Margaret Lommer is one of Hafford's original residents and historian. She fondly tells the story of how the land, where the Town of Hafford is located, was obtained.
Margaret's parents, Henry and Mary (Melling) Hudek, had homesteaded on some land, in the area that is now known as Hafford.
"In 1912, the railroad between Prince Albert and North Battleford was being constructed and a CNR representative came to see my dad about purchasing a parcel of land for the proposed townsite. The representative offered Henry $20 per acre for the land but Henry, having already invested in breaking the land and constructing buildings, told the man that he couldn't afford to sell for less than $30 per acre. The negotiations went on for some time with the word 'afford' being used frequently, and eventually the CNR representative agreed to pay Henry $30 per acre," explained Margaret, who still has the original documentation.
"The sale was official, then it came to naming the townsite. The CNR representative couldn't help but acknowledge the word 'afford' that Henry used many times throughout the negotiations. The word 'afford' was used as a base word and as respect and in honour to Henry, the representative took the letter 'H' from Henry's last name Hudek and placed it in front of the word afford to create the townsite name of Hafford."
Margaret is a valuable wealth of information to her community and, at the glorious age of 93, she continues to share her knowledge with everyone.
The townsite began to grow as families began to move into the Hafford area and settle in the early 1900s. Margaret was born in the house she still resides in. She was quick to identify the location in the house where the bedroom was and where she took her first breath.
She has many fond memories of growing up, attending school and watching many changes occur over the course of her life. Eventually the community began to grow as livery stables were built, boardwalks and hitching posts were installed and, in time, a general store, post office, implement/machinery/vehicle dealerships and grain elevators were erected.
A humorous recollection was when, as a teenager, she would mount her horse and head uptown to gather the mail from the post office. She remembers when her father received a complaint about her riding her horse too fast down Main Street.
"I suppose I raised some dust," said Margaret chuckling.
Margaret also recalls the community spirit and drive that was displayed when most of the buildings on the west side of Main Street perished in a fire. Although Margaret was unsure of the actual date, she will never forget how people lined up that summer's evening to pass pails and pails of water from the water truck.
The installation of infrastructure was a major improvement to the community.
"Receiving power in the 1950s was one of the biggest advancements as it opened the door to many more opportunities," said Margaret.
Although the Hudek residence was located close to town, the homestead was considered in the rural municipality; however, when town council was searching for a location for its pump house, a parcel of the Hudek land was identified as the ideal location. In return for the land, the Hudeks were graced with being included into the town water infrastructure.
Margaret Lommer was recently bestowed with CTV Hometown Hero status by Mayor Ron Kowalchuk. The honour was a result of a ballot that was held during the CTV Hometown Tour in the summer of 2012 when CTV evening news was broadcast live from Hafford.
CTV paid tribute to an honourary community member however, over the course of the months, the plaque was lost in transit. It was through the persistent efforts of Darcy Yasieniuk that the plaque was located and delivered to Hafford to be presented to Hafford's Hometown Hero, Margaret Lommer.
