It had been a few years since Kurt Fuchs had visited Cannington Manor Provincial Park and he realized last year while re-exploring the park that its upkeep was in need of assistance. He began speaking with others and together – a group of six – became interested in forming a non-profit organization, Friends of Cannington Manor to assist in the upkeep and help refurbish the park.
Now those six are looking for added help in the form of volunteers and board members to ensure the non-profit becomes a reality.
“We’ve been communicating with Joan [Adams] at the park and we’re working together,” Fuchs said. “There are grants that non-profits can apply for, which the Provincial Park can’t, so we’re working together on this.”
“We need about four or five more people to form the non-profit, but we’re open to anyone that wants to volunteer.”
The first meeting for the group will be held once farmers are finished seeding as many of those who have already expressed interest are producers.
“We want to save the buildings left there and in the future open up the Hewlett House again,” Fuchs explained. “We’ve also been talking that once we have that taken care of to look at building a store out there that would sell like old fashioned lollypops and those kinds of things.”
Cannington Manor was a settlement, which popped up on the Saskatchewan Prairies that featured Victorian social values and was the dream of British settlers over 100 years ago. The settlement was short lived; however, with the railroad being built to the south of the community it was abandoned in favour of building a town closer to the tracks.
The settlement did flourish for a brief time as Cannington Manor brought the high life of Britain to English settlers in Saskatchewan. Fox hunts, dramatics societies, poetry clubs, croquet, cricket, and tennis were all popular, when residents weren’t busy working in the agricultural sector.
An enduring legacy remains to be the tales of the Cannington bachelors or the Remittance Men who had built whiskey camps in the area, hosted thoroughbred horse racing, and came together to form rugby teams.
Today Cannington Manor features both historic buildings and reconstructed buildings to bring the community to life along with interpretive programs and period demonstrations.
If interested in finding out more about the Friends of Cannington Manor contact Kurt at (306)541-9077.
