When I was in 4-H in the 1960’s one of my speeches was about the Pony Express. When I studied for my speech and first learned about the daring riders of the Pony Express, I fancied myself possessing the spirit and calibre needed to join their ranks even though there were no female riders. The image of a lone rider galloping across the wild prairies, braving storms, wildlife, and attack, has always held a certain fascination for me. I’m sure it wasn’t as glamorous or as romant

Back when Vermilion was first founded, one of the early tasks of residents was to build a church that people could worship in. It was in September 1905 when a letter reached Archdeacon Lloyd in Lloydminster, for whom the community is named, asking if a church could be opened in the new village of Vermilion. The person who sent the letter was Robert Pilkie. A reply came on Oct. 15, 1905, giving permission to create this church. A week later, Archdeacon Lloyd came to the commun

Coconut cream pie is a favourite that is really easy to make from scratch. When making a Coconut Cream pie, you can use a variety of pie crusts, graham wafer, coconut or pastry. When you make your own filling and pie crust you are eliminating all the chemicals found in the boxed coconut pudding mix and all the unhealthy fats found in commercial pie crusts. If you are using a premade, frozen pastry pie crust, be sure to look for the ones that are made with lard, instead of veg

Thanksgiving has been celebrated in Canada since the 1700’s according to Google and Wikipedia. In 1957 the Canadian Parliament officially proclaimed the 2nd Monday in October the official Thanksgiving Day “a Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed”. It was tradition in our house growing up to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was an exciting day of family gathering and feasting on turkey and pumpkin pie. As I grew up,

At the start of each month, I like to look back at what was going on in the community a century ago. The events of 100 years ago helped from the community that exists today. At the start of the month on Oct. 1, it was announced that Reverend Father Goutier was leaving the community to take over the parish in Legal. He had served as the Vermilion parish for the previous 15 years and was well loved by the community. He was succeeded by Father O’Sullivan, who came in from Hanna.

Thanksgiving is this weekend, plus October is pumpkin everything month. Pumpkin Pie, has to be my very favourite October treat, although I love a good turkey dinner for thanksgiving as well. Speaking of Thanksgiving, it turns out that being thankful, provides all sorts of health benefits, and plus being happy, laughing and joyful is also a health booster that kicks our immune system into high gear. I feel like I need to buy a good joke book. This thanksgiving I wish your lots

With the warm weather late in the summer, the tomatoes are ripening on the vine. Last year I froze the tomatoes, by placing ripe, washed,...

We had a family reunion this summer on my dad’s side. My sister and I planned the event and more than once as we gathered information for...

In September 1922, as farmers were trying to get in the crops that they could after a dry season, ducks suddenly descended on the...

What do we know about clouds? Meteorologists are trained to read the clouds, but they are not the only ones watching clouds. Many of us...

Back in early August 1950, Vermilion suddenly found itself in a situation where it was dealing with a power shortage. And it was all...

How would you like to wake up and have your oatmeal, already sweetened and ready to eat. There is no need to cook, you just open the...

I’m sure you’ve witnessed many times the beautiful spectacle of a moon rising, (and I’m not talking about that prankster we all know!)...

Cabbage has major health benefits. Research has shown that compounds in cabbage are converted to isothiocyanates that provide protection...

With a new month, it is time to venture 100 years into the past to see what was going on in the community back then. It may have been 10...

Gardening is an ancient ritual. The garden of Eden was the very first garden, mentioned in the bible as “an earthly paradise”. Yes, God...

Harvest is in full swing. The intense heat has brought on “it’s go time” rather quickly. This Mac and Cheese dish, is easy to wipe up,...

When I was a kid, my Mom had a huge garden. Several long rows of vegetables and many, many more of potatoes. I had 9 other siblings and...

Here is a famous European dessert, with many names, depending on the country you are eating it in. In Poland it is called Kremówka, and...

We’ve had some fun riding in the river and through waterholes over the years. For the most part, our horses were seasoned and quite equal...