It's the end of an era.
The first cabins were moved off their lots at Waldsea Lake in the last two weeks.
On February 22, three cabins had been moved to the staging area east of the lake, waiting to be moved to more permanent homes elsewhere in the province.
Six had been moved out of the park at that time, reported Chad Clark of Air Ride Building Movers from Prince Albert, the company hired to move the cabins.
All the cabins will leave the lake sooner or later, Clark noted. Their list of cabins to move is growing by the day, he added, as cabin owners get them ready to roll out. If enough are ready at one time, they could have three crews moving cabins out of the lake area on a given day, he indicated.
About half of the 40 cabins left at the lake will be saved and moved to other lakes, reported Naomi Ramsay, chair of the Waldsea Lake Regional Park board. The other half will be demolished and the debris moved out.
Those owners who have decided not to save their cabins and instead will have them demolished, have been stripping windows and other usable items out of the structures.
The cabins being saved are being redistributed around the province.
Some will go to Humboldt Lake, just south of the city of Humboldt, and others to Lucien Lake, located north of Humboldt on Hwy. 20. A couple will be going to Barrier Lake and others to various points north and south.
"They're just sort of spreading out," said Ramsay of the cabins as they are moved.
The cabin owners were angry at first, Ramsay said, when they were first informed by the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority (SWA) that the area was going to flood again this spring and it was no longer thought worthwhile to protect the cabins and other properties at Waldsea.
At the end of January, cabin owners were given the option of having their cabin moved to another location, at the government's expense, or having it demolished and receiving some compensation for it.
Decisions had to be made quickly so the cabins could be moved or demolished before the ground thaws and the snow melts.
"It's pretty hard on people," said Ramsay of the process of preparing the cabins for the move or for demolition.
"They're getting ready to give up on what they had."
After getting over their anger, the cabin owners have experienced pretty much every other emotion one could expect when given news like this, Ramsay noted.
However, as everyone began to understand the immensity of the water issues in the region, that flooding is going to be affecting so many other places and people, they accepted what was happening.
"They realized it was something that was out of everyone's control," Ramsay said.
Waldsea Lake as a resort community and park would have turned 100 years old in 2012.
"It's tough," Ramsay said, of giving up on a place with that kind of history.
"I mean, quite frankly, it's never coming back. This is forever. It's not something that's going to be better in a few years. For all intents and purposes, (Waldsea Lake) is done," she said.
Come the spring, it's been predicted that Deadmoose Lake to the north will run into Waldsea and create what Ramsay called "one mega lake."
When combined with the water likely to run in from the west, the north-south grid roads around the lake will be completely underwater, Ramsay said.
There will be no access to what was once the park area in the spring.
The Humboldt region will miss this park, Ramsay feels.
"The community as a whole will lose," she said. "And there's nothing we can do."
A farewell to Waldsea Lake is being planned. Originally, it was to be held in February, but organizers have decided to hold off until summer.
And they are still going to put together a history book on Waldsea Lake, Ramsay added. The book was going to celebrate the park's 100th anniversary. Instead, it will mark the end of the lake after 99 years.
To make it complete, they are asking people for their stories about the lake, and any photos they may have.
Once published, the books will be sold at cost, Ramsay said.
Stories and photos can be submitted by email to waldsea.regionalpark@gmail.com.
