NORTHEAST - Sonny Poolroom, is a memoir by Steve Hawrishok. It chronicles rural life in Saskatchewan in the 1950s and 60s.
Steve Hawrishok is a Saskatchewn author who said he was fortunate enough to have grown up in Lac Vert, a small town in the Northeast.
“Sonny Poolroom is a memoir - a collection of memories of events and my reaction to them. If you lived in a prairie town during those years, you will have had many of these experiences as well, or knew someone who did.”
The book is described with a mix of nostalgia, humour and poignancy, Hawrishok recalls his formative years growing up in a large family and spending much of his time in the local poolroom – the family business that was a hub for community life. Born in Carrot River in 1946, Hawrishok was the third eldest of six children. His childhood was marked by adventures collecting beer bottles and being farmed out, but the poolroom remained a central part of his early years. In Sonny Poolroom, Hawrishok shares these memories, inviting readers to step back in time to a simpler yet challenging era on the prairies. “Sonny Poolroom is a collection of memories and emotions tied to them,” says Hawrishok from his home in Regina. “I never intended to write a memoir, but during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, my family encouraged me to put these stories down on paper.”
Written during the isolation of the pandemic, Sonny Poolroom reflects on the enduring themes of family, community and resilience.
Hawrishok said that W.O Mitchell wrote the most significant book about a young boy growing up in Saskatchewan in the 1930s. Sonny Poolroom is a similar story but at a different time (post-war 1946-1964). Both books chronicle the birth, growth, and eventual decline of many of the small towns in the province of Saskatchewan.
In Hawrishok’s research he indicated there are lots of books about our province’s history, attractions, wildlife, farms, towns and lakes and specific historical events covering a month, year or decade(s). “But all in all, there aren’t any books that present life in small town Saskatchewan the 1950s-60s in the way it is told in Sonny Poolroom.
The book is Hawrishok’s story from his birth in 1946 to 1964 when he left the Town of Lac Vert to attend University in Saskatoon.
The book was first published in June 2023. “The Lac Vert Community Club bought in to Sonny Poolroom immediately.” On Aug. 29, 2023 they arranged for a book launch in the Lac Vert Hall. A total of 126 copies of Sonny Poolroom were sold at the launch. The monies from the launch were donated to the Community Club.
Hawrishok started his writing career in the late 1990s when he agreed to write the qualification and licensing course for insurance brokers across Canada. Sonny Poolroom was born from the pandemic and was his first effort at telling a story. Sonny Poolroom is his first “story” book.
“As Miss White, our teacher explained, “We need to hang on to our history as a community a little tighter. That’s what Sonny Poolroom strives to accomplish.”
Sonny Poolroom is available as an eBook on amazon.ca or [email protected]
