SINTALUTA, Sask. – Black wooden buzzards in gnarled, leafless trees stare down at the empty lots and boarded up buildings speckling this tiny town along the Trans-Canada Highway.
By mid-morning, the town’s wide streets start to fill with the cars of regulars assembling for coffee in the Branding Iron Saloon, the town’s only restaurant-bar.
They are joined by Sintaluta newcomer Joan Briggs, still sporting an Ontario licence plate from her home province.
She and her Papillon pooch camped here overnight three years ago en route to visiting family in British Columbia. Briggs woke up, liked what she saw and found a cosy three-bedroom house to buy for $5,000.
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“I love it here; I’m happy with it,” the 70 year old said of her new prairie home.
Since then, a dozen others, including her two daughters, have bought all the empty houses in town for their summer or year round homes.
Coming from as far away as B.C. and Holland, they have plans to set up a small mechanics shop and variety store inside the boarded up buildings of the town, named by First
Nations, which in Sioux means tail of the fox.
“I liked the idea of having no mortgage,” she said. “For so little, I have a darn nice house.”
Charlene Ewart sold her the house and was pleasantly surprised to sell her late mother’s home so quickly.
Ewart smiled thinking about how outsiders see the attributes of Sintaluta, set to mark its 100th year in August.
They see it as 10 minutes away from the nearest hospital and 45 minutes from a major city on a double lane divided highway, she noted.
“We need them to come and give us a wakeup call to see what we do have,” she said.
Ewart, like saloon owner Christine Madeley, expressed cautious optimism that the recent buying spree will help the town.
“There’s not much to say about that until it actually happens,” she said. Eight houses have been purchased, but Briggs is the only one to move in.
Eunice and Cliff Dundas, retired farmers living in Sintaluta, said the town once boasted a complete range of services and businesses but has been in slow decline since the 1960s.
“It’s hard to bring a place back when it’s down,” said Eunice.
Even a playful campaign to mount
buzzards around the town fizzled.
The school closed in the mid-1990s and the grain elevators are now owned by a seed company. This winter, the natural ice rink failed to open due to a lack of area children.
Town administrator Sandra McLaren said the projected 12 new residents and increased tax base could lead to small improvements around town.
“It’s nice to see the derelict buildings being fixed up and yards being improved,” she said.
McLaren, who has received inquiries from as far away as Europe and the southern United States, said the new owners are required to pay outstanding back taxes on the properties. They are also expected to make improvements on the commercial lots within two years.
One buyer snapped up 13 lots for $13, but generally lots sell for $100 for unserviced and $300 for serviced.
The increased assessments will not only help the town build better sidewalks but increase the number of potential volunteers to stage local events like the annual mud fling and bull-arama.
“We want people here to build our community and people to get involved,” McLaren said.
Briggs thinks Sintaluta will be improved by new people and commerce, but concedes the town will probably never again see the heyday depicted in old photos lining the saloon walls.
She dismisses the negative talk and naysayers who doubt change can happen in a small prairie town.
“That’s their problem. They are so used to doing nothing they don’t think they can do anything.
“I alone can’t make a difference, but several people can.”
McLaren disagreed, as she points to Briggs and the prospect of more houses with their lights on, new residents and mowed lawns: “One lady has made a difference here.”
