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Historic calendar of Sylvan Lake features pictures and information

A potpourri of historic photos of Sylvan Lake are featured on the most recent offering from Sylvan Lake & District Archives Society.
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Bunny Virtue

A potpourri of historic photos of Sylvan Lake are featured on the most recent offering from Sylvan Lake & District Archives Society.

In celebration of the town’s centennial which takes place in 2013, the society issued an 18 month calendar which features photos and information about the community’s history. The calendar covers the period from July 2012 to December 2013.

Calendars debuted during 1913 Days in June and are available at the society’s offices on the east end of the library building. Marion Thompson, who “helped immensely” in preparation of the project, has also been selling copies at the Farmers’ Market.

Bunny Virtue said she and Jean Bridge began mulling over the idea about two years ago and then started more concerted work about a year ago. They were assisted by all the volunteers at the archives who were helpful in remembering pictures that would be suitable for the various pages.

“We picked some of what we considered the best historical pictures,” said Virtue. “There’s quite a range, a lot of the town’s past history.”

Several more recent photos are also included such as the waterslide and annual polar dip.

The first page of the calendar contains a variety of the Centennial events taking place in 2013 as well as a map of the town.

Then the back page is a ‘did you know’ thumbnail sketch of Sylvan Lake’s history.

The calendars are selling well, added Virtue. They also planned to have a booth on main street during the Stanley Cup’s visit yesterday (Wednesday). Using a ‘printing-on-demand’ method to produce the calendars, the organization is not limited on the number of copies they can sell. Printing is handled by MJ Byrtus of TCB Business Services Inc.

Among the topics featured in the calendar are Wild Rapids Waterslides, sand castles, cabins, farming, the early village, winter weather and activities, skating and curling rinks, Cobb’s store, development, the CNR station and railway, summer events, dance halls, bathing suits, Lakeshore Drive’s evolution, hotels, garages and wintertime events.

The calendars are $20 each and money raised through their production helps offset society costs of maintaining and increasing their collection of the town’s history.

If you’re into more in-depth research about Sylvan Lake, the archives is the place to turn. President Denise Bignold reported at their annual meeting earlier this year that, “The inventory of accession shows we have 2,030 pictures, 331 written pages, 28 scrapbooks and albums and 467 items.”

A variety of other history books are available for purchase at the society’s offices which are open to the public Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m.

Coffee and Conversation sessions are the third Wednesday of each month.

For more information, call Sylvan Lake & District Archives at 403-887-6296.