Volunteers help get fire under control

It is time to watch for fires starting up as the snow has nearly all gone, leaving a lot of tall, long, dry grasses everywhere.

A fire got started in Glen Peters’ yard one day last week. With quick thinking from close neighbours and the family living in the Peters’ home, they were able to get the fire under control quickly. Sonningdale fire truck also assisted. A number of people grabbed five-gallon pails to haul water to the fire until the well went dry, and then they had to pail water out of a nearby ditch.

The Peters have had the farm yard rented to a young couple and their children all winter. A big wooden shed and contents in a hedge close to the yard burned, moving along to scorch the old wooden house close by. They were able to get it out and under control before any yard burned.

Luckily there was no wind or it would have taken the whole yard. It is a mass of tall dead grass and older feed straw and flax straw bales.

It’s getting so hard to get anyone to help fight fire. Our neighbours are getting fewer all the time. The older people are not able to do it anymore, while the younger ones are all off to work and are not close about when needed. A big thank you goes out to all those who were able to help fight the fire.

This yard is not the only one overgrown with tall dry grass. It is going to be a real hazard until the new green growth starts. So be careful out there. We need no more fires.

Phil and Lorna Bater spent a Sunday visiting with Loren and Dale Kari of Biggar. Mr. and Mrs. Oval Peterson of Cando were recent visitors with Phil and Lorna. Get well wishes go out to Phil on his last lengthy stay at the Battlefords Union Hospital.

Sympathy goes to the family of Edwin George Wells of North Battleford on his recent passing. He has been missed and more now since his passing as he was a real dedicated volunteer for a good many years at the Western Development Museum in North Battleford. He spent many hours in the workshop for something to do. He worked on many pieces of machinery, tractors and stationary engines in his spare time.

He loved the Parade of Power each year at Those Were the Days and got in at one time to drive the old vintage tractor.

Over the years Edwin made some generous donations to the Western Development Museum to build a shed and other buildings to protect the old tractors. He also made more donations to other things in North Battleford when he saw the need. He did very well at the museum in the last few years despite his poor eyesight. He was a fellow who would do what he could keep doing as well as possible. Many changes have been made while he was at the museum.

We wake up these mornings more than a week into April to find the ground white with snow. It does soon melt away. We lost spring for a few days but the forecasts look much better in the days to come. We need more clear days and sunny skies, but it will come soon enough.

It is time to start rushing about to have the machinery, tractor and seed grain ready for when it’s time to seed. Some fields are a little wet yet. Spring has got to be here, as many of the spring and summer birds have arrived. Even the gophers are out and very active. They will soon be having their babies to make the population explode.

Once again this year the annual auction sales are springing up all over the place. There seems to be more and more each year.

Easter holiday weekend has passed by. The school buses were idle for a week as the children were off for a break – the last long holiday before s