By Mary Guenther – Warman, Sask.
Two of my friends, Justina and Annie, and I decided to go to Waskesiu, Sask., in Prince Albert National Park for a holiday in 1956. It was a first for all three of us to be on our own away from home for a few days.
We lived about seven miles from each other and made plans to leave go Aug. 31 – Sept. 3. None of us had a driver’s license, so we took the bus. It stopped at the service station a half-mile from our farm.
Taking the seats closest to the front, we struck up a conversation with the bus driver to pass the time. We all enjoyed it, including the driver, and it made the 150-mile trip more interesting.
When we arrived in Waskesiu, we rented a cabin for $5 and moved into a place we could call home. We heard the squirrels running along the roof of our cabin at night. It was unusual for us as there were no squirrels in our area.
We bought groceries and cooked on a wood stove, but the wood was wet from a recent rain and had to be dried in the oven.
Transportation dilemma solved
We did a lot of sightseeing, however, with no car or driver’s license, we were limited to things within walking distance. We found a solution when Justina ran into her cousin with his wife and son. They were also also holidaying in Waskesiu.
They had a car and offered us a ride when they travelled beyond our walking distance, such as seeing the bears at the garbage dump and other trips outside of town.
We also did some rollerskating and I seemed to be the least experienced so had several tumbles but no broken bones. The cost was 50¢ per person for renting the skates. The movie we took in one evening cost 60¢. The prices seem unrealistic these days, but in our minds we were extravagant.
Because it was in late summer, it was too cold to go swimming, so, we took in as much as our walks would allow.
