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Bessborough Hotel

Excavation for the hotel began in 1930. The Saskatoon Library Local History room has wonderful photos of the steel skeleton, and other stages of the construction. Materials used in the building included Tyndall stone from Manitoba, bricks from the Claybank Brick Plant in Saskatchewan and tiles from Estevan. Although the hotel was completed in 1932, but the hotel didn’t open until 1935 because of the financial difficulties of the Depression. The first registered guest was Harold Stovin, in December 1935.

I’ve stayed there in the past, and gone to many functions.  In 2010 the hotel celebrated its 75^th anniversary with an open house that included displays and tours. We saw china from the past, posters, menus, and newspaper stories (demonstration protesting dress regulations in 1970). There was a slide show and story tellers recounted their and others’ memories. Tours showed us the Royal Suite (where Queen Elizabeth stayed, and which can be booked by ordinary mortals), as well as telling us about the Bessborough ghost.

The hotel has gone through many changes – ownership, renovations, etc.  It still stands and is loved as an icon and landmark of Saskatoon.

Beaver Creek

When you live in a city, even if it has good parks and a wonderful riverbank, there are times when you need the country. Beaver Creek, 13 kilometres south of Saskatoon, is a great place to escape to when the need for quiet and open country grabs you.

It was established in 1979 and is managed by the Meewasin Valley Authority. It’s a great place to watch the Perseid meteor shower in August. Its trails take you through short grass prairie, wooded areas, and to the riverbank.

I’ve seen a grasshopper laying eggs, watched many different kinds of birds, and had fun trying to identify various flowers and other plants. Beaver Creek was the first place I recognized poison ivy. I’ve hiked it at all seasons of the year. The interpretive centre is fun for kids and adults alike.

Check out the Meewasin website for information about programs and hours.

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A Bit off the Top

One of my favourite hair cutting places is gone! I came back from a trip to Edmonton in November and decided I needed a cut, but the place (across from The Roastery) had disappeared. It was run by a couple of women, they charged reasonable rates, I liked the way they cut my hair, and they had a cute little dog. What more could you ask for? I feel a bit guilty because I don’t get my hair cut that often (I let it grow quite a bit and then get it chopped off), and sometimes I do try out other hair cutting places. But I always went back to A Bit off the Top.  I have no idea what happened because there was no sign up that they’d moved, and the phone number is not in service. So if anyone out there knows anything about this, please tell me!

 

Artisan Fine Craft Market

I haven’t attended this event for a number of years, but I always liked it when I did. Saskatchewan has wonderful crafts people who are renowned not only in this province and country, but also in other parts of the word. The Artisan co-operative does a great job of presenting some of the best work in clay, fibre, metal, wood, glass, printmaking, painting, paper, mixed media, and so on. The entrance fee is only $5, and since the event is held toward the end of November, it’s a great opportunity to buy unique Christmas presents. I have got to get there next year!

 

A Taste of Saskatchewan

Spend a summer afternoon by the Saskatchewan River, eating good food and listening to music. I haven’t been to this event for a few years either. Although I think it’s great, I do have a couple of quibbles that have kept me away. One is that the same restaurants show up year after year presenting the same food. I’d like a little variety, please! A friend of mine told me that in 2013 they did have some changes, so I hope that continues in the future. My other quibble is the large amount of food that most servings include. Rather than eating only one big meal, I’d like to be able to sample several, so I’d be happier with portions that are half to one quarter the size. And thus they could charge less! I think others would appreciate these changes also.

A B C’s of Saskatoon

I’ve written many different things in my life, from school exercises, to stories, poetry, book reviews, nonfiction articles, government reports, novels, and so on. But human beings didn’t develop a system of writing until the ancient Mesopotamians began to record agricultural accounts. The first inscriptions of writing consisted of simplified drawings to represent stylized objects – pictograms of a sort. It took quite a while before the symbols people wrote began to represent the sounds of a language, and eventually develop into alphabets.

Each year of doing a blog I try to do something different. I don’t want to bore myself or other people, though perhaps I do anyway. Words go out into the world or not, and they are ignored or read. I write because it’s second nature to me, and I like doing it.

So this year, 2014 I’m going to write about the city where I live, have lived for the largest chunk of my life. Throughout the year I’ll go through the alphabet, two or three letters per month, and I’ll write about events, organizations, landscapes, architecture, and so on that start with the next letter of the alphabet. Hopefully people will find their own favourites here, or perhaps they’ll respond with their own odes to Saskatoon.

“Say what some poets will, Nature is not so much her own ever-sweet interpreter, as the mere supplier of that cunning alphabet, whereby selecting and combining as he pleases, each man reads his own peculiar lesson according to his own peculiar mind and mood.” – Melville