In a news report of April 1951,Yorkton City Council must have had a great deal to discuss. The meeting lasted until 2.15 a.m. It is not reported what the subjects of discussion was at this meeting. In contrast, at an October meeting of the same year, council cleared all the business in less than an hour.

Dr. Brass

On September 28, 1951, Yorkton's newest vocational school was officially opened by Mr. J. D. Brass. This new $275,000 educational centre, attached to the Yorkton Collegiate Institute, was named in memory of Dr. J. D. Brass. Dr. Brass served 28 years on the Collegiate Board, 24 of those years as chairman.

The auditorium, with a balcony, provided seating room for over 1,000 and the large stage with plenty of dressing rooms and stage space provided for various types of entertainment.

The scientifically designed home economics laboratory had six complete kitchen units with built-in cupboards, sinks, electric stoves and fridges. A sewing room had individual drawers for each student, six sewing machines, ironing boards and fitting room.

A laundry was set up with electric washer and large drying cupboards. Students learned the art of serving and entertaining in the dining and living rooms.

A special room was set aside for the health nurse.

The drafting room , wood working shop, welding and blacksmith shops were outfitted with work benches, lockers, supply cupboards, electrical and mechanical fixtures.

The basement housed showers and washrooms. A long rectangular room was used by the air cadets as a shooting gallery.

When the old Yorkton Collegiate building was torn down to make way for the Dr. Brass Elementary School, the Dr. Brass wing was incorporated into the new building.

Richard Beatty

The two day horse racing card at the recent Yorkton Exhibition brought back memories of former racing days at Yorkton.

To old timers, those memories always included the name of Richard Beatty, who was well known across Canada and into the United States for his racing stable.

Influenced by his father as a lad, Mr. Beatty followed horse racing and later his horses were entered into races across Canada and the United States.

Mr. Beatty was born in 1896 near Cobourg, Ontario .About 1900 he came west with his family and took up farming, though his first love was horse racing. He retired from farming in 1947.

Mr. Beatty died at the age of 74 of a heart attack.

Fred Maynard

Fred Maynard, one of Yorkton's first harness makers, died at the age of 87 in 1948.

He was born in Arnprior, Ontario, in 1876. Later the family moved to Orillia, Ontario. In 1881 Mr. Maynard came west with his brother and his father.

In 1898 he came to Yorkton to work as a harness maker with Robert Douglas. When Mr. Douglas died in 1912, Mr. Maynard took over the business.

During his 48 years in Yorkton as a harness maker, it is said he made over 45 sets of team harnesses a year and about the same number of single and double driver sets.