School board members have seen their duties change from a hands-on approach to handling broad-based education issues
Bert de Gooijer remembers helping lay a gymnasium floor and lining up contractors for the job when he first became a school trustee in 1999. His role has changed significantly in the last 16 years. School board trustees now find themselves less involved in daily operations and more focused on shaping the overall direction of […] Read moreStories by Christalee Froese
Saskatchewan School Board Association marks 100th
There were school boards in Sask-atchewan even before it was a province. Their history dates back to 1885 when 59 school districts were established. Each board comprised two Protestants, two Roman Catholics and the lieutenant governor of the Northwest Territories. The concept of a board of education was developed in 1905, followed by the establishment […] Read more
Couple focuses on raising livestock the natural way
Farmers raise heritage breeds on 320 acres while working off-farm jobs
INDIAN HEAD, Sask. — Ranching is in Jeff Bovee’s blood. His great-grandfather was large-scale rancher John Minor from the Abbey, Sask., area. Bovee is following in his footsteps but doing it in a different fashion. Jeff and his wife, Sabrina, a registered dietitian, are raising livestock on a smaller scale with close attention paid to […] Read more
Appaloosa breeders proud of leopards, rare ghost winds
Couple helps preserve a genetic line dating back to to the mid-1800s
ODESSA, Sask. — The deal was sealed with a handshake. When Bill and Joanne Greenwood left the ranch of Washington Appaloosa breeder Gerry Messer and his son Kelly Messer in 2007, their future had been determined by one sincere grasp. Messer was dying of cancer and he had one wish: to keep the bloodline of […] Read more
Alpacas help family teach value of work ethic
Life lessons | Children take on most of the work caring for 24 alpacas on the Saskatchewan grain farm
OSAGE, Sask. — It all started with a pair of mittens. Six years after buying hand-knit alpaca mittens at a trade fair and falling in love with the warmth and feel, Glenda Shotter is now knitting her own. Shotter and her husband, Tim, began building an alpaca herd in 1998, eventually expanding it to 24. […] Read moreGardens give sense of serenity
GRENFELL, Sask. — An old-fashioned “building raising” is what got a Grenfell greenhouse off the ground. Following in her family’s tradition of barn raisings, former social worker Michelle Berrecloth put out a call to friends and family in 2005 to help her move two greenhouses. To Berrecloth’s surprise, more than 20 people arrived to take […] Read more
Buying in, bowing out works on Katepwe Farms
Succession planning | Partnership agreement lets new generation buy in while elders work toward retirement
KATEPWA, Sask. — “That’s where I lived,” said 79-year-old Fred Brown, pointing up the road. “And that’s where I lived,” said Yvonne Brown, 76, pointing just across the river. When Fred moved to the Qu’Appelle Valley in 1952 to help on his stepfather’s farm, he had no idea he’d still be here 62 years later, […] Read more
Horses take Sask. breeder on up and down journey
Horse ranch | Sask. business has expanded to include clinics
WHITEWOOD, Sask. — When Greg Frick quit his job as a credit union manager to work with horses, his dad cried. Not a tear of regret has been shed since. “I’ve been very lucky. Horses have been very good to me and I’ve always been able to sell them for a good dollar, even in […] Read moreWaltzing with wire
Gown of glass, wire and twine | Saskatchewan glass jewelry designer awarded best in show and $1,000 at Wearable Art Gala
Is a dress made out of chicken wire scratchy? Artist Jolene Dusyk said the answer is no, as long as it’s lined with window screen. “Window screen turns out to be really soft if you roll the edges,” she said of her wearable art dress. The chicken wire creation flew out of Dusyk’s imagination while […] Read more
Sask. family relies on Germany for farm labourers
LAMPMAN, Sask. — It was simple economics that brought former German dairy farmer Ole Michaelsen to Canada. However, it is his connection with his homeland that has kept his Saskatchewan grain farm thriving. Michaelsen has used his contacts to attract workers to help him deal with a labour shortage that is plaguing southeastern Saskatchewan. Michaelsen […] Read more
