MAYFAIR — Home sweet home. Everything looks the same but when I left at the beginning of December, we had a surplus of snow already. The snow certainly disappeared but now a couple more storms dumped a blanket of white stuff again. This means extra moisture for farmers’ fields, lawns and gardens.
Mary and Henry Konopelski of Rabbit Lake are receiving excellent care at Rivers Heights Lodge in North Battleford. The move is always a challenge but they will greatly benefit by residing there. They like to see their old-time friends come and visit.
A come-and-go 90th birthday celebration is to take place at the North Battleford Wildlife Federation building (9710 - Thatcher Ave.) Saturday, May 13. Guest of honour is Irene Polichuk, a former farmer and mail deliverer from the Whitkow district. She is a resident at Battlefords River Heights Lodge and would love to see all of her old farm neighbours and others.
My dream came true two weeks ago when I flew from Yuma. Ariz. to Nashville, Tenn. This was my 71st birthday present to myself. My goal was to see a talented girl I taught for a few years around 18 years ago — Shantaia — who has been nominated for five awards by the Saskatchewan Country Music Awards.
She along with an up-and-coming performer from Kelowna, B.C. did an acoustic bar gig April 13. This was on the rooftop of famous professional singer Miranda Lambert’s eating/ drinking establishment in downtown Nashville. An exciting part was that I got to sit with Shantaia’s parents, Al and Lana Poulin. I didn’t even know they were also in Tennessee. The concert was for three hours and it was fantastic. Both women sang their hearts out, performing many other artists’ songs and a couple of their own compositions. They drew in a large somewhat “wild” crowd on a sunny warm day.
Twenty-six-year-old Shantaia moved to Nashville four years ago. Her Saskatoon longtime boyfriend is in the process of moving there once his green card goes through. They plan to live in this fast-moving loud city for many years.
April 16, Shantaia got word that the final nominations for the SCMA have her nominated for five awards. They are female artist, songwriter of the year, video of the year, interactive artist and single of the year. Her single, “Broke to Brand New,” hit the charts and is indeed a great song.
She claims she was totally floored by this news, as in the past she has been nominated for two, but says five is unbelievable. She works with different bands and has put in many intense hours of hard work. Congratulations. You have made us all so proud of you, as an unknown prairie girl who is making it big in Nashville. Watch out for more exciting news about Shantaia.
Down the road from me in Nashville were former Rabbit Lake resident June Pauls and her daughter Carmen Lebiszczak of the Saskatoon area. They toured Memphis and area then travelled to the Grand Ole’ Opry in Nashville. I too was at the Grand Ole Opry. The late Loretta Lynn’s granddaughter, Emmy Russel, composed a touching song about Loretta on a guitar that was passed down to Emmy from her gramma. Other entertainers were the Gatlin Brothers, Jake Hoot, Suzy Bogguss and “spotlight artist” 66-year-old Crystal Gayle. This is an evening I will soon not forget. In the near future, I plan to tour more of Tennessee as I’ve met folks from that state who vacation in Arizona for the winter. Yes, Memphis is a high priority with Elvis Presley’s estate as a big tourist attraction.
