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Spare Room Gallery

Landscape and Sky

Clayton McLain Memorial Museum

Visual Arts Exhibit by Mary Ramsay
Sponsored Exclusively by Veikle Agro Inc.

The Spare Room Gallery launched its visual arts exhibition space with life-long area resident Mary Ramsay’s “Landscape and Sky”. The pastoral beauty of the rural countryside is explored in acrylics on a variety of materials including canvas, rocks, and sawblades.

FROM THE ARTIST

Living on the farm… we enjoyed watching the changes in the beauty of nature through traveling, sitting at the creek, picking berries, fishing and bringing in the harvest.

In 1987, I enrolled in a few community art classes in Cut Knife. From there, I was totally engaged in the peaceful art of painting. I started with oils, but have used acrylics for many years. My subject matter focuses on landscape and sky. Beyond canvas, I have painted on pails, milk cans, sawblades, rocks and wood to name a few.

– Mary Ramsay

Only a small sample of Mary Ramsay’s exquisite landscapes.

“Landscape and Sky” will run at the Spare Room Gallery until Sunday, June 23. Donations to the visual arts in Saskatchewan are gratefully accepted. Small groups only as space is limited.

113 Broad Street, Cut Knife until June 23
Wednesdays 1:30 – 6:30pm & Fridays 11:00am – 4pm
or by appointment. Free admission.

~ Debbie M.

Marriage photo 1928, Ovide and Hughenna (Rutley) Bertrand
Archives, Museum, Our Stories

1928 Wedding Attire

Clayton McLain Memorial Museum

Currently on display at the Cut Knife Library (113 Broad Street):

Ovide & Hughenna Bertrand on their wedding day

This outfit was worn by Hughenna Rutley at her marriage to Ovide Bertrand, August 8, 1928. Their children: Mary, Clare, Evelyn, Lorraine, Arthur, David, and Lucille.

Worn by Hughenna (Rutley) Bertrand, August 8, 1928

~ Debbie M.

Museum, Our Stories

Wooden Nickels

Clayton McLain Memorial Museum

TOMAHAWK PARK: PART 3

Remember this quote from a couple of days ago in Cut Knife Goes Western with Wild Rodeo?

Thousands of souvenir “wooden nickels” will be manufactured and redeemed during the days of the rodeo…

~ from Wild Rodeo

Tomahawk Days wooden nickels
Genuine Cut Knife Tomahawk Days wooden nickels

This past Saturday, during the Museum’s annual spring walk-thru, I found some! This is what they looked like.

Notice that the nickel back (bottom left) is stamped with Cree syllabics. Syllabics are symbols that represent either a combination of consonant and vowel, or just a consonant, or just a vowel. The Cree language was spoken by many First Nations in Saskatchewan historically, and continues to be spoken, and taught today, including in the neighbouring communities of Little Pine First Nation, Poundmaker Cree Nation, and Sweetgrass First Nation.

The October 9th, 1969 Courier Editorial described how the Town residents were working together with the three neighbouring First Nations communities on a joint economic endeavor to benefit the district. The goal was to establish an annual rodeo, and construct a giant tomahawk recognizing “the important part” these First Nations “have played in local history”.

The rodeo and the tomahawk will provide Cut Knife with its opportunity to cash-in on the tourist trade – one of the northwest’s fastest growing industries.

~ from Industrious People (page 2)

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To be continued…

~ Debbie M.

Museum, Our Stories

The Lake or Bust

Clayton McLain Memorial Museum

TOMAHAWK PARK: PART 2 (OF MANY)

While the Cut Knife Rodeo Tomahawk Association was being formed, and tourism opportunities researched and discussed, the community was also fundraising for a building to house Clayton McLain’s collections. In July 1969, the Cut Knife Odd Fellows Lodge sponsored a Walkathon, one of many efforts carried out over the next few years, that led to the Clayton McLain Memorial Museum opening in 1971 on the Canada Day weekend.

In the face of an early morning downpour, muddy roads and threatening skies, 47 participants turned out to compete in the walkathon from Cut Knife to Atton’s Lake, a distance of 13 miles on July 6. The proceeds will initiate a fund to move the Ovenstown School from Cloan to Cut Knife.

It is a project of the Cut Knife Odd Fellows Lodge to have a district Museum to house the collection of mementoes of early life and settlement in the Cut Knife and Riding Hills, collected by the late Clayton McLain. The Ovenstown School, itself a fitting reminder of the earliest days of settlement in the Rockhaven – Cloan district and in later years serving the congregations of the United Church, was donated to house the exhibits. The site in the park area on the west side of town has been donated by the town, and will make an admirable setting for such a building…

A total of $1679.50 was raised in pledges…

~ from the Highway 40 Courier: Thursday, July 10, 1969 (page 5)

the lake or bust, july 1969 walkathon fundraiser
A walk-a-thon, with proceeds for the Cut Knife Museum fund, was held July 6 with walkers travelling the 13 gravelled miles from Cut Knife to Atton’s Lake. Recent rains made cool, and in some places rather muddy conditions for the participants. Among those completing the walk were Mrs. Vilda Laing, Gerald Hardy, Sylvia and Trevor McLain, Gordon Weikle of Cut Knife also arrived at his destination, travelling the miles the hard way, pushing wheel barrow and daughter over the bumpy miles.

Don’t miss an installment of this local story. Click the FOLLOW button in the right side bar. Then enter your email address to receive post notifications.

To be continued…

~ Debbie M.