Self-guided tour brings history back to life It’s known to some as the area’s best kept secret. A self-guided historical tour, made up of arrowed signs and matted pathways, leading travellers in and through many fascinating historical gems. The tour begins close to Blaine Lake, where Highway 40 meets Highway 12, off the paved pathway and veered onto the grid roads of the RM. Once the tour sets off, informative signs guide explorers at every turn, steering the way towards ancient graveyards, churches, schools and other historical sites. The first stop on the tour is the Balmoral Cemetery. To get to the site, travellers must turn onto thin, grassy paths, otherwise unseen but visible by the designation of the Riverlands Tour signs. The cemetery, established at the turn of the last century, is the final resting place for a historically significant individual. “In here is the guy that caught Louis Riel,” commented Walter Kabaroff, one of the founders of the tour. “One of the scouts, he’s buried here.” The man he was referring to is William Diehl, one of three scouts credited with bringing in Riel. Behind the main graveyard, which is clean and maintained, hides another surprising sight. “When I was taking care of this cemetery a few years before, I went along the side here, and much to my amazement ...,” Kabaroff trailed off as he worked his way through some thicket and pointed to what sat beyond the brush. There, hidden within the foliage, where a number of almost-hidden headstones. “When I peaked in there, I was really shocked.” Kabaroff and his team are currently working to clean up the new find and make it a part of the Balmoral Cemetery site. Kabaroff, along with his partner in the project, Maurice Postnikoff, had the idea for the tour many years back. It took a lot of planning before they were ready to set out and make the dream into a reality. “We worked on if for three or four years,” Kabaroff said. “We came up with this idea and went to Prince Albert, and the guy there gave us a heck of a deal on signs, and we said let’s go for it.” At the outset, the two men were forced to put up their own cash for the project, an expense that both of them felt worthwhile. “How else are people going to find out the actual history that took place back in the 1800s? I mean we’re going way, way back,” Kabaroff said. “We had all the explorers and everything going up and down this river, and the fur traders.” Once the project was off the ground, the group did receive some financial help from at least one specific group. “The Russian Cultural Society in Saskatoon, they were interested in historical sites, so they said they would help us out,” Kabaroff said. “They took over from that time, and we got about half our money back.” The next site of the tour brings travellers down a winding road that stretches towards the North Saskatchewan River. Just before the river’s bank sits the largest tree in the province. The massive cottonwood cross is named after Samuel J. Popoff, and stands almost 21 metres tall. According to the informative sign that sits at the site, it is estimated that the tree is over 160 years old, and is one of the last remaining giant cottonwoods. The tree was struck by a bolt of lightning that felled some of its branches, but it still stands stalwart, at least for the time being. “Eventually we’re going to lose it,” commented Kabaroff. Later on in the tour sits the Riverhill Armillary. A monument sits at this location dedicated to the people of the region who helped develop the land. The sundial design takes into account the latitude of the Blaine Lake area, and the arrow on the sundial casts a shadow onto the numbers in order to tell the viewer what time it is. A small shed it present beside the cemetery, one that holds a book for tourgoers to sign. “We didn’t know who travels through here, so we thought, ‘Let’s put a book out,’” Kabaroff said. “Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we’d have people coming from all over the world.” Sure enough, the book contains signatures from far away travellers, including visitors from British Columbia, Idaho, and even Taiwan. On the walls above the sign-in book, other signatures are scrawled. These names identify not only the individuals buried within the cemetery, but also the names of those who helped dig the graves. “In the wintertime they had to pick their way all the way down,” Kabaroff said. “And of course, the women would bring their borsch and their meals at dinnertime, and of course the men would bring them a jug of wine.” The Craigmore church and cemetery mark another stop on the tour. Though it was founded in 1904, the church still serves a very practical purpose. On December 24 of each year, local residents gather in the old pews for a holiday celebration. “This is going to be our fifth year,” Kabaroff said of the annual event. “We have heat put in here for that day ... we sing Christmas carols and have a little skit. The least we’ve had is 70 people.” The Carlton Crossing is one of the highlights of the historical journey. The peak stands high above the North Saskatchewan River, and across the way, with a little squinting, one can steal a view of Fort Carlton. “A bustling trade and provisioning centre, Fort Carlton was the heart of the transportation system in the 1800s,” the sign reads. Another attraction on the tour is the old Ottawa School. Originally established in 1910, the original school was destroyed by arsonists. The new brick schoolhouse was built in 1930, and still stands. The plaque at the school site reads, “As with many country schools, it was the focus of the community, providing education facilities as well as a centre for meetings, socials, dances, Christmas concerts, sports days and other functions.” By the time the tour is completed at the St. Joseph Catholic Church, travellers have been through a virtual whirlwind of historical sites and facts. The Riverlands Tour certainly is one of the best kept secrets around, though with its scenic views and fascinating stories, the word may soon get out.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 21:46:44 +0000