With the recent sale of their lakeside home at Lac des Roches, John and Elsie Clarkson will soon be making Barriere their new home.
During their 21 years at the lake, both John and Elsie have extensively served this community through both their employment and volunteer activities.
“Long” John, known to the locals as the Mayor of Boultbee Road, is well-respected for his expertise as an excavator operator and was a fixture at Levick Enterprises for 18 years. John is well-known for the several seasons he spent as a snow plough operator throughout the Bridge Lake area.
Elsie has spent the years donating her time and remarkable organizational skills to community groups as a treasurer, secretary and baker, to name just a few of her volunteer roles.
Both John and Elsie are well-known for their sincere dedication to their family and their friends. Several of their seven grandchildren would choose a visit with their grandparents at the lake as their preferred vacation, even into their young adult years.
John and Elsie often go out of their way to greet new neighbours, which has contributed to the exceptionally close-knit community most of us enjoy. Since their new home is less than an hour away we expect the couple to return regularly for community events, particularly if there is a need for either Elsie’s famous coconut cake or John’s various homemade sausage delicacies.
What will be a loss for our community will be a gain for the community of Barriere where they have already made lifelong friendships and volunteer their time at the local Legion fundraising meat draws. Goodbye and good luck dear friends.
Beautiful birds
Early on April 24, Wendy Marshall led a group of seasoned birding enthusiasts to a nearby lake in search of returning and migrating birds.
The group recorded an abundance of sandhill cranes, harriers, mountain bluebirds and ruby crowned kinglets. At Lac des Roches, residents were excited to see the return of loon pairs and hummingbirds.
The next outing is scheduled for May 13.
Ice show
Strong wind on April 27 started to break up the rotten ice on Lac des Roches but unlike Little Lac des Roches and nearby Bridge Lake, which were ice free in a few hours, the drop in temperature throughout the week slowed down the melt.
Days of strong winds shifted ice sheets at the west end of the lake, dislodged snags and exposed docks, but each night, low temperatures refroze much of the open water each. Despite the minor damage to several docks and ramps, ice off was quite a spectacular week-long show.
Forest renewal
Tents and tarps in the lakeside camping area at Lac des Roches Resort are evidence that the tree planting season is underway.
The crew will spend about one month planting pine seedlings in the harvested forest near North Bonaparte Road and Horse Lake Road.
Waiting and hoping
Saskatoon bushes to the south of us may be in full bloom, but there is evidence of new buds appearing locally.
Residents are anxious to see how well these popular berry bushes produce after the severe damage they received last summer from a pair of marauding black bears.
Wonderful wildlife
White-tail and mule deer, as well as moose, are frequenting the fields.
Not-so-popular ground squirrels are back although the numbers may be down due to last year’s badgers voracious appetites. Otters were sighted poking their heads through the rotten ice last week.
There have been no reports of bear yet, but they have been spotted at nearby Bridge Lake.