The past few months have seen our citizens being given the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate public services and businesses that have contributed to our growth while lending stability.
Not too long ago, St. Joseph's Hospital celebrated the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Sisters of St. Joseph who then proceeded to provide the backbone to our local and regional health care system. It's a story of unselfish contributions and perseverance.
The Orpheum Theatre family has just concluded an impressive 100th birthday party, marking their contributions over the decades to the arts and entertainment complex in our city, which was a mere town of a few hundred residents when that edifice was built for the specific purpose of bringing music, drama and laughter into the lives of the people it has served.
Within the next couple of weeks, the Estevan arm of the Salvation Army will be hosting a party to mark their 100th anniversary in the Energy City, too.
We can't say too much about the services the Army has provided for the well being of our community. If you want to talk about stalwarts of our city, look no further than the Salvation Army. They have filled the gap, plugged the holes, provided spiritual, emotional and rational services in Estevan where others feared to tread.
We also, with some modest pride, note that we too may have been able to contribute some meaningful input into our city by being your reliable news source in Estevan for 111 years and counting. There aren't too many news organizations that can claim to have provided continuous information and feature articles to its citizens for well over a century.
We sit here as an example of what democracy and free expression bring to the table. By giving the community a voice, The Mercury has been able to assist Estevan in its growth.
We view it as a necessity for any healthy town or city.
We know, for certain, there are other Estevan businesses or organizations with histories that extend well beyond the half-century mark. They too need to be applauded for perseverance and the ability to adjust to the changing times while succeeding in reaching their goals and serving the citizens.
So let us celebrate longevity in Estevan in general.
It's good to look back on occasion to remind ourselves of our rather humble beginnings.
From the early underground miners, the trappers along the Souris, the hard scrabble agricultural community that managed to coax crops out of virgin prairie soils. To the early ranchers, oil explorers and the business community who led hand-to-mouth lives and somehow made it work.
We cheer the efforts and applaud the results that have been obtained so far and can hardly wait to see what the next few years brings us in terms of growth and additional success.
Estevan may have its problems, but we're thankful that these are problems brought about by growth, not problems brought on by residents dealing with diminishing opportunities or returns.
