The Mayor's Chain of Office was donated to the City of Yorkton by the JAYCEES (Junior Chamber of Commerce) of Yorkton in 1963.
The Jaycees (Originally an American organization - Junior Citizens) were an internationally very powerful group in the 1960s, doing much work for their communities. The Yorkton Jaycees were proud of their city and its administrators. So, in recognition for the work of the Council, they donated the Mayor's Chain of Office. A national conference of Mayors was being organized in Toronto, and they felt that many of the Mayors attending would be wearing a Chain of Office, and so should the Yorkton Mayor.
Mayor W. Fichtner went to Toronto for the Municipalities Convention in June 1963. After that, he and his wife went on a 3-week tour of England and Europe. He also represented the City of Yorkton at a World Convention of Mayors at Brussels. William Fichtner was Mayor from 1957 to 1968. The chain features medallions representing each Mayor's term of office. The first chain is filled. In year 2000, a new one was fabricated to start with Mayor Phil De Vos.
Sources:
-City Council Minutes of 1963
-Interview with former Mayor W. Allan Bailey, June 3, 2010
-Interview with Gloria Signarowski, Executive Secretary
Contact Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher,
City of Yorkton, Box 400
37 Third Avenue North
Yorkton, Sask. S3N 2W3
306-786-1722
[email protected]
