You shoulda been there

To some, these little pieces may seem kind of dull in themselves, but that “theoretical economy” bit is enough to make a hyper activist yawn. Anyway, that kind of thinking might as well wait until we’ve got a good grip on “practical economy”.

I apologize for letting my thoughts - and penwander all over the place. I’ll try to get back to what I started out to tell.

Bob Mason

It should be pointed out that this little article turned out all wrong the first time it was written. The intention was to show how much a lot of us brag about the things that have happened to us, good or bad. But somehow it got into the philosophy of “theoretical economy” and on and boring on. Everyone knows how dull that gets!

I imagine that everyone, especially those from the farm, has heard about the Dirty Thirties. That dirty bit was accurate enough because there was so much soil in the air when the wind blew. Heck, I remember driving horses and wagons south of Perdue when one couldn’t see over the piled-up sand along the fence lines! It was “dirty” at times, all right, but there were nice days too. We seldom mention them.

“The air was so full of earth you could cut it with a knife.” Well, it made a good story.

Also, I imagine many of you have heard about the “Hungry Thirties.” Stuff like, “We threw another gopher in the stew,” or “fried roof shingles don’t taste too bad.”

There might have been real hunger somewhere but not at our place. Every year we butchered a steer and a couple of hogs. Mind you, an animal wasn’t worth much on the market - and neither was grain, but we ate like millionaires.

Say, there’s a thought! I wonder if a millionaire feels different than a peasant when he’s hungry?

There probably were some really extremely

Easy remedies for summertime afflictions

Summer may be your favourite season, but with longer days, warmer weather and often more time spent in the great outdoors, there are a few common and annoying conditions to watch out for.

Ensure you’re prepared so you can continue living life to the fullest and enjoying all the season has to offer. Afflictions affecting your health

You’ve heard it before, but applying and reapplying a broad-spectrum sunscreen really is the best way to prevent the painful effects of sunburn or melasma, including serious outcomes like skin cancer. If it’s too late and you’re already burnt, be sure to drink a lot of water, take a cool shower, use a moisturizer containing aloe vera and stay out of the sun.

Heat stroke is dangerous and can occur with too much exposure to high temperatures. Watch for signs like no more sweating, excessive thirst, exhaustion or shortness of breath. Humidity and heat also make heat rash more likely. It occurs when sweat gets trapped under the skin. To avoid heat illnesses like these, wear breathable clothing, drink plenty of water and take breaks from the hot temperatures in an airconditioned space.

Annoying skin and body conditions rough times in the 1930’s but I never noticed them that much, and when someone gives out with a colourful tale about those “lean” years I often wonder if I am expected to be impressed?

Summer is the season when warts tend to be more common. Though harmless, warts can still be annoying. However, at-home remedies can help get rid of common or plantar warts easily and discreetly, without having to visit your doctor.

Without a doubt there were some really desperate times, but in some situations I am often led to wonder...

Actually, it sometimes makes a person feel a little better when we tell about them anyway.

“Boy oh boy was it ever hot that summer.”

I’ve often heard about that day in 1937 - I even remember it. It was nice and cool in the basement of our house, though, and even the cattle had enough sense to stand in the shade.

Every now and then some older type tells me about the terrible winter of 1948.

“The snow was so deep that we never got to town for two weeks!”

Heck, as kids on our farm south of Radisson, one good winter we seldom got to town twice all winter long.

Sometimes I think that these exaggerated tales of “The Way It Was” are part of our way of life, though. Life out here on the lone Prairie often isn’t as colourful as we’d like and some stories would get kind of dull.

Enough about the 1930’s.

I met a fellow some time back who gave one great dramatic description of World War Two.

“Oh, there was blood and dead men all over,” he said. “You should have been there.”

He might have been right, I dunno. I never found out because I’d stopped listening when he couldn’t remember what regiment he’d been in.

But it sure sounded good.

Of course, if I’m going to criticize those people who spice up an otherwise dull story until it is listenable, I’ve got to expect them to wonder about me. Sometimes I imagine I can hear their comments right now, “Who does that silly old scoundrel think he’s fooling with those oddball tales that he sends in to The Independent?” Stuff like that.

Instead of writing, “You shoulda been there,” maybe I should close this article out with something different like, “I’m glad you weren’t there, because it sure as heck wasn’t very nice.”

Grads from days gone by

by Delta Fay Cruickshank for the

Biggar Museum and Gallery

Another Graduation Day in Biggar has come and gone!

I loved the parade. I got to see all those children I have met over the years, several inches taller, more mature and all on their way to adulthood!

Some could become doctors, lawyers, financial wizards, environmental scientists, mothers, and fathers. I just want to see them thriving and improving our world.

Here some graduation pictures from days gone by in Biggar. Our town has come a long way from a one room school at the back of the Biggar Hotel, three schools later into Biggar Central School 2000!

Ask The Money Lady

Christine Ibbotson

Dear Money Lady Read- ers, Now in an economic environment where people are struggling, it is important to remember that charity comes in many formsmonetary of course, but also by being helpful, understanding, loving and generous with your time and support.

It is a common assumption that those people stuck in the cycles of poverty, are personally responsible for their situation. This is a widespread belief by many who arbitrarily assign moral meanings to poverty.

It is very easy for outside observers to see ways that the poor should better their situation. Those with money often say, “if they wanted it bad enough, they would find a way to improve.”

Passing judgement on those impoverished is not the Canadian way.

As a country, we support many world-wide charities and are very empathetic to those in need. What about those people around you in your dayto-day life, those people who make up your “personal bubble”? Scarcity can be found everywhere, even in our own families. Borderline poverty affects your ability to make decisions and ultimately derails both the motivation and ambition of those who live in poverty. Poor people, especially single parents, and the elderly, have a lot of challenges and not having enough money for ordinary things that others take for granted causes many in poverty to make less rational decisions.

When you are preoccupied with money worries you cannot help but feel challenged, in every way, every day.

There was a study done many years ago (Mullainathan/Shafir) that compared the IQ of those who had money and those that did not. The respondents were chosen because their IQ levels were the same at the beginning of the test. These were people from all walks of life, with all different education and ethnicity’s, from all over the country - the only requirement was that they had the same IQ score at the beginning of the study.

All participants were given the same problems to solve and were told to relate the situations to their own lives. When faced with a financial challenge about their future, let’s say an expensive car repair, the ones that had the money to pay for the repair seemed to have a higher IQ with the balance of the testing.

This was interesting. Why was this?

Researchers theorized that the wealthier respondents did not have the “brain drain” of finding a solution to this problem because the answer to the question about how to meet the challenge of the car repair was relatively easy. They knew they could pay for the repair out of their savings or on credit, and their brains were free to move on to the next problem.

This was not the same for the poorer respon- dents, who were stuck on the financial question since it was more difficult for them to know how to meet this personal challenge. The study showed that those with less monetary means seemed to lack the mental bandwidth available for the IQ test. It seemed the more questions poorer respondents had to solve when it came to monetary requirements the lower their IQ levels became.

You see, being preoccupied by financial concerns makes everyone who has less, measurably unable to do the things that others can do because they have no worries about their future and the dayto-day monetary commitments. This is an ongoing problem in Canada especially now that inflation and interest rates are on the rise.

Poverty does not discriminate by age - it effects the young to the very old. Canadians categorized as living in poverty, are those that have income below the 50 per cent median income in the area in which they live.

We must remember that it is harder for those impoverished to improve their situation than it is for those in our middleclass society, and we should never judge someone for what you believe is their lack of determination to improve their situation. There are many poor that have much more drive, determination and fortitude than those that have money. Many struggle with hardships that most upper-middle-class Canadians would never be able to endure.

Remember, financial scarcity is generally not a one-time event, it has long lasting consequences and for those that can overcome it, they have indeed climbed the mountain and triumphed.

Good Luck and Best Wishes!

Written by Christine Ibbotson, author, finance writer, national radio host, and now on CTV Morning Live, and CTV News @6. Send your money questions (answered free) through her website at askthemoneylady.ca

by Trudy and Dale Buxton

We continue our trip into British Columbia and on the Crowsnest Pass.

Known for its great beauty as you drive through the mountains, the Crowsnest Pass is also know for lots of tragedy. In 1903 the tip of Turtle Mountain broke loose and came down on the village of Frank, and pretty much wiped out part of the village.

With the coal mining there have been many disasters.

In 1914 in Hillcrest, there was a coal mine explosion that took the lives of 189 people. With a total of 228 workers calling Hillcrest their place of work, the accident is still rated as the worst mining incident in Canadian history.

Most Albertan coal mines have been closed for a number of years, while there are some open pit coal mines on the British Columbia side that continue to provide a vast employment base in the area.

The Crowsnest Pass is also noted for its “rumrunning” during the Prohibition days between 1916 and 1923 when the Pass was used by many to transport illegal liquor to the USA through the mountains of British Columbia.

When your driving through this part of Crowsnest Pass the scenery is absolutely fantastic, and the road is fun to drive on, especially for a motorcycle.

Next up is the com- munity of Sparwood, the second largest community on the Elk River, a 220 kilometre long river that originates from the Elk Lakes near the Continental Divide, through the Elk Valley, joining the Kootenay River in Lake Koocanusa.

Sparwood has a population base of around 4,200 residents and was named because of the trees that grow in the region, used to manufacturing spars or masts for ocean vessels. The local economy of Sparwood is very dependent on the steel and coal industry as the main primary industry with tourism and lumber coming after that.

Sparwood is home to the “Terex Titan” which at one time was the world’s largest haul truck. There was only one 33-19 truck built and was in operation for 13 years. The truck was restored and now sits on the entrance of the city as a tourist attraction.

In the late 1800’s Sparwood was only a brief stop on the railroad and it wasn’t until the early 1960’s that a collection of communities consolidated to become what Sparwood is today.

The history of the area dates back 11,000 years with the history of the First Nations people who travelled through this area to capture the bison on the nearby plains.

There are many attractions in the area with the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop. You can do lots of camping, fishing, hiking, biking, skiing and canoeing. You can also simply stop by a roadside picnic area and have a quiet lunch in the wilderness.

Stay Tuned for more adventures of The Saskatchewan Traveller.

Senior Girls Volleyball Awards

Presented by Miss. Minish

Junior Girls Basketball Awards

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Senior

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Junior/Senior Curling Awards

Presented by: Mrs. Thomson & Mr. Tollefson

Senior Boys Volleyball Awards

Presented by Ms. Arnal & Mr Samuel

Junior Boys Basketball Awards

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Senior

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Barry MemorialKennedy Award

Presented by Miss.

Presented by: Ms.

Track

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Most Valuable Athlete: Division III

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Presented by Miss. Minish

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Calvin Daniels

by Calvin Daniels

When you have been involved with fairs and exhibitions as long as I have - roughly 20 years showing stock and now roughly 35 as a journalist - you have seen a lot of beef on the hoof.

I was reminded of that this past week as I attended the Yorkton Regional 4-H Show that was part of the local summer fair.

There is always something nostalgic for me in attending livestock shows. I was not a 4-H member as a youth but I was in the show ring at age five, so I have an appreciation for the work associated with exhibiting stock, and