Have you ever gone into a town and felt at home right away, even before you met a soul? More than that, have you felt captured and fascinated? It has happened to me twice, the second time I entered Sintaluta, Saskatchewan, for the first time. I had moved from Arizona to relocate near my children and was searching for a house. I happened to see an ad for a house in a town called Sintaluta. Even though I had visited its neighboring towns, I had never been in it. As I drove down the main street in search of my house, the magic hit me. How do you explain it? I have no idea, absolutely none, but I felt it that first day, and it has enthralled me ever since. As you will have guessed, I found the house perfect and moved in that month. So began my bonding with Sintaluta. Two years later, my mother, who was failing, suddenly remembered my grandparents, Elizabeth and William Campbell, had moved to Sintaluta right after their wedding. They had moved all their wedding gifts into their house and gone for a honeymoon. While they were gone, the house and all their gifts burnt to the ground. An awful thing to happen, and a terrible bond of sorts with Sintaluta, but hearing this sad story did not take the bloom off my enjoyment of the town.
Sintaluta means “ tail of the red fox” in the Lakota Sioux language. It was founded in 1907, with its first school opening in 1882. It is now a tiny village of about 119. Sintaluta has consistently produced record wheat crops. This year is no different despite the drought! One of the founders, E.A. Partridge, was instrumental in furthering farmers’ interests in elevators and many aspects of farming. He founded the United Grain Growers. He also established farmer-owned coops. He was a man with a broad, visionary proposal called the “ Partridge Plan.” This plan addressed a range of farmer’s issues and furthered the idea of eliminating the abuses and near-monopoly of grain elevators by grain elevator companies and railways. He also established a newspaper to help farmers stay in touch with current issues. Today, tiny Sintaluta has a grain elevator and a seed plant going full bore in the time of disappearing elevators. They are privately owned by Whispering Pines Farm and serve all the many busy farmers in the high-producing area.
A brick school was opened in 1909 (30ft by 20ft)! Several churches established themselves in this busy community. Every day as I go down Main Street, I pass the St John the Baptist Anglican fieldstone church. I love to stand outside and can imagine the groups of people going in on a Sunday. The women with their hats and gloves and the children in their Sunday best. Sadly, this and, in fact, all churches are closed. But still, it retains some magic for me with its towering trees surrounding it. They, too, have been there many decades and now try to whisper their stories in the way of the wind.
I purchased a large, red book titled “Tales of the Red Fox.” This is a fabulous book detailing the history of Sintaluta, complete with dozens of pictures of local events through the years and articles about each family that lived in Sintaluta. I would be glad to lend it to anyone wishing to see more of the history. The Sintaluta pictures and stories, when in their prime, are fascinating. They tell of a vibrant community with women’s clubs, tea parties, scouts, baseball, curling, skating, and harness racing to name just a few clubs and activities. Loving horses, I, of course, gravitated to the horse stories. Lucien Cormier was a horseman and driver who was famous. He took two horses, Star Chief C and J.J.Mohawk, to Hollywood Park in California. He won in a field of ten horses with Chief C ! How I wish I could have seen those horses! I was surprised to learn cricket was played! It was brought by English expatriates relocating to Sintaluta. There were choirs, parades, social functions, with cards and dancing being the entertainment for the most part. Plays were put on by children and adults alike. Women’s groups raised funds to redecorate the church or provide some repairs that were needed. Many stores, a livery, a blacksmith, and a barbershop contained a pool hall. I guess a pool hall was to be expected in a barbershop back then. Young men could hardly wait till they were of shaving age and enjoy a professional shave in the barbershop! Sintaluta was a whirlwind of activity. I wish I could have been there to experience the community as it was.
Sadly the last “store” closed a few years ago. The Coop filled many needs. It was the post office, liquor store, gas station, and confectionery. Most importantly, it was a chance to talk with neighbors and, dare I say, share some gossip? According to the company, our store was not producing enough, so it closed with no advance notice to employees or customers. The women’s coffee group used to meet mornings at the Senior Center, but with the arrival of Covid, that has stopped for the time being. However, on the positive side, this August, the town held the 100th celebration! There was a parade, music in the Memorial Hall, a bouncy castle, etc., and of course hamburgers and hot dogs. I am told it was well attended. Unfortunately, I had returned to Montana before the big day.
Continued in Next weeks Issue.
