Believe it

In 1945, Broadway Street in Yorkton constituted a section of highway that was mentioned by Robert L. Ripley of "Believe It Or Not" fame as part of the longest straight road in the world, 82 miles without a turn.

It began at Roblin, Manitoba, passing through Yorkton as Broadway Street and extending west to Ituna.

Apprenticeships

About 150 years ago contracts between employers and employees were certainly different than at the present time. The following contract was found in an old family chest by the grandson of the apprentice mentioned in the contract.

It was a five-year contract, a legal document, in which a young man, with the consent of his grandmother, committed himself to apprentice to the grocer, tea and provision dealer trade.

In the contract the young apprentice agreed that he would forthwith not waste the goods of his master, nor contract matrimony within the said term, nor play cards or dice tables or any other unlawful games without the consent of his said master. He could neither buy or sell; nor haunt taverns or playhouses; nor absent himself from his master's service day or night unlawfully.

The employer agreed to find the said apprentice sufficient meat, drink and lodging and do his washing.

Above the three seals of the apprentice, the employer and the grandmother was this legal paragraph:

"Indentures interchangeably have put their hands and seals this 28day of May in the eighth year of the reign of our sovereign, Lady Queen Victoria, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Briton and Ireland, Defender of the Faith and in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-five."

In consideration of such good and faithful service the apprentice was to receive the sum of 20 pounds.

Memorial Cross of Sacrifice

Located in the city cemetery's soldiers' plot is a 14-foot memorial cross of sacrifice. Carved from native granite, it was unveiled at the 1949 annual Decoration Day service in memory of the veterans of the two world wars.

General Alexander Ross, G.M.G. D.S.O. V.D, officiated at the ceremony which was conducted by Hon. Capt. Rev. L. R. Hill, Legion chaplain. Mrs. S. C. Debalinhard, a war widow and Mrs. H. Wilson, who lost two sons in battle, were given the honor to unveil the cross.

The cross was erected by the Yorkton branch of the Royal Canadian Legion in co-operation with the citizens of Yorkton and district.

The bronze plaque bears the following inscription: "Dedicated to the glory of God and in grateful memory of our gallant dead. In a thousand foreign fields and in many unknown graves, under the waters of the seas and in this hallowed spot, lie the bodies of the brave. We will remember them."

Following the unveiling ceremony, the veterans' graves were decorated with more than 600 gladioli.

That was some sale

Yorkton's population increased by 8,000 to 10,000 people one day in April of 1945.

The influx of farm visitors jammed Yorkton's streets to overflowing to attend a public auction of 69 farm tractors and other power equipment.

The sale, held by Albert Houston of Ontario, attracted buyers from as far away as 300 miles.

Restaurants, unable to handle the crowds, were forced to lock their doors, allowing in only a few customers at a time. Customers, too hungry to await their turn, invaded the butcher shops for cooked meats--many of them stymied because they forgot their meat coupons.

There was a run on grocery stores for sardines and bananas or any other food that could be eaten out of hand.

Hotel accommodations were at a premium and desk clerks turned away hundreds of people.

City fathers opened the city hall auditorium, but hard floors and no blankets made for a long sleepless night. In some rooming houses farmers were sleeping three or four to a bed.

The morning of the sale, farmers were at the auction site as early as 6.30 a.m. to check over the tractors and machinery that would go on sale.

Roads leading to the site were choked with traffic and hindered the fire department that was called out to fight a grass fire burning nearby. The firemen had to back out their trucks and take another route. Meantime the Fire Chief Burton Harper got there first and put the fire out by himself.

Downtown merchants were busy all day serving the wives and children who were on shopping sprees. The local theatres opened their doors with special matinee shows.

Bidding at the sale was brisk as there was no ceiling price on the tractors. It was reported that many tractors sold for hundreds of dollars more than their former retail price.