And they’re off! Combines and swathers, haybines and balers all take their positions and are out of the gate! Some of the sure signs of autumn are touches of frost at night, windrows of fresh cut hay followed by rows of fresh bales and then the swathers knocking down ripe grain to be harvested and put into the bin. I said this last year, but I think it bears repeating, look at your supper plate on any given night and count how many items originated on a farm of some kind. Hats off to the farmers and keep it safe out there.
Yep we had frost. No much frost but enough to nip cucumbers and tomatoes. Last Saturday night the temperature was right around zero at our yard, but others recorded as low and -3 C. I hope that that was not enough to hurt the crops.
Aug. 22 was a busy day in Rabbit Lake. The weather was not that great for a celebration day, but Rabbit Lake Day went on just the same. More than 100 people came to the Rabbit Lake Community Hall for a pancake, sausage and egg breakfast sponsored by the Rabbit Lake and District Museum Committee and then 26 teams of bunnock players met at the Rabbit Lake Rec Centre to enter the tournament of champions.
Meanwhile Don Voss of Spiritwood fired up his street train and gave train rides, Jim and Vi Anderson of Spiritwood helped interested individuals brand their initials or whatever into wooden plaques, the Rabbit Lake Library sold books in the hall, Jean Massett and Michelle Wohlberg sold crafts and vegetables, Tania Penner sold Scentsee products and the Rose Gill Lodge had several items for bidders to wrangle over in the silent auction.
Donna German supervised the face painting activities for children. The Rabbit Lake Rec Center sold burgers for lunch. Raffle tickets and 50-50 draws were all part of the day. Finally the Rose Gill Lodge sponsored a roast beef supper that around 160 people enjoyed.
The Rabbit Lake and District Board of Trade organized the whole day. Big thanks go out to the members of the board of trade for their dedication to Rabbit Lake Day. A special thanks goes to Dennis and Rennie Wutzke for pitching in and helping out. Cameron McDonald went home $206.50 richer as a result of the 50-50 draw. Winners of the bunnock were as follows:
A event winners Kevin Bosch, Natalie Bosch, Owen Bosch and Ryan Bosch winning $240. Second place A side went to Adam Kotun, Brittany Kotun, Brett Penner and Katie Biedfeld winning $200.
B event winners were Dave Kowerchuk, Zach Pauls, Luke Kowerchuk and Brandi Kowerchuk going home with $200. Second place on the B side were Levi Miller, Alicia Ulriksen, Lana Goller and Trevor Halverson winning $150.
The C event winners were Teagan Polsfut, Bryan Polsfut, Brock Thompson and Tyrus Thompson winning $150. Second in the C event were Jeanette Liberty Dunns, David Crossley, Will Doucet and Elaine Croecker winning $100.
After the supper Rose Gill Lodge made a draw with Norma Sherman winning a quilt, Clara Loy winning a $50 Visa card and Dennis Schmidt winning an afghan. Dorreen Baynes, a resident of Rose Gill made the draws. All in all it was a great day.
The next day, Sunday, found people again at the Rabbit Lake Community Hall celebrating the 90th birthday of Pete Penner. Pete’s sister Laura and daughter Nancy along with grandson Tola were here to help Marg and Pete celebrate this milestone. Congratulations, Pete and happy birthday from the whole community.
This celebration was a double header in that Pete and Marg Penner are moving to Saskatoon and this event was also a farewell. Mrs. Penner taught school in Rabbit Lake for many years and was involved the community in many ways. Pete served on almost every board and committee being village councillor for many years. We will certainly miss them in Rabbit Lake but wish them well in Saskatoon. The Penners were given an embroidered blanket as a going away gift from the community.
This weekend a group of crafty individuals met at the community hall for a three-day quilter’s retreat organized by the Rabbit Lake Quilters. Twenty-two quilters from Martensville, Mayfair, Spiritwood, Saskatoon, Meota, North Battleford, Big River and Rabbit Lake enjoyed good food, fellowship and fun.
Mayfair Creative Corner will be holding a farmers’ market and flea market Saturday, Sept. 19 at the Mayfair Hall. Market is from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. with a noon lunch running from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. This would be a good time to get out and meet the neighbours while it is still nice out.
