After being formed in January 20th, the Rural History and Culture Association’s (RHCA) first project was a one-day festival called the Celebration of Rural History and Culture. The Celebration, which took place on June 17, 2006, built on the success of the Debate of the Century festival held in Mossbank in 2003.
Historical re-enactments, a concert by rural performing artists and a number of contests that highlighted the talents of rural artists and craftspeople were the principal elements of the Celebration. In addition, tours of local historic landmarks and an eco-tour of nearby Old Wives Lake were offered and festivities included great rural cuisine from two local restaurants. The Festival was sponsored by Conexus Credit Union, South Country Equipment, CHAB radio, SaskEnergy, the Town of Mossbank, the Rural Municipalities of Lake Johnston and Sutton and Benchmark Public Relations. Click here to view a PDF version of the Celebration of Rural History and Culture program
Historical Re-enactments
Historical re-enactments were the most popular aspect of the festival. The famous Tommy Douglas/Ross Thatcher Debate that took place in 1957 in Mossbank, which had been previously re-enacted in 2003 was re-staged for the Celebration. It also included several new re-enactments representing other elements of Saskatchewan’s rich political history. “It’s Time for a Diefenbaker Government” recreated John Diefenbaker’s inspirational 1957 election speech, in which he declared, “My friends, this is a time for greatness in planning for Canada’s future. Unity demands it; freedom requires it; vision will ensure it.” Another re-enactment focused on a less well-known historical figure, but one that deserves more attention. Georgina Binnie-Clark was a woman-pioneer who farmed independently (without a husband) in the Qu’Appelle region prior to World War I. Binnie-Clark wrote two books about her experiences in Saskatchewan including Wheat and Woman, which was the basis of the re-enactment and which describes her experiences as a woman-farmer. The most controversial of the re-enactments was “James Gardiner Vs. the Ku Klux Klan.” This re-enactment re-created the 1928 debate between Premier James Gardiner and KKK leader R. H. Hawkins. The debate focused on education and immigration policy in 1920s Saskatchewan and in Gardiner’s spirited defence of tolerance, one can see the root of Canada’s current values of multiculturalism and diversity.
Tommy Douglas Vs. James Gardiner
One unexpected controversy emerged due to the release of the Tommy Douglas biography movie Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story by the CBC in early 2006. The movie portrayed James Gardiner as a comic book villain who played Lex Luther to Douglas as Superman. The movie’s loose attention to facts and portrayal of fictional events as history created a firestorm of protest from historians, politicians and not surprisingly Gardiner’s family. It also created interest in the very different, and historically accurate version of Gardiner presented in the Celebration’s re-enactment. An additional point of interest was that in the re-enactment, James Gardiner was portrayed by Bill Gardiner, a Regina actor and the great-nephew of James Gardiner. RHCA President Mike Fedyk (who was also the historian who scripted the re-enactments) was interviewed on CBC radio by Sheila Coles about the KKK debate and the Leader Post and the Moose Jaw Times-Herald both ran articles interviewing both Fedyk and Bill Gardiner, getting their perspectives on James Gardiner’s role in Saskatchewan history. In the Leader Post article Fedyk pointed out that Gardiner was the only Canadian premier to take on the Klan. “If there had been an American governor in the 1920s taking a stand against the Ku Klux Klan, the guy would probably be a national hero today,” Fedyk said, “of course in Canada no one really knows James Gardiner did this.”
Media Event at Legislature,
The RHCA also promoted the Celebration with a very successful media event held at the Saskatchewan Legislature. The actors portraying Diefenbaker, Douglas, Thatcher, Gardiner and Binnie-Clark each performed some of their dialogue at a media event before about 100 people in the Saskatchewan Gallery (where portraits of Saskatchewan’s premiers are displayed). The media event also featured one of the scheduled Celebration concert performers, Saskatchewan singer/songwriter Jeff Straker. Straker sang his song “Maybe Just One More Day,” which speaks to the eternal optimism of Saskatchewan people. Among the dignitaries speaking at the media event was then Leader of the Opposition (now Premier) Brad Wall, who thanked the RHCA for its efforts to celebrate rural history and culture.
The Celebration of Rural History and Culture attracted over 150 people with most attendees coming from outside the Mossbank district. The Celebration was featured in TV news stories on CTV and Global stations in Regina, several articles in the Leader Post, Moose Jaw Times Herald as well as several weekly papers. Candis Kirkpatrick, the actress portraying Binnie-Clark and historian Dr. Lisa Dale-Burnett were both interviewed on a CBC radio evening magazine program about the importance of Binnie-Clark to Saskatchewan’s history. The Celebration of Rural History and Culture was a worthy first project for the Rural History and Culture Association!