For all the evils of social media — and there are many — it can be wealth of information.
The downside is that it puts people in silos that they need not ever feel compelled to leave.
Whether it be Twitter or Facebook, many have already spend far too much of the 21st Century trapped in these own echo chambers where they choose to only hear from those who have the same view.
But every now and then, you are reminded what an amazing tool social media truly is — especially when it comes to providing valuable tidbits of current and historical information.
One such amazing tidbits floated down by Twitter feed the other day. It was a simply a screen capture of the “Waghorn’s Guide” of the 1910 populations of cities and towns in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
Of course, some might see this as little more than that endless array of trivia that flows down the social media tube — no more useful than the abundance of cat pictures or friends telling you what they for lunch that populate your social media feeds.
But this particular bit of trivia was actually a gem because of its insight into how much (or, in some cases, how little) Saskatchewan and other Western communities have changed.
Consider the 1910 populations for the listed Saskatchewan communities:
Alameda, (450); Arcola, (1,287); Balcarres, (400); Balgonie, (500); Biggar (400); Broadview, (500); Carnduff, (600); Carlyle (400); Craik, (450); Cupar, (300); Didsbury (1,000); Davidson, (675); Duck Lake, (439); Esterhazy, (450); Francis, (400); Govan (500); Hague, (300); Grenfell (950); Hanley, (600); Humboldt, (1,200); Indian Head, (1,800); Kamsack, (400); Lashburn, (300); Lanigan, (750); Lloydminster (1,300); Lumsden (300); Maple Creek (1,200); Manor, (375); Melfort, (750); Melville, (1,740); Moose Jaw, (18,000); North Battleford, (1,800); Nokomis, (750);
Outlook, (550); Oxbow, (750); Pense, (300); Prince Albert, (7,000); Qu’Appelle, (800); (Quill Lake), (300); Regina, (15,000); Rosthern, (1,100); Rouleau (450); Saltcoats, (450); Saskatoon, (10,000); Sintaluta, (400); Swift Current, (1,800); Vonda, (400); Wadena, (300); Wapella, (520) Watrous, (900). Weyburn, (2,500); Whitewood, (600); Wolseley, (1,400); Yellowgrass , (500); and; Yorkton, (3,000).
By way of comparison, the following are the 1910 populations for other Western Canada communities — big and small, alike: Banff, (500), Birtle, Man. (400) Blairmore, Alta. (1,000); Calgary, (30,000); Dauphin, Man. (3,500), Edmonton, (25,000); Fernie, (3,000); Grandview, Man. (860); Kamloops, (3,000); Red Deer, (1,750); Winnipeg, (150,000), and; Vancouver, (90,000).
It makes for interesting trivia here — not the least of which is the fact that Winnipeg was bigger in 1910 than Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, combined.
This tells such much about the importance of oil and sea trade in the last century compared with the relative insignificance of the Prairie grain trade that dominated Winnipeg and our province in the early years of last century.
Oil and other commerce opportunity dramatically took over migration patterns.
Similarly, it tells us much that Indian Head, Swift Current and North Battleford and Wolseley were virtually the same size a century ago.
A preferred location on the CPR main line in a fertile grain-growing area was obviously no guarantee of long-term community success. Further economic opportunities were required.
And in the context of Saskatchewan, rapid growth is a relative thing.
Consider that all four of these Saskatchewan communities in 1910 were the same size as Red Deer, smack dab between oil rich Edmonton and Calgary.
It pretty much tells you what you need to know about the relative success of the two provinces.
But what may be most telling is how many small farming communities are virtually the same size now as they were back — this, despite the fact Saskatchewan’s population has gone from 492,000 in 1910 to 1.1 million today.
How little some communities have changed reflects how much the province, as a whole, has changed.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 22 years.
