The Borden Friendship Club held their monthly potluck supper May 31, with 39 out to enjoy a bountiful supper. Blowing out the candles on the cakes baked by Eileen Petrun were Ruby Wall, Rita Smith and Eileen Petrun. The tables were decorated with mini watering cans and flowers set on white and blue doilies and napkins. Entertainment for the evening was Avery Fairbrother of Borden who played guitar and sang over 20 numbers, some of his own compositions. A few were Bobby McGee, The Wanderer, I’m On My Way, Pirate of Saskatchewan, Take it Easy, Garden Party and a new one he has written – Now and Then, Way Back When.
Condolences to the families of John Newbold, who passed away May 30 at the age of 103. His service is in the Borden Community Centre on June 10 at 2 p.m.
Condolences also to relatives of Clarence Williams, who passed away June 2, just two months short of his 100th birthday.
The Borden Community Centre Preservation Committee held a very successful Perogie and Ham supper in the Community Centre on June 2. The 50-50 draw of $172.50 was won by Greg Worona of Borden and the door prize was won by Frank Silcox. Affinity Credit Union, Borden Branch, gave a donation of $2,748 to the committee for the purchase of the new round fibreglass tables in the centre. Thanks to the many who donated items for the silent auction, which raised funds for any renovations that are needed in the Community Centre.
On the morning of June 3, the Lions Foundation of Canada for Dog Guides Ride rode in to town on their motorcycles, stopping at the Borden Community Centre for water and a break on their way to Lloydminster then back to Saskatoon. President of the Borden Lions, Perry Nicol, presented the group with donations from the Borden Lions and individual donations and Mayor Jamie Brandrick donated a cheque for $100 from the Village of Borden, making the total donated over $550.
June 3 and 4 was Diefenbaker Daze in Borden and it started with a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning, followed by ball games, then the parade at noon. There were 22 entries in the parade with the Borden Fire Department leading with their water truck, fire truck, rescue truck, grass fire truck and the Village half ton, followed by floats by Borden Lions, Affinity Credit Union, Borden Museum, Surmount Electric, RM of Great Bend, Borden Co-op, Borden Dance Club, Lakeland Library, Block’s Agencies, two horseback riders, kids on bikes and a clown on a quad. Parks and Rec handed out red Canada 150 frisbees, Brad Funk and his team pulled the Threshermen`s People Carrier, Ed Neufeld pulled a mini threshing machine that Frank Block had built, Archie Wainwright had his 1923 Case 12-20 running, the RM had their semi gravel truck decorated and the RCMP brought up the last of the parade with sirens and all the bells and whistles.
For the opening of the museum at 12:30 p.m., Bob Wardhaugh played the accordion for the singing of O Canada, Mayor Jamie Brandrick raised the Canada flag, spoke a few words on behalf of the Village and thanked the many volunteers who are trying to preserve the past, then Heather Silcox gave the names of the museum board – President Karen Kerr, Vice-president Sharon Assman, Secretary Helen Sutherland, Treasurer Ruben Rempel and board members Martha Rempel, Wendell Dyck, and herself, and the student for the summer, Kaitlyn Bowes from Langham. A new display in the schoolhouse are replicas of buildings from early Borden days – Fosters Store built by Ed Neufeld, Community Hall with a revolving stage built by Archie Wainwright, an elevator, a painting of an early railway station, and a farm scene. Many people crafted a paper quilt block depicting 150 years of Canada and these were assembled and placed on cloth. After the opening, free ice cream cones were handed out to everyone present. At 1:30 p.m., it was the official opening of the Canada 150 playground at the sports ground, with Tom Redhead, president of the Parks and Rec Board, welcoming everyone and giving thanks to the many volunteers and the government for funding $15,000 of the infrastructure, and to the Walker Family for the foundation and sand. He introduced the Parks and Recreation Board – Jennifer King, Shaun Barth, Dan Gunsch, Kendall Redhead, Chris Anderson, Dana Derbowka, Lindsay Walker, Chandra Chabot and until recently Dallas Burnett. Kelly Block brought greetings from the federal government saying it was a privilege to be there to celebrate the opening of the new playground and thanking the many volunteers and donors. MLA Randy Weekes presented the board with a new Saskatchewan flag. Mayor Jamie Brandrick thanked Kelly and Randy for being here and for the presentations, thanked the Parks and Rec and many volunteers to come together to celebrate Canada 150. The ribbon was then cut to officially open the new playground for children to enjoy for many years to come. Affinity Credit Union presented a cheque to Parks and Rec for $1,500 from Community Development to buy the community barbecue being used for the weekend. The irrigations system installed in the ball diamonds was funded by Excel Construction, Kris Brothers and Graham, RM of Great Bend and JorJen Landscaping, who were thanked for their donations to keep the ball fields green. The Kids Zone had bouncy castles and Ed Neufeld with his garden tractor pulling the barrel train gave rides around the grounds. There was face painting for the younger set.
At 6 p.m. there was a steak supper, served to over 230, with the Borden Lions helping out, then the Dukes on Fire played for two hours before DJ Werd Bird played music until after 1 a.m.
Sunday was mainly ball games with 16 teams entered. Winning the A side were Nationals over PBW, B side was won by Makwa over The Gringos, C side was LBR over Great Deere, D side was won by Red Earth outplaying Blood, Sweat and Beers, E event won by Rob Dogs Wolf Pack over Walk-It-Off, and F side won by Back Door Sliders over Super Hitters. On Saturday there was a men’s Home Run Derby with 35 entries each paying $10, and winning $175 was Brent Bloc. On the women’s side, there were five hitters with Kandice Walker winning $25. The other half of each derby went to the Parks and Rec Board.
