keepsakesaskatoon

Saskatoon, a commercial and educational centre in the Province of Saskatchewan, is situated on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River in Townships 36 and 37, Range 5 and Township 36, Range 6, West of Third Meridian. It lies 346 km (216 miles) north of the Canada-US border, 224 km (140 miles) from the western boundary and 344 km (215 miles) from the eastern boundary of the Province.
The Saskatoon area has been inhabited for some 5,000 to 8,000 years. Buffalo kill sites, teepee rings and a medicine wheel can still be seen today and form an important link with the past.

The origin of the name "Saskatoon" is a little obscure, but it seems originaly to have been derived from an anglicization of a cree word referring to the place where Saskatoon willows are cut. The berries were a
staple foodstuff and the branches made excellent arrow shafts, and thus
the site of the present-day city was a regular stopover for Cree Indians looking to stock up on arrows (and berries). So while John Lake formally named the new settlement "Saskatoon" in the 1880's, it appears that it had been known by that name (or something very similar) for quite some time prior to that. (Our thanks to Bill Barry for this information. For more on Saskatcehwan place names, see his "People Places" web site. )
The townsite was first examined 1882 by John Lake and a party representing the Temperance Colonization Society. It was their intention to build a city based on the philosophy and ideals of the Temperance League, an organization which opposed the use of alcohol.

Lake returned to survey the colony in 1883 and the first settlers
arrived that summer. They travelled by railway from Ontario to Moose Jaw and then over land in horse-drawn carts. The first railway did not arrive until 1890. By 1899 Saskatoon consisted of a few houses on the east side of the river and on the west side was the station house, the section foreman’s house, the Mounted Police barracks, a stone building, a hotel and about six other houses and shacks.

The Society was not able to claim a contiguous block of territory, however, and the experiment was doomed from the start. Nevertheless, the Temperance League played an important role in the early history of
Saskatoon.

In 1901 the new settlement was incorporated as a village. In 1903 it became a town and after amalgamation with the neighbouring settlements of Riversdale and Nutana in 1906, it incorporated as a city (population approximately 4,500). By 1911, the population had more than doubled and Saskatoon had become what is still today: a major distribution centre for the surrounding agricultural district.

With its dependence on agriculture, Saskatoon has experienced many "booms and busts" throughout its history. The expansion of the mining industry in the 1970s and 1980s reduced this to some extent, and the future promises continued diversification through the emergence of more advanced technology industries and an increase in manufacturing, primarily to service the resource sector.

Saskatoon’s pioneers came mostly from Ontario or Great Britain, but the City is now home to people from around the world. This ethnic diversity is a dynamic component of the rich culture which makes Saskatoon very unique.

One local festival is Folkfest, which takes you around the world in three nights to all sorts of different countries, examples Phillipines(the dances are great as is the bbq pork) Ukrain(perohy are awesome!) German(Weinerschnitzel is good), Ireland(These guys have everything from leprechauns to green beer) Scotland(The dances are good), China(food is good, entertainment is better with the drummers)

We also have a amusement park set up for 7 days where people go to play games and win prizes, and go on the rides. It's an awesome play to go in the summer. As far as I know, the only traditions are the ones the people set up at Folkfest to show off their culture to the city and to the tourists.

People perceive Canada as being not as great as any other country
in the world. We are set back as being the funny accented people(eh?) and therefore have been ridiculed of many things that have not taken
place. The Americans seem to not know anything about our country, yet make themselves out to look like fools because we Canadians know so much more about their country than they do about ours.

Canada is a diverse country, helping and serving many people of different races that immigrate over here. We are recognized as being the cream of the crop for immigrants, seeing as we are not as harsh to our clients, if you will, as other places. Plus we don't have wars every second day as other places do.
I am proud to be Canadian just because its such a diverse place to
live. The Rocky Mountains, and everything else that is Canadian just
makes me "Proud to be Canadian". Everything here is just so ethnic in it's own way that you would have to come here to believe me on that one.
We don't shoot any one from outta town, so please come and enjoy all we have to offer. We don't bite :)