By TERRY PUGH
Canada Day in Osler is famous for being a great family-friendly party, but this year it’s aiming to be better than ever.
Juno-award winners Jake Vaadeland and the Sturgeon River Boys are slated to headline the community’s annual free-admission outdoor concert on Wednesday, July 1, capping off a two-day celebration marking Osler’s 125th anniversary.
Vaadeland and his band are currently in the middle of a tour across western Canada, with Osler their next-to-last stop before headlining the legendary Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia, Ontario. From there the band is scheduled for performances in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Booking the globe-trotting quartet was unexpectedly simple, according to Osler Mayor Abe Quiring.
“I sent the band an email inviting them to play at our outdoor concert,” said Quiring. “And within a couple of days they said yes.
“I was surprised, but really happy too. We’ve had outdoor concerts featuring local musicians for many years, and it’s been popular; but we’ve been trying to get a bigger name to give the event a higher profile.
“I’ve been following Jake Vaadeland’s music for a while, and I thought the band fit well with what our crowd would like to hear. We’re really looking forward to the event.”
While the July 1 evening concert followed by a massive fireworks display caps off the celebration, the party actually get underway on Tuesday, June 30 at Osler School with local history displays featuring memorabilia, story-telling and a silent auction in which local organizations, businesses, churches and community groups shared their stories. Author Nettie Balzer, a former resident of Osler, will give a presentation on the Osler airport, which was part of the British Commonwealth Air Training plan to train aviators during World War II.
Wednesday, July 1 kicks off with a pancake breakfast provided by the Osler Fire Department from 7 to 10 a.m. That’s followed by a community market, a food concession and car show – all starting at 10 a.m. and running through to 3 p.m.
The popular Osler parade begins at 11 a.m., followed by a kiddies carnival with pedal karts, climbing wall, train, dunk tank and bouncy castles. The family bingo runs from 3 to 5 p.m., and a circus and dog show is scehduled from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
The outdoor concert at the town’s soccer field begins at 6:30 p.m., with local musicians slated to perform before Jake Vaadeland and his band take the stage at approximately 9:00 p.m.
Quiring said while settlement in the area began in the late 1890s, the yeare 1901 was chosen as the date for the official establishment of the town.
He’s hoping this year’s 125th anniversary gala will entice former residents to pay a visit and help the community celebrate its rich heritage.
“Osler is proud of its history and vibrant community spirit,” he said. “We invite everyone to make this Canada Day a celebration to remember.”
What’s in a name?
The Town of Osler was named in honour of Sir Edmund Osler (1845-1924), a Canadian businessman, politician and philanthropist. In the 1880s, Edmund Osler invested in westward railway expansion and western land grants. and eventually became a director of the Canadian Pacific Railway and President of the Dominion Bank. He was later elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative Member of Parliament.
Sir William Osler (1849-1919), was Sir Edmund Osler’s younger brother. Sir William Osler was a Canadian physician and one of the “Big Four” founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Osler created the first residency program for specialty training of physicians. He has frequently been described as the Father of Modern Medicine and one of the “greatest diagnosticians ever to wield a stethoscope”.
Osler is still a railway town
The Town of Osler’s population more than doubled from 225 in 1976 to 594 in 1986. By 2011, it stood at 1,068; in 2016 it was 1,237, and in 2021 the population was 1,251. While much has changed in Osler over the years, the railway tracks are still in the same place they were laid down in the 1880s. The Qu’Appelle, Long Lake and Saskatchewan Railroad was constructed from Regina to Saskatoon and on to Prince Albert between 1883 and 1890. Osler was one of the towns that grew up alongside the tracks. The original line changed hands numerous times over the years. It’s now a short-line owned by Omnitrax and operating under the name of the Carlton Trail Railway between Prince Albert and Warman, where it connects with the CN main line. The shortline company runs trains two or three times a week through Osler.