Turn the clock back to 1961 and beyond. Roam those old dirt roads once more and visit friendly neighbours you knew so well. From its beginnings before 1930 to its dismantlement in 1961, making way for the Squaw Rapids Hydro-electric Dam, to the day in 1962 when the river rose and water erased footprints forever, there's a lot to remember and to comment on.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

The Night of the Christmas Concert


With the church closed every winter, the school's annual concert and social was the focal point of Christmas at Mossy Vale. From early December, when desks were pushed back to the walls and the stage was installed at the front, excitement was in the air as the teacher worked feverishly to produce a spectacular show on the last day of school before the holidays. It was a big night filled with skits, carols, gifts, candy, food and good cheer and while all of these wonderful memories remain, there appears to be a complete absence of any photographs of the festive and important occasion. Therefore I made this picture from my own memory of the 1956 concert.

Happy Holidays and may 2012 be a good one!

Brian Smith
"Night of the Christmas Concert," watercolour, 1997, 15" x 11"


Monday, December 19, 2011

Logging and Farming the Boreal




These photos speak to the importance of logging in north eastern Saskatchewan as far back as the 1930s. For Mossy Vale, it was the industry of the Pas Lumber Company that created a trail by which settlers were actually able to make their way into the forested and boggy area, and onto the narrow strip of arable land in between that they settled and turned into good crop yielding farms.

Top: Saskatchewan River view. Middle: Logging crew stopping for dinner. Bottom: Morris brothers, Bill and Peter, breaking land.

Photos courtesy: P. Morris collection