The Borden Friendship Club held a barbecue for their Aug. 31 supper and celebration of birthdays. The club provided the burgers, buns and wieners and Clive Wensley supplied the birthday cake. There were 35 out to enjoy not only the burgers and hotdogs but also the varied and delicious salads brought by everyone. Blowing out candles were Ann Kohut, Rueben Derksen, Stella Skwara, Audrey Baker, Henry Derksen and guest Rosemarie Willis.
Rita Smith spoke about the walking trail being built by Dan Gunsch in conjunction with the Borden Parks and Recreation Board. They need volunteers for a work bee Sept. 17 to scrape and paint picnic tables, mount coach and solar lights to lampposts and work on two perennial flower beds, as well as someone to weld brackets for holding the garbage cans. A cement table and bench will be placed along the trail by the creek.
Besides the $23,400 grant the Seniors received, the R.M. of Great Bend donated $3,800 and Home Depot gave a $2,000 voucher for supplies. When the trail is finished and some of the other work has been completed, there will be a windup picnic involving the school children, the Seniors and the community, hopefully by the middle of October.
Following the walking trail report, entertainment for the evening was provided by Peter singing and Mary Thiessen playing the keyboard. She also played two pieces on the piano. Many of the tunes were gospel songs. Then Peter led a sing-song of familiar old tunes such as Camptown Races, Clementine and Grandfather's Clock.
The Borden School Community Council is holding a trade show Sept. 14 at the school gym, with various booths, a scavenger hunt and a chance to meet the new staff - Mitch Luiten, Atina Johnson and Jackie Corbett. The program starts at 6:30, with snacks from 7- 8 p.m. Everyone is welcome.
The Borden Dance Club is holding their registration night for the upcoming season Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Borden Seniors' Room. A meeting with parents and instructors will follow.
Living Books, based in Borden and owned by Martin and Janice Whitbread, held their 25th anniversary Aug. 19 and 20, with the theme Great Things He Has Done. The first day was spent in Saskatoon with a riverboat cruise. The first 35 guests enjoyed a meal while others ate elsewhere, then the remaining guests went on a cruise at 8:15 p.m. down the South Saskatchewan River.
Saturday there were ongoing seminars at the Saskatoon Inn while the warehouse in Borden was open for browsing. In the afternoon, at the Borden Community Centre, there was delicious chocolate fondue and an authors' reception with special guests Brock Thoene, Lauraine Snelling and Davey and Marie Jank.
A gala reception and reunion was held in the evening; the Borden Lions catered. Everyone enjoyed a trip down memory lane with a slide show depicting Martin and the crew when they first started selling in 1976. In 1986 co-founders Lloyd and Arlene Schulz incorporated with the Whitbreads. Their predecessors, visionaries Walt and Joy Seward, had started out with Successful Living. When the Whitbreads and Schulzs took over in 1986, the name was changed to Living Books. They are now a worldwide company with the warehouse in Borden and another office in Ontario.
Awards were also given out for volume purchasers from January to June of 2011, and presentations were made to distributors who have been selling for 10, 15, 20, 25 years and (one couple) 35 years.
