Growing up on a farm meant we didn’t have the same access to the dense rows of neighbourhood candy distribution outlets (houses) as did my city friends at Halloween. But while I don’t have many vivid memories of trick or treating in those days, I do remember pillowcases full of candy, so my parents obviously […] Read more
Stories by Bruce Dyck
Crane sightings make for a perfect hike
I must confess that I have mixed feelings about the time of year in which we currently find ourselves. Fall is probably the prettiest of the seasons, although the beauty is tempered somewhat by what’s lurking right around the corner. However, I do try to push my foreboding over winter to the back of the […] Read more
Cow cuddling the latest in animal therapy
There’s something about animals that many humans find therapeutic. Well, maybe not a grizzly bear charging out of the tree line, but lots of other animals. Many people find animals so calming that they have been incorporated into formal therapy programs. Dog therapy is probably one of the most well-known, whether it be formalized therapy […] Read more
WP reporter leaves for new adventures
A familiar name to Western Producer readers has left the building. Ed White, who has been reporting for the paper for 30 years, has taken another job. His last day with us was Sept. 30. Ed brought with him a passion for journalism that couldn’t help but spread to his colleagues. He probably covered almost […] Read more
Attempting to bug the bugs in a corn field
In the 1974 movie The Conversation, Gene Hackman plays a paranoid surveillance expert who specializes in wiretapping. A case goes wrong, and Hackman’s character ends up being the eavesdropped instead of the eavesdropper. The movie ends with him tearing his apartment to pieces as he desperately searches for listening devices. I thought of this movie […] Read more
When Mother Nature stops in her tracks
A bee died in front of my very eyes this summer — or at least I think it did. I was sitting on our deck one evening and noticed a fat bumblebee flitting from flower to flower. It would stick what I’ll call its nose in one flower, dig around in there for a couple […] Read more
Old elevators continue to cast their spell
Regular readers of this column will know that I have spent the last year writing about old editions of the Western Producer as part of this paper’s year-long celebration of its 100th anniversary. Starting with the Aug. 27, 1923, issue, I jumped ahead every two years for the next 50 weeks until I reached the […] Read more
Best cookbooks not written by celebrity chefs
A great way to tell a culture’s story is through its food, something that the staff at the Western Development Museum certainly recognizes. A display in the museum’s front entrance focuses not so much on what rural Prairie residents ate over the decades as o n how this culinary knowledge was preserved. Called Cookbook Connections, […] Read more
Newspaper errors baffle and infuriate
There’s nothing worse for a journalist than to get something wrong. If we’re having trouble sleeping at night, that’s probably what’s doing it. Common garden variety mistakes include misspelled names, bad math and wrong attribution. Sometimes writers can misunderstand what they’re being told and report it wrong in the story. Other times, unclear writing can […] Read more
WP’s history remains accessible
Has it been a year already? Last August, the Western Producer began a year-long celebration marking our 100th anniversary. This included a variety of initiatives and events throughout the year, and our writers enthusiastically participated in the festivities. We featured many articles and columns looking back at our history as well as the history of […] Read more
