The Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford threw its 100th anniversary reunion party over the weekend, drawing nearly 400 people, most of which were former employees.
If nothing else, the soirée proved SHNB was more than just an employer.
"This was a town there was no reason to leave here," said Peter Bridle, whose grandfather worked at the hospital in the 1920s.
Bridle is also writing a book about the century old facility that provides mental health services.
SHNB offered a second chance for his grandfather, which meant a better life for his mother. Growing up in a coal mining area of Scotland with no running water, Bridle's grandfather was given a glorious opportunity of being the hospital's tailor, and living on the grounds.
"What was there not to like? It was a radical change for him. The minute he got here he said, 'Mom, my brothers and sisters, here's some money, come on over,'" Bridle said. "This is the land of milk and honey compared to where they [were]."
The reunion festivities gave Bridle a chance to reminisce about the stories he heard growing up. It wasn't a short trip, he flew over from England to be part of the celebration.
"Well worth it," he said.
Bridle was one of many sharing memories and catching up with the people he heard so much about from his mom and grandfather.
In a similar situation was Mayor Ian Hamilton, who grew up on the grounds. His family's history with SHNB goes back to 1929, when his grandfather moved to the grounds from Scotland as a stationary engineer in the power house. Following in his footsteps, Hamilton's father became a psychiatric nurse and the family didn't leave the grounds until 1980.
Now described as an SHNB brat, Hamilton can't help but be thankful for his life on the grounds.
"At the time, I'm sure we felt that we were very hard done by, being away from our friends," he said. "Looking back, it was very fond memories, I wish we had maybe appreciated it a little bit more when we were actually there."
The weekend was organized by the SHNB reunion committee, chaired by Jane Shury. Among the organizers was Linda Lewis, who couldn't be happier with how the weekend turned out.
"I'm personally honoured to be a part of it. I didn't work at Saskatchewan Hospital, but it's very close to my heart. This is just heart warming, it's wonderful," said Lewis.
The official start to the reunion celebration was Friday night, but the first event was Tuesday when a book of memories was unveiled at the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame. A Century of Caring was put together after hundreds of hours of work by the reunion committee, compiling some of the SHNB memories in its 100 years.
Now the plan is for 100 more years, preferably in a new facility.
"As we celebrate the past, we also look forward to the future. Our government is firmly committed to the SHNB renewal project, to build a modern facility that will provide a more efficient environment for therapy and recovery," said Dustin Duncan, health minister, in a news release.
The new facility is still in the planning phase, but it seems it's no longer a question of "if," but "when."
"We're going to get this thing right," said Premier Brad Wall Tuesday at the book unveiling. "We're going to make sure we have just the optimum kind of facility."
Right now, SaskBuilds, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Corrections and Policing are looking at options of a public-private partnership to build two new facilities - an integrated corrections facility along with the new hospital.
The current hospital is already sharing the grounds with a youth correctional facility. The impact on the correctional facility by building a new hospital is being taken into account throughout the planning process.
Duncan, along with Wall, have said taking time in the planning phase will mean things get done right the first time and will result in a better long-term situation.
While a new facility is on the minds of many employees of SHNB, no construction dates have been set. For one weekend, they decided to think about the hospital's past, rather than its future.
