Season 2
The village of Hamton is like many Saskatchewan communities between Yorkton and Canora… still on the map, but not really there anymore.
But to say there is nothing left of Hamton is a mis-statement. It looks that way from the intersection of the grid roads to the west and south, since the triangle that was the village, between those two roads and the old rail line, is overgrown with tall weeds, shrubbery, and a few trees. Until 2018, there were buildings still standing, but abandoned and unused. Then one weekend in early May of 2018, whatever was left of the village of Hamton burned to the ground. Gone.
Was caused the fire? Mother nature? A grass fire? A controlled fire set by someone that got out of hand? Somebody must know. Yet it remains a mystery.
Story on doukhobor.org of a visit to the Doukhobor halfway house near Hamton, as mentioned in the podcast. Doukhobor.org is the Doukhobor history website of Jonathan J. Kalmakoff. Mr. Kalmakoff is the Jonathan who Ed Keyowski refers to in the podcast. Born in Canora, he is a noted historian of Doukhobor history in Saskatchewan and elsewhere.
Website of Chris Attrell, Photographer
Below, a video made by Shaunavon-based photographer Chris Attell in 2018, using his drone video footage and photos he had taken on a previous visit to Hamton in 2006.
This videos and photos below credited to Chris Attrell, Photographer, are used with the photographer's permission.
Lesotho, a landlocked country in southern Africa, is home to about two million people, including Ivan Yaholnitsky, whose family name is familiar in the Yorkton area. The Yaholnitsky family farmed south of Mikado. Ivan went to the University of Saskatchewan, and what he is doing in Lesotho is the topic of this podcast.
Lesotho is a poor country. Nearly two-thirds of the country’s income comes from farming, and a quarter of the population is unemployed, according to the government of Lesotho website.
That’s where Ivan arrived in 1987, to teach at the high school in the village of Bethel, in the eastern part of the country. And that is where he still is today. He and Antonia Nthabiseng from the village were married there in 1993, they raised a son and daughter, and that same year Ivan established the Bethel Business and Community Development Centre, or BBCDC, which teaches and practices sustainable development and learning by doing.
Ivan Yaholnitsky on Solar Cooking Wiki
BBCDC newsletter detailing work completed in 2024
Sacramento City College and Solar Education Project Zoom session with Ivan and BBCDC students (September 2024)
Life in the Mountain Kingdom, YouTube channel of Ivan and Antonia's daughter Audryana
It's almost 50 years since the first computers started being used in Yorkton. We talked with Andy Balaberda, the first local computer teacher, and Rick Coleman; he and Warren Gamracy were very early entrants into the business of computer sales and support, with Rick also developing software. My own household also started using computers very early on. There you have it: three old guys – Andy, Rick and myself, all of us in our 70s and each with 40 to 50 years of computer use and experience behind us. We talk about when it all started in the 1970s, and share views about computers, the changes over the past 50 years, and the future.
Steve's Old Computer Museum website
History of the IBM PC - Bellis, Mary. ThoughtCo, Jun. 25, 2024
The true story behind the IBM personal computer - ITPro.com, December 23, 2021
How Compaq cloned IBM and created and empire - InternetHistoryPodcast.com, May 2024
Forty years ago, the Mac triggered a revolution in user experience - Smithsonian Magazine, January 19, 2024
Steve Jobs unveiled the first Macintosh - MacRumors.com, January 24, 2020
Perry Ehlich left Yorkton in the early 1970s to attend the University of Saskatchewan. He became a successful lawyer in Vancouver, and continued to indulge in his love of music and performing; 30 years ago he founded Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance!
He has been called an impresario for conducting two one-month music camps each summer which attracts kids from literally around the world, and for teaching and nurturing a performing troupe of teenagers called ShowStoppers. They appear year-round in concerts, on TV and radio, and at numerous conventions, awards dinners, galas, sporting events and corporate and charitable events throughout BC.
Perry Ehrlich's YouTube channel with videos of his young performers.
Perry Ehrlich's Facebook page with more videos and information.
TheImpresario.ca: website for Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance! and ShowStoppers, including a gallery with photos, videos and audio files and a comprehensive biography of Perry Ehrlich.
Canadian Bar Association BC Branch Community Service Award
The Advocate, September 2022 cover story about Perry including his youth in Yorkton
About Perry's father, David Ehrlich:
Langley Advance: Auschwitz is where ‘the devil went to take lessons’
Jewish Independent: A story of sole survival
This is the story of Alexander Ross, for whom the Yorkton Legion branch is named. He had a middle name which started with the letter E, but in no sources, including when he received an honourary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Regina, is his middle name mentioned. He was generally referred to as Brigadier-General Alexander Ross.
Our story is drawn from many sources, including information compiled by Ruth Shaw and available on the Yorkton Legion website. Not all sources agree on all details, not surprising considering much of what we discuss is as much as 100 years old. But the basic facts about his early life, military career and life in Yorkton as a judge are not in dispute. Including his contributions to what is now York Lake Golf Club.
World War One Canadian Generals on blatherwick.net (Alexander Ross is listed on page 34)
The Vimy Pilgrimage, 1936 on canadianmilitaryhistory.ca
Portrait of Gen. Alexander Ross, National Portrait Gallery, London England
Birth of a Nation and Mythmaking, The Canadian Encyclopedia
Article by Deveryn Ross (great-great nephew of Alexander Ross, Brandon MB) in the Winnipeg Free Press, Nov. 9, 2011
World War Graphic History website by historian Matthew Barrett
Canadian Forces Personnel Records Envelope of Brig.-Gen. Alexander Ross
Origins of the York Lake Golf and Country Club, by Donald J. Childs
Jason Payne has taught at the Yorkton Regional High School since 2002, but his involvement with youth and sports has expanded greatly beyond the boundaries of the school. His dedication to high school sports and youth sports in Yorkton is unquestioned.
In 2018 he nearly hung up his whistle. “I was burnt out by the demands of coaching. Instead of quitting I focused on the holistic development of my athletes and building environments based on high-performance. It has made all the difference.” He pursued a Masters of Science degree in Sport and Performance Psychology in 2021, and a newsletter he now publishes about a different way of coaching is read by more than 1,700 coaches world-wide.
We talked about motivating young athletes and motivating young people in school. We talked about helping prepare young people for adult life.
The Growth Mindset website where you can sign up to receive The Competitive Advantage coaching newsletter.
Yorkton Sports Hall of Fame website with more information about Jason Payne and the other inaugural recipients of the Yorkton Lions Support for Sports Award.
In the 2010s, Dr. Brass elementary school in Yorkton was down to under 90 students, and consideration was being given to closing the school. It is one of the older schools in Yorkton and parents in the area preferred to send their kids to other newer schools in the city.
Today it is bursting at the seams, primarily due to a program that started in 2020 to attract students not only from within the school’s immediate area, but from other areas of Yorkton, and from nearby communities, including Kamsack, Melville and Saltcoats.
The reason for the turnaround? Six academies that provide all students in grades 5 through 8 with additional learning and activity opportunities.
Dr. Brass Innovative Learning website featuring the academies
Dr. Brass School on the GSSD website
Other Dr. Brass Academies
In the podcast we spoke with four teachers about four of the academies:
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Performing Arts
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Indigenous Culture
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Hockey
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Sports
Here is information about the other two academies active at Dr. Brass School.
The photo galleries below show activities in all six academies over the past few years.
Visual Arts Academy
Dr. Brass Visual Arts Academy offers instruction and exploration in multiple forms of art mediums including, but not limited to acrylic, spray and water colour paint, graphite pencil drawing, coloured pencil, textiles, pastels, floral design, 3-dimensional structures, special effects makeup, digital design, henna, and many more.
Through these mediums, students will study themes surrounding pop culture, identity, the importance of place and social issues.
The Visual Arts Academy is based out of the Dr. Brass art room but will also be experienced in various other locations outside of the classroom such as galleries and outdoor learning spaces. Though the majority of our learning will focus on the visual strand of art, students will get the opportunity to spend time at a professional dance studio to learn the dance and drama strands of art from certified professionals.
Visual Arts Academy students will have various opportunities throughout the year to showcase their work and share their talents with their fellow Bears, their family, and the community through art walks and art sales, as well as continuous visual arts displays throughout the halls of Dr. Brass school.
This program is welcoming of all skill levels and abilities, only requiring a curious open mind, a willingness to learn new mediums, and a passion for creating.
Building Active Leaders Academy
We believe all students have capacity to be leaders within our school and community.
Students are given opportunities to plan for and engage in leadership opportunities throughout the year. Physical activity, health and well being are focuses of our daily programming.
In the Building Active Leaders Academy students will:
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Develop skills to be physically and mentally healthy, build your self-confidence, develop leadership skills, and explore your passions!
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Explore leadership and learning opportunities outside the traditional classroom.
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Experience fitness, health and kindness related opportunities.
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Organize and plan school activities such as: assemblies, haunted house, carnival, field trips, Christmas Store, biking in the community.
Performing Arts Academy
Hockey Academy
Indigenous Culture Academy
Sports Academy
Building Active Leaders Academy
Visual Arts Academy
Cambodia is a country of 17 million in southeast Asia, sandwiched between Vietnam to the east and Thailand to the west, with Laos bordering it to the north. Eighty percent of the population lives in rural areas, and 57 per cent of households in the country are involved in agricultural production, mainly rice. It is a poverty-stricken country.
It's also a long way from Yorkton, but in 2010 and again in 2015 Warren Crossman, who farms in the Orcadia district and is a longtime activist in the co-operative movement in Saskatchewan, spent time there. In 2010 he was an advisor to a non-profit and non-political farmer organization representing a network of village-based farmer organizations. He went back in 2015 on a private visit, for reasons he explains in our podcast.
Warren Crossman & /CFGB Study Tour, an interview with Warren by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank about his visits to Africa. (YouTube)
Co-op Merit Awards 2010 - Warren Crossman, a video by Camp Kindling (Co-op Camp) and Saskatchewan Co-op Association. (YouTube)
The Co-operative Association of Cambodia (CAC) website
Farmer and Nature Net website
Canadian Foodgrains Bank website
Crossman's Quest: 140 Varieties of beans and counting, a story by Calvin Daniels of Yorkton This Week, published on SaskToday.ca on July 26, 2023 about Warren's interest in growing heirloom beans and potatoes.
In Yorkton, where there are no homeless encampments, it would be tempting to think that it's one problem we don’t have to deal with. But that would be a mistake.
Most of us may not see it every day, or at all, but homelessness happens in Yorkton just as it does in larger cities. The people who work with the homeless and deal with it on a daily basis are well aware of the issue, and have some very definite ideas about what could and should be done about it.
We talked to Angela Chernoff, the co-ordinator of Bruno’s Place on Dominion Avenue, an emergency shelter for adults; and Martha Gares the manager of Housing Support at SIGN, the Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbours.
SIGN Housing Support on the SIGN website.
Bruno's Place quarterly newsletter, April 2024
To join the mailing list for this newsletter, contact coordinator@brunosplace.org.
New Yorkton emergency shelter offers safe shelter and food
Yorkton This Week, June 20, 2023
The Homeless Hub provides resources and information, and their learning hub provides free training for those providing services to the homeless, and anyone else interested.
The Saskatchewan Office of Residential Tenancies provides for anyone looking to learn more about their rights and responsibilities, or who are looking for information about making a claim against a tenant or landlord.
The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness is a national movement of individuals, organizations, and communities working together to end homelessness in Canada.
About Bruno
Bruno's Place occupies a building purchased for it by Prairie Harvest Christian Life Centre. It is named for a familiar figure in downtown Yorkton and Kamsack in the 1960s and 70s, a homeless man known only to most as Bruno.
Yorkton This Week, October 15, 2014
Just Bruno and The Bruno Photo Shoot
Artist Russell Thomas' Middleage Bulge blog, 2014
Bruno finally has a place to call home
The Craftiest Workshop blog, 2022
Bruno's Place
Ben and Tony's Barber Shop was an iconic institution in Yorkton from when the two shared a business starting in 1961 to Ben's retirement in 2008. Tony continued on his own until 2013. When he closed his shop, it provided the impetus, and inspiration, for Sean Craib-Petkau to get into barbering, and establish a men's barbershop that is reminiscent of earlier years. Two barbershops. Similar, but different.
Speaking of different, yes, that is me doing the narrating. The voice is still in the process of recovering from a spring cold. I can accept that, but it would be good if it was actually starting to look like spring in Yorkton as we go into the Easter weekend.
Ben and Tony's
Parlour Barber Shop
The history of newspapers in Yorkton now spans 132 years, starting with The Messenger, published in 1892, two years before Yorkton officially became a village. It was written by hand on notepaper, and reproduced by stencil.
But we wonder, in 2024, if the writing is on the wall for newspapers printed on paper, as we explore the long history of this first, and for for several decades as Yorkton was established and grew, the only means of local mass communication.
For me, this story is up close and personal, having been one of the founders and the editor of Yorkton This Week, an upstart weekly newspaper that in 1975 took on the behemoth of media companies at the time, Thomson Newspapers, a Canadian company with massive holdings at home, as well as in the United States and Britain. Thomson owned The Enterprise, which by then had been the dominant newspaper in Yorkton for 80 years.
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan page with links to copies of early Yorkton newspapers.
The December 20, 1917 edition of The Yorkton Enterprise (Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan)
The August 1, 1916 edition of The Yorkton Press (Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan)
The host of this podcast looking over Volume 1, Number 1 of Yorkton This Week, which he co-founded with Bob Thom and Ed Betker almost 49 years ago.
From early travelling shows that entertained settlers in the Yorkton area, to occasional local little theatre productions, Open Lit nights at the old Yorkton Collegiate Institute starting in the post WWII years, elaborate musicals performed by students at Sacred Heart and Yorkton Regional High Schools starting in the 1960s, the founding of Paper Bag Players in 1984, Broadway musicals by Yorkton Community Theatre in the first decade of the 2000s, and the establishment of Free My Muse drama school for children and teens in 2005, Yorkton has long had live theatre, and still does.
Attendance may go up and down at times, but the passion and dedication of the actors and crews has never waned, and has led some to greater involvement in theatre and film.
Paper Bag Players website
Free My Muse website
Website of Amanda Trapp
Website of Gloria Herauf's Beach Street Players in Comox, BC
Yorkton Community Theatre website, long abandoned but somehow still live, including photos of its musical productions
Mark Claxton on IMDb
Duval (Duve) Lang on IMDb
Story about Globe Theatre's The Ring of Fire: the Music of Johnny Cash in 2015, featuring, among others, Ben Redant
Paper Bag Players
Free My Muse
Yorkton Community Theatre
Clay Serby was first elected as the New Democrat member for Yorkton in 1991. While he and Premier Roy Romanow had their differences initially, they became close friends, and Clay subsequently served in cabinet in high-profile portfolios – Health, Education, Highways, Municipal Affairs and Agriculture.
It was under Romanow’s successor, Lorne Calvert, that Clay reached the highest level of any Yorkton MLA, deputy premier. He also continued in the Agriculture portfolio, and dealt with economic development and rural development specifically.
It’s now just over 16 years since Clay left provincial politics, and government, in November of 2007 in order to devote his time to dealing with health issues – cancer – for which he had been under treatment for the previous three years. We talked about life in politics, and in government, which he viewed from a side few of us get to see.
Clay Serby Roast and Toast, Gallagher Centre, Yorkton, April 19, 2008.
On YouTube, a song performed by Stacey Serby and Lee Mierke at the event. They had both been members of Saskatchewan Express
Clay Serby career and political résumé.
It is January in Yorkton, where a golf season of five months is considered a good year. We're still at least three months from teeing it up, but talk about the game seldom takes a break for golfers; it's a form of self-preservation to make it to the next season.
We talked with four golfers at various stages of their game: one who played pro golf on the PGA and other tours in the 1990s, one who turned down a chance to play pro on the ladies tour, one who is now entering his third full year as a young pro, and one who is off to college in the US in the fall on a golf scholarship. All learned their golf at Deer Park in Yorkton.
Apologies for the homonymous episode title. For one who loves to play with words, it was just too good to pass up.
For those not familiar with "Fore!" it's what golfers shout when their ball strays from its intended path and is headed for spectators or other golfers. The word is most likely of Scottish origin, a shortened version of the word "before" or "afore". It essentially means "look out ahead," and may have originated with the military, where it was used by artillery men as a warning to troops in forward positions. At one time golf courses employed forecaddies, whose job it was to watch where balls went, and mark them so the players could find them. That is still done at professional tournaments, although they are now generally referred to as ball spotters.
Golf Saskatchewan Women's Order of Merit, 2000-2022
Golf Saskatchewan Junior Men's Order of Merit, 1999-2022
