Prince Albert Tales
This past weekend, our great grand niece (see how old I am) played in a local invitational Volley Ball Tournament at St. Mary High School. It was great to talk to her and hear how excited she was to be back playing, despite having to wear a mask, enjoying a part of school life that has been badly missed due to Covid.
A big thank you to all those who worked very hard at St. Mary to see that proper Covid protocols were administered, and the athletes could PLAY once again.
My last few articles have dealt with the Cottonpicker’s band. This led me to trace the beginnings of the band, how they found a home at Bell’s Beach, and how they built a ‘star’ of a place – The Big Dipper on their beach.
The evening of March 4, 2004 I walked northward along Highway #2. I was walking towards the Spruce Home Trail Riders Arena. I wasn’t the only one walking; I had joined several others. We, after carefully parking our cars on the shoulder of the highway, had to walk as the parking lot around the Arena was full.
The band, the Cottonpickers, started small in 1957, but with great talent, great showmanship, great work ethic, and unrelenting determination they became a dominant part of the music and dance scene here in Saskatchewan and Western Canada. That dominating presence was to last for over five decades, a dominance that had much to do with the band’s adherence to its motto providing “Music Anyway You Like It.”
In September 1965, Fay and I had just begun our first teaching positions in Star City, Saskatchewan.
Another couple from our new home town invited us to go to a Friday night dance at nearby Brooksby. We dressed in our finest, and OFF we went.