By Greg Nikkel
The Weyburn Agricultural Society dedicated their new building housing the refreshment gardens for the Weyburn Fair to a former society president, and are hoping to draw interest and attention with a world record attempt for the world’s biggest cribbage board.
In a short ceremony on Monday evening at the fair, Ag Society past president Tyler Metheral spoke in tribute to a former president, Chad Johnstone, as the new building has been named the “Anvil and Forge” in his honour, with the décor inside also inspired by him.
Johnstone, who was tragically killed in an accident three years ago, was a farrier by trade, thus this name was chosen for the building dedicated in his memory. Steel signs were made with the name by “Iron Maiden” artist, Jaren Bell.
“He was a guy who would do anything for you,” Metheral told the crowd assembled inside the building, adding, “Everybody knew him and everybody loved him.”
He said Johnstone knew way more people than he ever did, and brought his love for people and enthusiasm and ideas for the Ag Society as president.
Chad’s brother Devin spoke at the dedication, and said in an interview of the building, “It’s a way of helping out the Ag Society. That’s what he was all about. This is a facility where people can meet friends and socialize.”
The building, adjacent to the grandstands on the exhibition grounds, is a perfect tribute to his brother, he added.
“There’d be no better place to honour his memory than to have a place to meet friends and have a cold beverage. Everybody liked him,” said Devin.
Tyler noted the brands in the wood, and the décor, including small shelves along the wall, were all touches inspired by Chad. The brands are a fundraiser by the Ag Society to help finish paying for the building, and Tyler noted there is room for more, or for a sponsor name if someone wanted to help but didn’t have a brand to contribute. “People can still donate,” he added.
This dedication was in addition to the farrier competition which started in 2015 in his memory, as one of the projects that Chad had wanted to do, among others.
Chad’s wife Marla Holdstock has been one of the main organizers of the competition from the start, with 12 competitors in three categories in that first year, and she spoke then of being blown away by the support of the community for the competition and for the Ag Society.
The Flavours of Fall event which was held last fall for the first time was another idea originated by Johnstone, and Metheral noted they wanted to carry out his vision and ideas for how to revitalize the Ag Society and carry on his legacy.
The first day of the Fair saw a total of 1,648 people come through the gates.
This year’s fair has a unique feature located right beside the Anvil and Forge building, a huge cribbage board that maker Darcy Iversen of DSI Contracting has submitted to the Guinness World Record organization for recognition.
The board is made from one long, straight cedar log, with the peg-holes made to accommodate bottles or cans as the pegs. On Monday morning at the Fair, Iversen had a video made of him measuring the board at 50 feet 11 inches.
“I’ve been making cribbage boards for years, and this year I thought let’s try to make a huge board?” he said, noting he did a search with Guinness World Records and did not find any mention of anyone holding such a record.
He has submitted his information about the huge cribbage board, and will include photos and the video from the Fair, where people played crib games with over-sized cards, using cans or water bottles as the pegs. As of the Fair, he had not heard word back yet from Guinness whether he will be awarded the world or not.
Meantime, the Fair will have a full schedule for today, July 5, the last day of the event, with the regional 4-H show and sale wrapping up today at the Ag Society barns, the Qu’Appelle Valley Horse Pull Association’s heavy horse pull competition at noon in front of the grandstands, and the day will conclude with the fan favourite event, the “Rumble in the Ring” demolition derby and lawnmower races, also in front of the grandstands.
Prior to the Fair, Metheral had said there was a full field lined up once again to take part in the demo derby, an event that in recent years has completely filled the grandstands and adjacent stands to capacity, and is recorded by Access for broadcast on the community channel. The cars will start crashing into each other in the ring at 6 p.m., with the lawnmower races to be held during the intermission of the derby before the finals.
