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Make plans to come to Wolseley on the August long weekend! A full listing of events will be out soon, but I'm sure the whole weekend will be FUN. There will be a cabaret with music provided by my wife Carla. She will be backed by the Electric Outlaws whose members include a former bandmate from the Red Hot Burritos and another from Against the Grain.The community is focused on raising money to Bring Back the Wolseley Beach. We want to see more young guys tubing around the Lake and the beach once again buzzing with activity.
Joey Theriault is a busy man these days. At 6:00 pm this evening I saw Joey working hard painting the south side of the Wolseley Museum. I got this shot of the camera shy Theriault before he was able to scramble to the ground. Joey has also done some great work on the Town Hall / Opera House and a number of fantastic renovations around town.
An almost daily occurrence for me is seeing Frank Hoffman drive by our home smiling and waving from the drivers seat of his brown station wagon. Mr. Hoffman is around 90 years old but he is still able to safely drive around town. Another oldtimer who pilots a vehicle down our streets is Gordon Dunn. At 97 Mr. Dunn carries out his errands in his minivan in our small town free from multiple lanes of whizzing traffic.Mrs. Kydd is in her early 90's. She was my grade 5 teacher and is still in her own home close to Dr. Isman School. Several times on my walks I have stopped and chatted with her as she putters about her yard. And the other day, I saw Sherry Polk (Manners) in town. Now living in Melville, Sherry was at visiting at her mother Jean Manners place after a birthday party for her Grandmother, Mrs. Fraser who lived in her own home until she was 100 years old.It is evident that Wolseley provides a secure place for seniors to age gracefully. And for this I am grateful.
Canada Day ended with a bang on the beach at Katepwa Beach last night. The weather was perfect as hundreds of people gathered on the Beach to view the fireworks show. We traveled down the valley with Larry Tittle and family. We also met up with the Bill and Tanis Kerr (Havelange) and their kids. The fireworks were great as they exploded virtually right above our heads. 
The Lemberg Performing Arts Center hosted a fun afternoon of singing in the park yesterday. Entertainment rang out across downtown Lemberg all afternoon as various entertainers hit the stage to share the gift of song with those gathered. My wife Carla closed out the afternoon as the featured "out-of-town" guest. For the last few numbers she was joined on stage by Joey Theriault on bass and Mike Schachtel on mandolin. They cranked out a few bluegrass songs and the crowd's applause was evidence of the appreciation.
For me it was an opportunity to see some folks I hadn't seen in years. And it must be mentioned quite a number of the crowd were the members of Leniczek family. I was friends with their siblings and uncle and aunts back in high school days of the 1970's and 80's.
Those are the words Joe Linnell said to me as he and Joan glided out into the lake on Tuesday evening. I have to agree with his sentiments. Sometimes it is hard to believe that Wolseley has such recreation opportunities available on our doorsteps.The Linnell's have moved off the farm and now live a couple of houses down from the swinging bridge. Joe and Joan can regularly be seen walking around the town. They set a great example for those of us who could always use more exercise.
Yes, I know it should be the highway. However, the corner of the so-called "highway" on the north east end of Katepwa is absolutely brutal. On my way to Fort Qu'Appelle the other day took some photos. It had rained before I returned so I had to get some more shots of the enormous potholes.It's been said that "the worst Saskatchewan roads, lead to the best places", I have to agree in this case.
Congratulations to ; Huguetta Bella, Laura Boehme, Renee Cloclough, Brenna Dureault, Jakob Hummelan, Kyla Krenbrink, Mitchell Lyke, Pamela Paulgaard, Chans Perra, Mandy Mercer, Stephanie Nash and Orry Taylor... the Class of 2006.
On Saturday night they celebrated their Graduation Ceremonies at the Town Hall / Opera House. The students enjoyed a fabulous meal, a meaningful program and a great dance. My dad, Graham Taylor, was the guest speaker. I wasn't there, but I hear he did a wonderful job!The young people graduating obviously never had the pleasure of having him teach them. However, some of the parents like Ed Dureault, Ron Lyke, Brent and Grace Taylor, Darcy Perra, Heather Krenbrink and Connie MacDougall all had the pleasure (to varying degrees) of having Dad as their teacher.
When I was a boy in the 1960's and 70's summer in Wolseley centered around the Beach. For youngsters, it was THE place to be. Little ones spent hours leaping form the pier. Older kids hurled themselves from the diving board. And accomplished swimmers could make it to the hospital shore and back. Sadly, the Beach no longer rings with the laughter of children. The pier and the diving board are gone, as is the change house. Like some other folks in Wolseley I believe it is time to Bring Back the Beach!So come to the Celebration on August 4,5,6th, enjoy yourself and play a part in rejuvenating the Beach.
Saturday evening, around 9:00pm, I heard my son Thomas in the yard excitedly hollering "Dad, Dad, you've got to get out here and see what I've got" So I headed across the house and out onto the front veranda where Thomas had in his strong 10 year old hands firmly holding a Painted Turtle. I asked Thomas where he found the creature and he said "I was riding past the Nursing Home and I saw something in the grass...and this is it!" Quickly, we found a plastic tub, put some water and grass in and decided to house the turtle overnight.
The next day the turtle became the focus of neighborhood kids and the Gagne cousins down for a visit on Father's Day. The whole experience was even heightened for the kids as the turtle laid an egg in the night. We set her free in the creek running through our yard that evening. 
Time does fly. This year will be 25 years since the class of 1981 graduated from the Wolseley High School. And after some correspondence initiated by this blog Sherry Polk (Manners), I began discussing the need to have a class of 1981 REUNION!
Our goal is to have it coincide with the Wolseley August long weekend celebrations.
So if any readers have contact details for people from our class, or some who left, moved etc., but were part of that year please forward to me at: wolseleytowncountry@hotmail.com
Some of the littlest but most exuberant fans at the track meet were, my daughter Audrey (on the left) and her friend and classmate, McKenna Bieber. These two girls cheered on their big siblings and played with gusto in the school playground. It has also been reported that they collected quite a few cans, which they redeemed for twizzlers, gummi bears and other sugary delights.McKenna and Audrey are fixtures at many Wolseley events and they ALWAYS have big smiles to share with everyone.
Another day, another track meet. Many Dr. Isman students participated in the North Valley School District Track and Field meet on Friday. Our school school hosted the event, with students from Grenfell, Montmarte, Glenavon, Balcarres, Lemberg and Neudorf also running, jumping and throwing.The teachers and volunteers did a great job of herding thekids to their events on time. The canteen workers did a brisk business and several parents reported sore throats from cheering on the little athletes.
Last week while driving to Kipling I took the road south from Oakshella. After a couple of miles I turned left off the main road and headed down another that meanders eastward through the Pipestone Valley. It was beautiful! The valley is lush and green, there are some great places to stop and look out over the valley. The many turns in the road make this route so different from a typical a drive in southern Saskathewan. While we Wolseleyites are generally partial to the Qu'Appelle Valley, this road through the Pipestone is a real gem.
My wife Carla Taylor has wrapped up two years as Regina's Buffalo Days ambassador Pemmican Pearl. Last Thursday she appeared at the Tourism Awareness event at the Town Hall / Opera House. 
Carla had been wracking her brain for a new performing handle to use when she appears in her turn of the century period costumes. After a bit of deliberation she determined, Opera House OPAL to be the name for Wolseley appearances. She was introduced as this on Thursday and judging by the crowds reaction the new name was well received.
I got this shot on the highway between Esterhazy and Churchbridge. They've had a great deal of rain in the area lately. However, I'm not sure that even that can explain how this shed got in the dugout.
Today the CBC featured the world famous Wolseley Swinging Bridge on "Out and About" segment of the Dan Reynish weekend show. Dan came out to Wolseley and was toured around by one our many great ambassadors Dennis Fjestad. In addition to Dennis he interviewed my Mum, Isabel Taylor, who gave a great outline about how she and Dad participated in raising the money for the reconstruction. In the report you will also hear Tanis Kerr (Havelange), Mrs. Deseutels, Mrs. Banbury and others talking about the bridge.To hear the report go to this link, then scroll down to the June 4th, "Out and About" segment.http://www.cbc.ca/saskweekend/audio.html
Wolseley displayed it's friendliness in full force last night. At 5:30 my Mum was running errands when she met two young girls from Quebec who were looking for a restaurant in downtown Wolseley. Mum told them about the Canada Cafe, and in the course of the conversation she discovered they were also looking for a place to camp away from the highway. My Mum told them she was certain they could camp in our, (Carla and my) big yard. The girls said they may stop by, and headed off to eat at the Cafe.Later, I was visiting with my sister Katherine on our veranda. Around the corner from the Home came those girls with Dwight and Madeline Dunn. Madeline was conversing in French, but one girls English was good (better than my French) so we chatted for a while on the street. The girls (Anne Marie and Claudia) told me they had decided to camp in our yard.The girls experienced another act of friendliness while dining at the cafe. Apparently, Wolseley resident befriended them and offered to buy their dinner! And a little later, I was helping them choose a spot in my yard to pitch their tent. In no time, they got the tent set up. Then, at Dwight and Madeline's invitation, headed off on their bikes to the Dunn's for a shower.This morning, my wife invited the girls into the house to freshen up. We had a coffee and shared a few stories with them before they hit the road. Their goal for this evening was getting to Moose Jaw. The final destination is B.C. where they'll pick fruit for the summer. So if you are headed down the #1 highway and you see a couple of young girls on bikes, it just may be the newest friends of Wolseley, Anne Marie and Claudia!
At 11:30 on June 8th the Wolseley Town Hall / Opera House will be front and center during Tourism Awareness week in this area.
A program at noon will feature a BBQ to support the Wolseley Museum followed by a tour of the Original Beaver Lumber office.
So come on out enjoy a burger and learn a bit more about tourism in our area.
Did you attend the Homecoming last year? I did and it was great! And this August long weekend there will be some of the same type of events as last year. Lynn Keating infoms me that a committee of hardworking folks are putting together a program that sounds like it is going to be another FUN time.I'll have more information coming over the next several weeks.
My wife Carla and I were walking home from a dinner out at the Banbury House tonight. As we strolled along Front street we could not help but notice that the Baran children had been drawing chalk art on the sidewalk.
Their drawings were so cute I knew I had to share them with all the readers of this blog.
I
traveled to Balcarres yesterday afternoon. And given that I am a scenic route kind of guy, I went through the Qu'Appelle valley. As I rounded a corner on the coulee road I was heading up I came face to face with a Mule deer doe. I grabbed my camera and got this shot as she sauntered up the hill.On the way back, taking another scenic route, I saw a brilliant Bluebird about 50 yards north of the Ellisboro bridge.
I suppose that seeing these animals confirmed why I take the roads less traveled.
The rain clouds in the distance soon let loose with deluge of rain as I was out for my evening walk. It happened about 10 minutes after I took this photo of the coulee behind our house. I was on my cell phone with my cousin at the time and I told him I felt like one of those reporters on TV broadcasting from some awesome storm center. And wouldn't you know it, 10 minutes later the sun was shining!
Last Wednesday night the flower beds around the spillway were a hive of activity as the Wolseley Horticultural Society hoed, dug, pulled and planted. The work this dedicated bunch a folks does adds a great deal of beauty to the town. These beds will soon blossom with awesome flowers!
If you are looking for a used garden trowel, or maybe a nice set of Disneyland coasters, or possibly a Doug and the Slugs cassette, this may be the weekend you stike gold! Garage and Yard sales are everywhere. Some have real treasures and others....well, let's just say how many baby bottle heaters and diaper genies does one family need.
But I don't want to discourage you, take a chance, lay down a buck or two for something that catches your eye . It may be just what you need, or it may sell on eBay for big $$$$!
Then again, there is a good chance you will store it for a few years only to sell in your own sale in the future.
My five year old daughter Audrey hit a major life milestone this week. She learned to ride a two-wheeler! It was such a big deal for a little girl who, until now, was religated to running alongside other kids, or blasting noisly along on her Big Wheel plastic trike. But now she rides to and from school, she rides downtown on errands, she rides to her grandparents house in town, she finds any excuse she can to ride.The new (to her) bike was a gift from the Tittle family and it blessed wee Audrey mightly. And according to Audrey, one of the best things it is purple with sparkles it it!
The Fairy Lake Fountain has been put in place just in time for the May long weekend! Rick Ollenburg had a crew of people helping him when he paddled a canoe to the center of the lake, and put his talents as a plumber to work getting everything hooked up just right.This fountain was a real hit with visitors last year and I'm sure that as word spreads even more people will saunter across the Swinging Bridge to enjoy the beautiful fountain.
The Wolseley Karate Club held their wind-up at the beach tonight. Sensei Gary Grant put the club through a display of swinging swords and breaking boards. A short awards presentation was followed by refreshments enjoyed at the peaceful lakeside setting.
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