1988 Year in Review
By Vicki Brooker
Another year has come and gone, with its triumphs and tragedies, new beginnings and unexpected endings, exciting events and day-to-day humdrum activities that make up the lives of those in our community. Here is a brief look back at the news of 1988, as we saw it.
JANUARY
The year started off well, with a massive drop in unpaid taxes reported by the Town, and Marwayne Atoms winning the Byers Atoms hockey tournament...
Elk Point’s New Year's Baby was a daughter, Laura, born to Linda Berland and Jack Cree on January 6...
St. Paul’s Cliff Martin and local curlers Wayne Spence and Dwayne Moneta skipped. the winning rinks in the Town and Country Spiel...
Dando’s clothing store opened its doors...
Elk Point Sliders (Dorothy Cardinal, Kelly Currie, Anthony Bayduza, Jason Smereka and Mark Boulter) brought home the gold from the Northeastern Alberta Winter Games...
the Ukrainian Dance Club hosted a traditional Holy Supper...
plans for the first-ever Trade Fair got underway...
representatives of the medical staff, Hospital Board and administration visited Chamber to discuss recruitment of another doctor to the hospital staff...
Elk Point Library reported sizeable increases in membership and circulation at their annual meeting...
Elk Point BPO Elks hosted the North Central Zone playoffs for the Corby Cup Curling Championship, with winning rinks coming from Marwayne and St. Paul...
Shauna Loughran won silver and Elisabeth Ludlage gold at the Zone 7 Figure Skating Competition...
the Elk Point Skating Club held a hugely successful Skate-A-Thon, while Clandonald enjoyed their annual Winter Carnival.
FEBRUARY
A downtown Elk Point landmark fell to the wreckers’ hammers, as the sixty year old Ballas Motors /Zarowny Motors /C. J. Markstad Garage building was demolished...
Pauline Scott, Les Meger and Jim Fell were the winning skips at Lindbergh's Mixed Bonspiel...
Pauline Scott repeated the win the following weekend in the Lindbergh Ladies Spiel, along with other winning skips Bernice Poleschuk and SteIla Lorenson...
Kelly Currie won Provincial gold in the Nordic Combined skiing at the Alberta Winter Games, while Dorothy Cardinal won Bronze in Ladies’ Luge...
Teams from Ryley and Lloydminster topped the 15th Annual Elk Point Pacers tournament...
Celebration '88 awards were presented by Deputy Prime Minister Don Mazankowski to 33 area residents for outstanding contributions to minor sports and community life...
Elk Point Elementary School also hosted the Deputy PM at the official opening of their Mini Olympics...
Bonnyville and Mallaig teams won an 8-team Minor Atoms tournament hosted by Elk Point Flyers...
Elk Point RCMP sponsored a Business Safety Seminar...
John Dahmer announced he would seek the Progressive Conservative nomination in the new Beaver River riding...
Jim Krauss of St. Paul, Don Anderson and Steve Penz skipped the winning rinks in the Elk Point Mixed Spiel...
Gordon LeDrew was sworn in as President of Elk Point Chamber of Commerce by Alberta Chamber Vice President Al Herfst...
Elk Point’s first attempt at Dinner Theatre was a great success, with a sparkling performance by the Leave It To Jane theatre group...
a cake auction was the highlight of the annual Scouting Banquet, which featured Northern Region Vice President Fred Miller as guest speaker.
MARCH
Teachers walked off the job March 1 across the North Central East School Authorities Association area in a strike which lasted over a month...
Westmin Resources announced plans to drill 30 wells in 1988...
Elk Point Windsor Midgets won Zone 2 and went to the Provincials...
Elk Point Chamber agreed to take on the July 1 Pancake Breakfast, and welcomed a new business, Elk Point Interiors...
Steve Penz skipped the Grand Challenge winners in the Elk Point Men's Bonspiel, with a Glendon rink winning the second event and Dave Yake's rink the third...
Elk Point Bullies hosted a novice hockey tournament won by teams from Bonnyville and Glendon...
the Alchem rink won the 48-rink Oilmen's Bonspiel, with Hi-West, Empress Restaurant and CEDA Reactor sponsoring the other winners...
Town Council hotly debated ball diamond layouts for the recreation land...
Elk Point's Teen Drop-In Centre opened its doors...
the 12th Annual Ice Carnival was a glittering success...
a Lloydminster team edged out the hosting Elk Point Bantam Elks in their weekend tournament, while Mallaig won the ‘B’ side...
and just when it was beginning to look like spring, a severe snowstorm dumped huge quantities of the white stuff on the area, cancelling events and putting plows and shovels , to work tunneling through 3-foot drifts.
APRIL
The teachers’ strike moved into its second month...
a $2000 goal was set for the Elk Point area in the Cancer Crusade...
Dr. Zulie Nakhooda, Save The Children Country Director for India, visited Elk Point during Save the Children Week...
Hillside Texaco held their Grand Opening...
Canada’s Racewalking Capital (with one racewalker per 650 people, at that point) held a workshop for potential racewalkers...
Elk Point's first Trade Fair was a phenomenal success, with over 4000 visitors to the 3-day event...
fire hazards were extreme, with 4 grass and brush fires on Trade Fair weekend alone...
over 40 ratepayers attended the Town of Elk Point's Annual Meeting...
a 155-signature petition sent Town Council back to the Master Plan arrangement of ball diamonds...
Elk Point BPOE and OORP Lodges installed their 1968 officers...
zany theatrics were a part of Volunteer Appreciation Night, sponsored by the FCSS...
Elk Point’s Cable TV service was expanded...
Dr. Grant MacEwan spoke to a capacity crowd at Elk Point Public Library...
Elk Point Minor Hocke awards were presented at a wn supper...
volunteer parents braved soggy conditions to construct a playground for Playschool and Parent Nursery children...
Elk Point was saddened by the passing of Mary Loftus Bennett, a lady whose efforts in many areas, especially the Elk Point Historical Society, will long be remembered.
MAY
May was spring cleanup time in Elk Point, with Elementary School students, 4-H members, Scouts, Cubs and Beavers, and other groups helping the Town of Elk Point to collect the winter's accumulation of trash during Anti Litter Week...
a proposed 40 percent hike in water and sewer rates alarmed Council and ratepayers alike, with the increase deemed necessary to make the utilities self supporting, but following three hours of input from town residents, the hike was scheduled as of June: first...
a wealth of talent was shown at the Search for Talent...
Guides and Brownies wound up their year with a barbecue at the Windsor Club...
Elk Point Ukrainian Dance Club charmed a full house at their annual concert...
the F. G. Miller High School Class of ’88, 43 members strong, remembered the past and set out to discover the future at their graduation exercises.,..
Elk Point Historical Society unveiled plans for a proposed Historical Park in which the Society's mural, then nearing completion, would be located..
a coffee cup race between restaurant staff to a Texas Line Dance down Main Street took place on Sweat'n'Sneaker Day, when a historic Council-versus-Council ballgame gave St. Paul a 1-run victory over Elk Point...
Tom Holliday was elected Interim President of the Beaver River Reform Party Constituency Association...
Hire-A-Student opened their office for the coming summer...
Heinsburg High School's five graduands were congratulated on the completion of their high school years...
fifty years of incorporation were quietly marked by Elk Point, with Alberta Treasury Branches also celebrating half a century of service.
JUNE
The Town trimmed its budget to hold the line on mill rates for municipal operations at 1987 figures...
4-H shows were underway, with Cody Kurek named top Woodworker and Kim Kurek the Food Project winner, while Rosanne Wirsta and Renee Theriault showed Elk Point's 4H Grand Champion beef animals, and Doyle Skolarchuk and Lily Thomson showed Heinsburg’s champion steers...
senior citizens were honored with various activities during their special week...
Canadian Salt Company celebrated 40 years of production at their Lindbergh plant with a program and tours of the facility...
John Dahmer won the Beaver River Progressive Conservative nomination...
Safe Grad awards were presented to both F. G, Miller and Heinsburg High Schools...
ball tournaments were underway, with ‘Men At Work’ and Vermilion’s ‘Dustbusters’ winning the Jan Frisby Memorial Tournament...
Brad Buck was the Men's Open golf tournament champ...
Tommy Rae took first place in the Provincial Rural Safety Essay Contest...
Elk Point teachers congratulated colleague Edythe Way on her retirement...
Stoney Lake Recreation Area, dedicated to the memory of the area's pioneers, was officially opened...
parents and students gathered to demand a change of at least part of the F. G. Miller High School curriculum to semesters...
Connie Ahern was named Queen of Stoney Lake’s 26th Annual Rodeo...
Elementary school awards days were held in Elk Point and Heinsburg...
Ralph Riemer retired after 14 years as a school bus driver with Sunshine Bus Lines.
JULY
A hot and sunny Canada Day was celebrated by huge crowds, who ate pancakes, watched the 10-block-long parade, saw the dedication of the Town Flag, enjoyed arm wrestling and slowpitch tournaments, took in a full afternoon of stage entertainment, games and competitions, loaded their plates at the beef barbecue, and danced the night away, stopping only to view the spectacular fireworks...
a second dance was held July 2nd, and the slowpitch tournament, won by teams from St. Paul and Bonnyville, continued to the 3rd...
four Elk Point Boy Scouts and their companions travelled by canoe to North Battleford...
Elk Point Lions Club and Red Cross sponsored swimming lessons at Whitney Lake...
eleven Ontario 4-Hers visited the St. Paul Region, with their hosts making a return trip later in the summer...other 4Hers visited Montana...
four archaeological students studied the history of the Fort George-Buckingham House fur trading forts through their search for artifacts of the era...
Elk Point Squirts girls’ softball team won the Lakeland - Minor Ball League championship...
Bill Milholland, Pearl Bespalko and Chris Cameron were declared the champions at Elk Point's Senior Men’s, Ladies’ and Juniors’ Golf Tournament...
Whitney Lake enjoyed good weather for their 1988 rodeo...
the County of St. Paul Agricultural Service Board tour visited Doug and Virginia Millar's trout farm, saw beaver dams being blown, and lunched at Stoney Lake Park during their day-long exploration of agriculture and horticulture in the County.
AUGUST
Elk Point's unofficial ambassador, Sid Holthe, visited Town Council to bring greetings from Elk Point, South Dakota, along with a videotape of our namesake community, taken on his vacation there...
Clandonald Country Fair carried on regardless of rain...
200 former students and teachers came home to Allandale School Reunion...
Northern Valley Church celebrated 75 years with over 350 people present for the service, dinner and program...
Elk Point Fair and the Elk Point Oilmen's Golf Tournament went on regardless of torrential downpours which totalled 4 inches of rain over the weekend, with Doug Loupa winning the Championship Flight of the golf tournament and Norma Berg the Fair Grand Aggregate...
the Department of Agriculture opened a once-a-week sub office in Elk Point...
Dewberry’s mini-fair was a big success...
Kehewin celebrated the reserve's colorful heritage with huge crowds on hand for Intercultural Days...
Elk Point Agricultural Society hosted a well-attended horse show and gymkhana...
and summer programs at library and playgrounds wound down for another year.
SEPTEMBER
September got off to an exciting start for Elk Point and district, with the announcement of $1.3 million approved for a major historical development at the Fort George Buckingham House fur trading forts site, and the unveiling of the Elk Point Agricultural Society's plans for fairgrounds and an agricultural pavilion...
elementary school students went back to school amid construction upheaval, with some classes located in the Community Services . Centre, some at F. G. Miller, and some in unusual spots in the school, such as on the stage...
the end of a successful season was marked by the Golf and Country Club with the naming of Ed Soldan, Bev Bespalko, Michael Bespalko and Mark Woytkiw as the club champions...
Further Education, whose classroom was pre-empted for use by Elementary School students, was looking for a home...
concern was voiced over school zone speeders, and a crackdown got underway...
Elk Point Light Horse Association found a sunny day, on their second try, for their horse show and gymkhana...
the Agricultural Society had a good turnout of thirty vehicles on display at their Car Show ’88...
Mayor Byron Mann announced his resignation due to a transfer back to Calgary...
the FCSS--Lioness Information Night hosted more than thirty clubs and organizations...
groundwork for Elk Point’s Tourism Action Plan got underway...
and Minor Hockey started planning for the coming season.
OCTOBER
After months of speculation, the date for the Federal Election was set for November 21...
within days, PC candidate John Dahmer snipped the ribbon to open his campaign office, one day before Deborah Grey of Heinsburg was nominated as the Reform Party candidate...
Murphy Oil's thermal project was put in mothballs, halting 70 pumpjacks and putting 23 employees out of work...
new teachers at Elk Point and Heinsburg were among the new ATA inductees, while Albert Boratynec and Ray Hellquist were among those honored for 25 years of service...
Elk Point's 100-foot-long historical mural received its final brush strokes from artist Billie Milholland after more than a year of painstaking labor...
the starting up of businesses which duplicate the goods and services already available concerned some members of the Chamber, who later found that restricting the numbers of each type of business is not possible...
the Town and the County of St. Paul approved an agreement for joint operation and use of a sanitary landfill site south of the river, as the Town's present site neared capacity...
a fire safety workshop was the highlight of Fire Prevention Week...
Clandonald Junior High, Heinsburg Junior and Senior High and F. G. Miller Junior and Senior High held their annual awards nights...
‘Babe’ Sharkey celebrated 40 years in the school bus business...
Elk Point FCSS had a capacity crowd on hand for their Personal Development Day for Women...
Glen Harms was returned as President of the Agricultural Society...
Elk Point Scouting Association invested new members...
Deborah Grey opened her campaign office, while John Dahmer was admitted to hospital for tests...
and a pre-Christmas election was called to fill Town Council vacancies.
NOVEMBER
An election poll conducted by several weekly newspapers showed the majority of Beaver River voters were still undecided with two weeks to go before the election...
4-H members from the entire Northeast Region attended the Fall Fling workshop in Elk Point to kick off 4-H Week...
Elk Point Elks Hockey Club got off to a great start with two wins and a tie in their first week of play...
a hundred feet of history was put on display as the Elk Point Mural was installed in the future historical park...
chill winds buffeted those attending Remembrance Day services at Elk Point Cenotaph...
Tags Food and Gas celebrated winning a multiprovincial award of excellence...
Billie Milholland and Vicki Brooker were among 19 directors named by the Lakeland Tourist Association at their Annual Meeting...
former Council member Bruce Kleeberger won the Mayor’s chair by acclamation...
Young Canada Book Week was celebrated at Elk Point Elementary, despite the construction nearby...
a further addition to the Elementary School, expected to get. underway when the modernization was completed, was put on hold by funding cuts...
John Dahmer's dream of becoming a Member of Parliament came true, by a 7280 vote majority, but the newly elected member of our nation’s government succumbed to bone marrow cancer just five days later, and was honored by massive crowds at a funeral service held in F. G. Miller High School the day before he was to have been sworn in.
DECEMBER
The past month has been a busy one, with Elk Point Town Council putting their support behind a petition sent off to the Provincial Government asking for further consideration for the construction of an addition to the Elementary School...
a Parent Teacher Association formed at F. G. Miller...
the Pioneer Circle hosting a floor curling tournament..a breakfast, bake sales, teas and bazaars...
the Skate-A-Thon...
an open house at FGM...
visits by Santa...
Ed Buck winning the vacant Council seat...
the Chamber's second annual Christmas Extravaganza...
lighting contest brightening our lives...
Christmas itself...
and the presentation of the Heart of Gold awards to six very worthy individuals.
And now, on to 1989...
