Did we mention getting a sneak preview of the inaugural copy of Sheila Willis’s online magazine, Short and Tall Tales of Alberta? It’s good stuff – nicely laid out to be easy on the eyes and with some interesting tales of a historical nature. One is about the German prisoners of war who worked at Fawcett Lake and Chisholm during and a bit after the Second World War. That’s a topic we’ve covered to some extent in The Leader in years past – a fascinating bit of local history.
So how do you get this magazine? A subscription is $5 and probably all you need to know can be found at Sheila’s Shenanigans on Facebook.
Sheila recently posted a Peace Country map and promotional brochure from 1928. Besides showing the travel routes, it has a blurb on various communities along the way, as well as on services that must have paid for space. One is the Aspen Glen Auto Camp, at Faust.
Faust itself is described as ‘the principal fishing point on Lesser Slave Lake,’ a bustling community with two hotels, two sawmills, two mink ranches and various other services.
There’s a warning, printed in red: ‘Notice: road under construction from Smith to High Prairie.’
A South African couple approached your Page 9 correspondent in the town office parking lot one morning last week. They were looking for the office where they could apply for their SIN cards. They’d come down from High Prairie and commented on how much cooler it (the temperature) was in Slave Lake!
We directed them to the Service Canada office in the mall. They seemed quite baffled as to what to do after arriving at the place their phones had directed them too, and unwilling to go exploring around the area. They had two little kids with them. Chances are one of them had a job offer in the health care field in High Prairie, and there’s no federal government office there.
Readers of Page 9 are accustomed to status reports on the latest Rotary Club ticket sale promotion. We didn’t want to leave you wondering this week, so here goes: The big $10,000 cash raffle was 20 per cent sold, as of last Friday, we’re told. The Grey Cup Pool, on the other hand, is completely sold out!
The September 6 Leader had a typo on Page 5. The health and wellness article on yelling should have said (3 of 3). All three are on www.lakesideleader.com, if people missed those papers.
Saturday, September 23 is the fall equinox. It is also the day of an event called Celebrate Forest Week at the Boreal Centre. The festivities are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation. It includes a free barbecue from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., guided forest walks, guest speakers and more.
Sunday, Sept. 24 Sweetgrass seniors housing in Slave Lake is holding an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. For details, see ad on Page 10.
The Leader is looking into writing an article about places to play cribbage (better known as crib) in Slave Lake. So far, we’ve found A&W, the Legion, Pioneer Drop-in Centre, South Shore league, and Vanderwell Heritage Place. If you know of more, give Pearl a call at 780-849-4380.
In Smith area, Gentle Ben Care Society supports seniors in various ways. On Sept. 25, it is holding a free information sessions at the Half Century hall in Smith. People can choose from two sessions: one at 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the other at 6 to 8 p.m. session. It includes a free soup and sandwich meal. To register, call Suzie at 780-805-4914.
If enough people sign up to play handbell, the Slave Lake Community Handbell Choir will start back up. People do not have had to play handbells before. Anyone interested, contact Edith Maddex at 789-516-0422.
Just in, Moonlight Madness is November 17 in Slave Lake. The Christmas Market is likely Nov. 17 and 18.
If there is any activity – sports or otherwise – that you think deserves coverage in your local newspaper, please let us know about it!