry ingredients and, using a pastry blender or two forks, cut the fats into the dry ingredients until pea-sized crumbs form.

Dry Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk dry ingredients together and set aside.

Pour the buttermilk over the flour mixture and toss lightly with a fork, just until the dough starts to hold together. Add a few more drops of buttermilk if the dough seems crumbly. You will need to add more buttermilk in dry climates.

Bring the dough into a ball and then divide it in half. Flatten each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until you are ready to roll the pastry.

Sour Cream Raisin Pie or Tarts

This is my mother’s recipe and it’s easy to make. It is neither too sweet nor too spicy; it’s mind-blowingly delicious.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

A pinch of salt

2 egg yolks (keep the whites for the meringue)

Instructions:

1 cup high fat sour cream (15%)

1 cup raisins (I wash and remove stems)

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda (set aside)

Make the meringue, while the filling cools for a few minutes.

Meringue Recipe

3 egg whites (yes, you need to crack another egg)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Mix the first 6 ingredients in a medium size saucepan and cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly. When thickened, remove the filling from the stove and stir in the baking soda. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Whip the egg whites with an electric hand mixer until foamy. Slowly add 1/4 cup sugar while still beating the whites. When stiff peaks form, set aside while filling the baked shells with the Sour Cream Raisin Tart filling. Add a dollop of meringue to each tart. Brown the meringue in the preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes. Keep an eye on the tarts because meringue browns quickly.

BY: JULIE BARNES

TOO GOOD TO WASTE The Breakdown on Green Bin Composting

This past spring, over 60,000 new green carts rolled out across Saskatoon. Although the program is new here, it’s by no means novel. The city of Halifax was the first large municipality in Canada to adopt a separate organics program in 1998— 25 years ago. It coincided with a ban on organic waste in landfills throughout Nova Scotia. Prince Edward Island

followed suit the same year, as did Vancouver in 2015. When the City of Saskatoon launched its subscriptionbased green cart program back in 2007, Cheryl McDougall was an early adopter. Although she’s been diverting her yard waste and kitchen scraps for

16 years now (in addition to using a backyard compost), she was excited to learn that the new program will allow her to compost a wider array of household waste than what was previously accepted under the subscription program.

“You can put everything in there now,” she says. Dairy, meat, bones, cooking oil, sauces and grease can all go in the new carts. Where she once would have scraped her plates into the garbage, she’s now able to divert it into her green bin “because you couldn’t have any fats in the green cart before,” she says. “There will hardly be any garbage anymore.”

“If one extra bin is gonna ruin your life idk what to say man” — Saskatoon Reddit user

That’s what the City of Saskatoon is hoping. It’s estimated that more than half of what was once destined for the garbage can now go into the green carts, to create nutrient-rich compost and extend the lifecycle of our landfill.

Preserving the Landfill, Protecting the Planet

“The City has a 70 per cent waste diversion target and we think we can achieve that within the next decade,”

says Katie Burns, manager of education and environmental performance with the City of Saskatoon. “We really want to preserve our landfill…it’s very close and convenient.”

Katie says the City has witnessed what happens in other cities when landfills run out of space. They end up being built further away “so there’s increased staffing and trucking costs” in addition to the capital costs of developing a new landfill. Building a new landfill in

Saskatoon is estimated to cost $100 million.

There’s still a common misconception that organic material will decompose properly in a landfill. It won’t, says Katie.

“Organics have two really negative outcomes for our landfill that we have to work hard to manage. One of them is called leachate. It’s a kind of garbage juice that can contaminate our water and soil. Our landfill is lined, but we are constantly monitoring

the water and soil around it to make sure it’s not leaking. If we can get rid of the source of the problem, that will make the future care of our landfill, and the lands around it, easier.”

The second issue is the creation of methane—a greenhouse gas. When organics are buried in a landfill, it creates an anaerobic (oxygen-deprived) environment. “Instead of breaking down in a way that creates good soil, it creates

Programs

methane gas,” says Katie. “And it’s not just going to create methane this year. Decades from now we will still be getting methane from things we buried in the landfill today.”

Addressing the “Ick Factor”

The City included free compostable bags inside the kitchen pails (given out with the green carts) to address “the ick factor,” says Katie. “Residents are used to bagging these materials

and putting them in the garbage, so we wanted to address that…It’s really no different than the waste folks are already generating—it’s just a different container to put it in.”

Katie says other common misconceptions are that the carts are going to smell or attract rodents. Warman has a biweekly green cart program, she says, “and we chatted with them and they are not getting complaints about these sorts of things. We’ve

heard from other cities, that these are common concerns going into it, but once residents have the cart, they see the value in it and those concerns usually dissipate.”

What Goes In, What Stays Out

Meat, bones, seafood, dairy, cooking oils, sauces,

grease, fruits, veggies, bread, noodles, grains, baked goods, coffee grounds, paper filters and tea bags, eggs and egg shells, food soiled paper products, yard and garden waste can all be

Photo: City of Saskatoon

tossed into the green carts, and residents are welcome to line the bottom of their bins with newsprint.

There’s a term called “wish-cycling” where residents throw items in their recycling bins, with the hope, or “wish,” that it gets recycled. This ends up creating problems and adding costs at the sorting facilities. And it’s safe to say the City doesn’t want the same wishful thinking when it comes to compost.

What’s verboten? The City urges residents not to throw pet waste and bags, diapers and hygiene products, styrofoam or elm wood (due to Dutch elm disease) in their green bins. “While our processing will get hot enough to break down the meat, bones and dairy, it has to get that one step hotter for materials like pet waste and

diapers,” says Katie. “We want to make sure that our end-use product is something that could be used safely, and by residents in their home, gardens or farms.”

Compostable plastics are also a no-no, aside from the BPI certified bags some residents may choose to line their kitchen pails with. For now, residents should consider “compostable plastic” a misnomer.

Despite the fact that your coffee pods may be labelled “compostable,” they can’t go in your green cart, says Katie. “If residents separate the pods, the coffee grounds can be composted. The remainder of the pods should be placed in the garbage.”

“The reason for that is we want to see how our processing facility works,” says Katie. “It’s much easier to add items down the line after

we have had a chance to test them. It’s a new technology that will compost hotter than our current system at the compost depot, so it has the potential, but we want to make sure it’s actually capable and we don’t want to be pulling things out of the program later.” She notes the confusion that ensued when plastic bags and black plastics were removed from the City’s recycling program.

Multi-family Pilot Program

A pilot program for residents who live in multiunit buildings is also in the works. “The make up of their waste is a little bit different because there’s a lot less yard waste—it’s usually handled by a third party, like a landscape company, and they will often use our compost depots,” says Katie. The City will be testing a few different approaches with the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council, including a countertop composting system used in other jurisdictions.

Saskatoon’s two compost depots remain open to residents, says Katie. “We will still have the ‘dig your own free compost’ as well as

the mulch. Our intention is to continue that service so there will be lots of free compost available to our residents.”

The green cart program is estimated to divert up to 20,000 tonnes (about 3,300 garbage truck loads) of organics away from the Saskatoon landfill annually, according to the City.

Two weeks into the new green cart roll out, and Cheryl McDougall confirms that her family already sees a significant reduction in the amount of garbage they produce.

Her five-year-old daughter is learning about composting in school, so their green cart and backyard compost is an opportunity to reinforce those lessons at home. “Her teacher talks about how we all have to do our part to protect the planet, and at home, she’s seeing how we’re creating soil to grow our own vegetables.”

With any luck, Cheryl hopes her daughter's generation will look back one day and question how anyone could possibly complain about a simple green cart.

Julie Barnes

Photo: City of Saskatoon

The City’s “dig your own free compost” remains available at Saskatoon’s two compost depots.

Before the new green cart program rolled out this spring, the City’s opt-in green cart program had 12,000+ subscribers.