A look back at 1992
from Elk Point Review by Vicki Brooker
A event-filled and exciting year, this 1992 just past. TweIve months filled to the brim with the Bicentennial, grand openings of the Seniors Recreation Centre and the Northern Lights Library System, dedication of three new parks, election of an almost entirely new Town Council and a new Premier, defeat of the infamous referendum, and all the day to day events that make up life in Elk Point. Let's, just briefly, take a look at the highlights of the year...
January
The Northern Lights Library System came to Elk Point January 6, and was housed in the old courthouse while awaiting their renovated headquarters...
Capitol Raiders won the Atom Hockey Tournament...
Snow forts dotted the scene as youngsters competed in the Great Bicentennial Snow For! Competition...
Deborah Grey toured the Beaver River riding, and told her Elk Point listeners that she felt the constitutional debate could be solved if all Canadians were equal in status and tried to get along with each other...
Proposed changes to provincial electoral boundaries concerned Town Council, who planned a submission for a public hearing on the matter...
A team from Medley won the Novice Hockey Tournament which kicked off Minor Hockey Week in Elk Point...
The Elk Point Bullies won the Micro Novice Tournament which ended the week...
Brenda Paul gave birth to her second New Year's Baby in as many years on January 24...
Noreen downsized their Heavy Oil operation with eight layoffs in the Lindbergh field leaving between 60 and 75 wells in operation...
Town Council met with Fire Chief Ken Palamarek to study a request for an increase in honoraria for firemen
February
Skip Mike Breen led his rink through heavy ice and high water to win the Windsor Club Mixed Grand Challenge…
MLA John Drobot officiated at the Grand Opening of the Seniors’ Recreation Centre...
Millie Orr edged out incumbent Dave Yake to take the 1992 Presidency of the Elk Point Chamber of Commerce...
Helen Skolarchuk skipped the winners at the Windsor Club Ladies Spiel…
An overwhelming attendance of 192 machines and 100 ghostriders were on hand for Heinsburg's annual Snowmobile Rally...
Both Elk Point Lakers and Elk Point Pacers won silver medals in the North East Alberta Winter Games, which had Elk Point as its venue for Basketball, Men's Hockey and Bantam Hockey...
Elk Point's Handball team won gold at the Games in St. Paul...
Two heavily laden dogsleds bearing a thousand commemorative envelopes made an arduous journey through the winter's worst weather as they travelled from Bruderheim to Fort George – Buckingham House, retracing an historic fur trade route…
RCMP Sergeant Pat Muzzeral visited Town Council, and reported that both crime and collision statistics were down in 1991...
Elk Point Scouting Association celebrated Scout and Guide Week with a family banquet...
The Steve Penz rink won the Elk Point Mixed Bonspiel...
The Fur Trappers’ Ball warmed up a chilly Family Day weekend with lively entertainment by the McDade Family Band...
Elk Point Chamber of Commerce established a Retail Merchants Special Events Committee...
Frank Mayner retired after 40 years with the Toronto Dominion Bank...
Elk Point Senior Elks won Sask Alta League awards for Coaches of the Year Lorn Berg and Vie Stepa, MVP Terry Wozniak and Most Gentlemanly Player Shawn Mevel...
'The Rec land’ was given the official title of Elk Point Recreation Park...
F.G. Miller Crusaders won the Girls’ County Cup in Basketball.
March
March blew in with the Men’s Open Bonspiel, won by Cliff Martin of St. Paul...
Glendon Comets won the B and R Bullets Men's Hockey Tourney...
Beaver River Progressive Coservatives rendezvoused in Elk Point to hear MP Arnold Malone, Crowfoot...
Becky Allan and David Naber topped the Elk Point 4-H Multi Club Speakoff, while Dawn Middagh and James Purdy won the Saddle Slickers speakoff, but St. Lina and St. Paul speakers won at the district level...
F.G. Miller Junior Boys won County Cup basketball...
Lyle Yerama's rink took twelve ends, six of them blanked, to win the Elk Point Oilmen’s Spiel...
Elk Point Senior Elks lost out in league semifinals...
Agatha Christie's whodunit “The Hollow” was a big hit when hosted by the Elk Point Community Choir...
Elk Point Skating Club's annual Variety Show was highlighted with a Salute Doe The” Bicentennial...
Bicentennial Coordinator Billie Milholland was presented with a Heritage Tourism Award at the Tourism Industry of Alberta Conference...
Elk Point Thunder hosted the Midget C Provincial Hockey Tournament, with the Chamber sponsoring a GST-Free weekend in conjunction with the tourney...
Dwayne Moneta’s rink won the Town and Country Bonspiel in an extra end...
Elmer Bjornstad retired after 37 years with Canadian Salt.
April
Elk Point's Senior Ukrainian Dancers won a gold medal in Vermilion for their Hopak...
Reports on the upcoming Trade Fair and on the TIIALTA Conference and Tourism 2000 Symposium attended by Billie Milholland were overshadowed by worries about the AEEMA review of power equalization costs...
Heinsburg and district enjoyed a show of spring fashions...
A proposed landfill in the Stoney Lake area met with considerable opposition...
Joni Matthews won gold at the Saskatoon Kinsmen Indoor Games...
Saving the Alberta Electric Energy Marketing Act was seen as vital, and many briefs were submitted to the review panel...
Funding for the Long-Term Care Addition to Elk Point Municipal Hospital was included in the Province's 1992 Budget...
Elk Point Agricultural Society announced their inaugural rodeo...
The Ukrainian Dance Club won numerous medals at a festival in North Battleford...
The first Trade Fair since 1989 was a huge success with well over 3000 spectators attending during the three day event...
0n the other hand, only slightly more than a dozen ratepayers were in attendance at the Town's Annual Meeting...
Fashion made a splash at F.G. Miller High...
Maintainence, user fee structure and additional developments were discussed by Town Council as they geared up for the Elk Point Recreation Park's Official Opening.
May
May started off with a clean sweep of highway ditches by Elk Point 4-Hers who joined other 4-H clubs, Junior Forest Wardens, Sea Cadets and other groups across the province in a major spring cleanup...
Education Week saw a variety of activities keeping things hopping at both schools...
Elk Point Municipal Hospital and the Hospital Auxiliary celebrated Canada Health Day with displays and a blood pressure clinic in conjunction with the annual bazaar, tea and bake sale...
Seven Beavers swam up to the Cub pack...
Elk Point's volunteers were royally entertained by local talent…
MLA John Drobot officiated at the Official Opening of the Recreation Park...
Flying Cossacks and award-winning dances were part of the glorious evening of the Ukrainian Dance Concert…
An explosion ripped through the science lab at F.G. Miller and emergency crews went straight to work coping with the simulated disaster...
Elk Point Chamber studied the Community Futures Business Retention Survey...
Cowboys, cowgirls and spectators took soggy conditions in their stride as they enjoyed Elk Point's first rodeo in well over a decade...
The Lions Walk-a-thon raised$2330...
Heinsburg honored their volunteers with entertainment, draws and displays...
Author Diane Meili visited Elk Point Public Library’s Volunteer Night...
Graduation classes were small at both Elk Point, with 32 grads, and Heinsburg, with six, but both groups were given a good sendoff toward their adult lives...
Elk Point Elks and OORP held their joint installation of officers, with Sharon Algot as Honored Royal Lady and Bill Jennissen as Exalted Ruler...
Elk Point. Auto Club’s Car Show displayed 121 years of transportation, from an 1871 ‘penny farthing’ bicycle to a 1992 Harley Electraglide...
Elk Point Library faced a funding crunch...
Joni Matthews and Erica Neilsen kept collecting track and field medals...
Elk Point Ladies’ Basketball team were named the Provincial C Champions...
Fort George - Buckingham House Interpretive Centre opened its doors for the first time, although signs to point the way took a little longer...
Sixteen participants graduated from a NECHI course held at Fishing Lake, the first course of this kind to be held on a Metis settlement...
Just under 38 percent of Elk Point residents Participacted, but part of this effort went to winning a County Track Meet championship and County Cup baseball...
Town Council welcomed new Administrator Curt Svendsen...
Pan Canadian Petroleum produced their millionth cubic foot of heavy crude oil...
Students of Hildegunde Naber and Deanna Easthope entertained with a recital of their talents…
Elk Point Crusaders won bronze in Provincial Handball...
Elk Point Choral Society added a much-enjoyed Bicentennial note to their spring concert.
June
Clinton Maksymec and Jason Pankiw showed Elk Point 4-H’s Grand and Reserve Champion steers, while Robyn Danyluk made a clean sweep of the Heifer show...
Lily Thomson showed Heinsburg’s Grand Champion, while David Skolarchuk’s steer was the Reserve Champion...
The Review’s proudest moment ever was the receipt of a letter announcing we had won a Canadian Community Newspaper Association Blue Ribbon award for general excellence...
Richard Piotrowski showed the Reserve Champion at the district 4-H Heifer Show...
Elk Point Agricultural Society was advised that they are only one of 300 agricultural societies across the province whose fair status is on hold while a review of fair grant criteria is underway...
The Town of Elk Point's $110,000 AMPLE Grant was put to use to pay high interest debt...
Elk Point K-9 4-H Club held their first Achievement Day...
Willie John won the Men's Open Golf tournament for the second year in a row...
Buddy Bensmiller shaved 40 / 100ths of a second off the track record he set in 1991 at his hometown Dewberry Chuckwagon Meet...
Robyn Danyluk won Junior Showmanship placed second in Junior Grooming at the 4-H Interclub Beef Show...
Elk Point Chamber of Commerce embarked on a 13-week summer break...
The Town of Elk Point offered water customers six cubic metres of additional water free in an effort to promote lawn watering...
Elk Point senior citizens enjoyed a variety of events during Seniors Week...
Elk Point Elementary School and Heinsburg Elementary students all celebrated the end of another school year with Awards Days...
Stoney Lake Stampede Association marked their thirtieth year of annual rodeos...
Tax increases were smaller than expected for Elk Point ratepayers, at 3.85 and 3.38 percent...
The Fort George - Buckingham House Interpretive Centre was officially opened on June 27, with visitors arriving by busloads and horse drawn carriage loads for the colorful ceremony. A reception honoring the dedicated individuals who brought the development to pass was also part of the gala weekend.
July and August, 1992 were Elk Point’s busiest summer ever, with the many activities of Bicentennial to prepare for and carry out. September meant getting back to the usual routine. Let's take a look back at the summer
July
Canada Day dawned pleasantly cool but turned unpleasantly wet during the final minutes of the dedication of the Historical Mural. Afternoon activities were shuttled indoors to the Elementary School due to a drenching downpour...
Shanna Baker earned Grand Championship honors at the District 4-H Light Horse Show in St. Paul...
Riel Beach Campground was officially opened with a banquet and ceremonies...
Friday, July 3 also marked the official opening of Alberta Wheat Pool’s Fertilizer Blending Plant...
Whitney Lake whooped it up at their annual rodeo...
The Hon. Roy Brassard visited the Elk Point WSeniors’ Recreation Centre to tour the facility...
Elk Point and Ontario students participated in the Voyageur ‘92 exchange...
The Town rezoned three lots in the southwest corner as a potential site for a new Roman Catholic church...
The F.G. Miller Class of ‘72 enjoyed a reunion...
A wagon train carrying a thousand commemorative envelopes set off from the Vinca Bridge along an ancient fur trade route, bound for the Bicentennial celebrations...
Pearl Bespalko, Homer Poitras and Robyn Moroziuk were the champs at the Ladies, Seniors and Juniors Golf Tournament.
August
Elk Point's biggest ever celebration of heritage filled the August 1, 2 and 3 weekend full to the brim with activities of all sorts. Close to five hundred descendants came to pay homage to explorer and fort builder Peter Fidler, the wagon train arrived with the mail, crafters from all over western Canada took part in the Artisans’ Festival, and over 1200 visitors toured Fort George - Buckingham House on the first two days of the weekend, enjoying the displays and the black powder demonstrations. The Ag Society hosted a Buffalo Barbecue, midway and dance to round out the weekend...
The mid-July closure of Imperial Lumber was a major concern to Town Council...
Art Britton won the 9th Annual Oilmen's Golf Tournament...
Close to a hundred parents, educators, school trustees and students gathered at F.G. Miller to discuss the ramifications of a possible teachers’ strike...
The first August snowstorm in memory blanketed northeast Alberta with a thick layer of the white ‘stuff on August 21...
Greyhound Bus Lines announced that they would be discontinuing their service to Elk Point in September, with Quality Time Tours taking over the Marwayne to. Edmonton route...
Mayor Bruce Kleeberger sold his dental practice to Dr. Jonathan Adams and resigned after nine years on Council...
Ernie Poitras, Pearl Bespalko and Robyn Moroziuk were named the 1992 Golf Club Champions...
Elk Point Agricultural Fair marked 80 years since its beginning, with Lois Yaremkevich winning the Grand Aggregate award. Charlene Baker, Laura Begg and Lana Graham were High Point winners in the accompanying Open Horse Show.
September
Elk Point Golf and Country Club received a $50,000 Community Facility Enhancement Grant toward their project of installing grass greens and an irrigation system...
School boards and teachers settled a year long contract dispute...
Marshall Kachmar made the first bid for the Mayor's chair in the upcoming general election, with Ed Buek and Adele Mandryk adding their names on Nomination Day. Council incumbents Louis Verhagen and Lawrence Pidluzny were in the running with Walter Lesyk, Betty Callbeck, Bill Schuhmacher, May Hendrickson, Vern King, Carol Korpan and Danny Povaschuk, while Billie Milholland took on Ed Buck in the race for School Trustee...
Double the 1991 attendance and almost double the pledges made the Terry Fox Run a big success...
Close to 250 people visited Fort George-Buckingham House for the Fall Rendezvous, with the most distinguished visitor being the Factor of Fort Edmonton, who was warmly welcomed by Fort George's Wimtierimy, “partner...
Information Night ‘92 was well attended and very informative...
Shannon Capjack took Best All-Around Student honors at F.G. Miller’s Awards Night...
The Chamber started off the new season with the presentation of Bicentennial Best Dressed Business awards to the Treasury Branch, TD Bank and Quality Tools...
Northern Lights Library System celebrated the official opening of their Headquarters with the Hon. Doug Main, the Hon. Ken Kowalski and MLA John Drobot joining Board Chairman Ron Young for the ribbon cutting...
F.G. Miller’s Girls’ Golf Team won the Provincial Championship...
The Hon. Roy Brassard was keynote speaker at the Alberta Council on Aging Annual Fall Conference at the Elk Point Seniors’ Recreation Centre...
Heinsburg High’s Overall Average awards for the 1991-92 school year went to Lily Thomson and David Skolarchuk.
October
Elk Point DID have the biggest pumpkin at the World Pumpkin Growers’ Weigh Off in Smoky Lake, as predicted way back in February, but alas! It weighed only 42 pounds and was constructed largely of recycled Reviews. However, Deputy Mayor Mandryk and Councillor Louis Verhagen were congratulated on the good sportsmanship and ingenuity they faced the challenge with, after early frost claimed all of Elk Point's pumpkin crop...
Plans for a multi-use facility were still on hold, after a year’s wait for additional funding...
Peter Fidler Peace Park was duly dedicated, along with five hundred other peace parks across the nation and the National Peacekeeping Monument in Ottawa...
Municipal elections saw Ed Buck back in the mayor's chair after six years’ absence, while five new councillors, Betty Callbeck, Mae Hendrickson, Vern King, Dan Povaschuk and Bill Schuhmacher, joined lone incumbent Lawrence Pidluzny around the Town Council table...
Buck also won back his School Board seat...
Bob Smith was returned in Division 1 of the County, while newcomer Ray Danyluk was elected in Division 2. Marvin Bjornstad retained his Ward 2 seat on the Hospital Board...
A preelection forum was jointly sponsored by the Pioneer Circle and Chamber of Commerce and was well attended...
The voting wasn’t over yet, as Elk Point voted “No” on the Charlottetown Accord...
Ron and Sharon Smith were named Elk Point's Small Business Persons of the year.
November
Fort George - Buckingham House Interpretive Centre welcomed Peter Fidler historian Bruce Haig as a special guest at their Guy Fawkes Day celebration...
Five new Beavers, nine new Cubs and one new leader were inducted by the Elk Point Scouting Association...
Books were ‘Eggstra Special’ at Elk Point Elementary during Book Festival Week, while Alberta author Mary Woodbury visited the FGM students...
Elk Point found a warm new way to commemorate Remembrance Day — indoors, in the Seniors’ Recreation Centre...
Five occupants of two trucks were injured in a collision on Highway 28...
Entertainment of a kind seen “Once In A Blue Moon” took the spotlight at F.G. Miller High...
The long-awaited moment when the long-term care addition and renovations of the existing Elk Point Hospital could go to tender were proudly announced by MLA John Drobot, Board Chairman John Mohyluk and Administrator Clem Johnson...
Junior A hockey fans were disappointed when a lighting failure in the arena caused the Calgary Royals to opt out of their Elk Point debut against Bonnyville Pontiacs...
Three briefs, two dealing with the hospital and one with tourism, were presented to the NADC by Elk Point residents...
Elk Point Historical Society earned a Recognition of Contributions award from the Alberta Museums Association, with Frank Mayner accepting the award...
The Alberta Progressive Conservative Leadership race ended in a photo finish between Nancy Betkowski and Ralph Klein, with a second vote carried over into December when Klein won a decisive victory, largely due to the rural vote...
Heinsburg got a head start on Christmas, with a Community School Family Christmas Concert and supper...
Elk Point's Christmas Extravaganza promoted local shopping, and gave out $720 in Elk Point Bucks so the winners of the event’s contests could do even more local shopping...
Pan Canadian Petroleum held two open house meetings to announce plans for expanding their operations in 1993...
The Community Choir was in fine voice for their annual Christmas Concert...
F.G. Miller High School also offered an evening of musical entertainment to welcome the Christmas season...
The Ghost of Christmas Past and Peter Fidler were among the personalities on stage at this year’s Elementary School Christmas Concerts...
Elk Point shone for Christmas with a great display of lights for the Chamber’s lighting contest judges to choose from...
The Elk Point Golf and Country Club ended the year looking forward to grass greens in 1993.
