This photo shows an unidentified couple leaving the James Wilson farm in the district of Beaver Dale west of Yorkton in the 1920s. They could have been setting out for home, cutting the visit short before nightfall and would possibly be stopping along the way at another farm to warm up depending on the distance to their destination. In those years before automobiles became popular, people travelled in the nice seasons by horse and wagons to accommodate several riders and freight, and for fewer people they used the more luxurious buggies. In the wintertime, they travelled by sleigh or cutter. The sleigh was of moderate to large size to transport several people or carry goods or both. The cutter was smaller in size designed to accommodate fewer people as we see in the photograph. Of course, the quality and styles depended on the means of the owner. Then, during the festive season, we can’t forget to mention for young readers, that Santa Claus needed a large sleigh pulled by eight reindeer to carry the Christmas gifts. In older times, French Canadians in the old Province of Canada (Québec since Confederation of 1867) and at some French settlements out West kept Santa Claus very busy. It was their tradition of gift-giving on New Year’s Day that kept Santa otherwise known as St. Nicholas or Pére Noel still travelling around New Year’s day making deliveries of gifts. To the delight of children, this tradition also meant that they might receive gifts both on Christmas and on New Year’s day.
Note: Beaver Dale — a hamlet in the Rural Municipality of Garry No. 245. Photo: donation of Lorna Parrott. Graphics by Kim Perpeluk, Administrative Assistant Engineering Dept.
Contact Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher,
City of Yorkton Archives,
Box 400, 37 Third Avenue North
Yorkton, Sask. S3N 2W3
306-786-1722
[email protected]
