When we told people our first house sit in Saskatchewan was in the village of Pangman the consistent response was “Where?” followed by “Why?”. Fair questions.
90 kilometres south of Regina and 60 kilometres west of Weyburn. Pangman is truly a farming community. It is the star on the map.
In an effort to explore more of the huge variety of locations in Canada we had secured a house sit in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. As luck would have it another sit popped up in Pangman that fit into our schedule immediately before our time in Saskatoon. We’d never heard of Pangman, but I have never spent anytime in rural Saskatchewan in a small community, so why not?
Our drive to Saskatchewan started out a bit ominously as the smoke from the forest fires rolled over the prairies. Fortunately it cleared before we got to the border.
Pangman is a small village with a surprising number of amenities and a pleasant air about it. With a population of just over 200 it has an outdoor swimming pool which appeared to be very popular with the youth, especially during the first half of our time there when the temperatures were consistently over 30°C. The one paved street in town takes you down to the ‘business centre’. All of the other streets are well maintained gravel roads. It was nice to see how neat and tidy the whole town appeared.
Initially we had 4 dogs and a cat (she chose not to be in the photo). The three morkies were entertaining and the large Finnish Lapphund was an absolute joy to look after.The bonus on this sit was an unplanned coupling between two of the Morkies we had agreed to the sit. Though the homeowner was somewhat mortified at the situation, we were up for a challenge and decided to continue with the sit with the little darlings.
In the end the puppies were no trouble at all. Momma took awesome care of them and Karen enjoyed weighing and handling the pups each morning.
As luck would have it when Karen joined the local community Facebook group she noticed that each Saturday a fellow was demonstrating different aspects of rural life. We happened to be in town for the chicken plucking demonstration.
I cannot say enough good things about this fellow. Levi put on an excellent informative demonstration with good humour and a matter of fact coolness that made it an incredibly informative event.He did everything but also had audience members have a go. It was great to see how some of the older, obviously very experienced, farmers stepped forward and give him a hand. These older fellows were the absolute definition of ‘Salt of the Earth’.Levi explained that he didn’t usually wear gloves however he had to work scooping ice cream later in the day and he didn’t want his hands to stink. His wholehearted honesty was wonderfully refreshing.The youngsters present had no qualms and were in there as soon as he asked for volunteers.
As we were only an hours drive from Regina we took a day to visit the provincial capital. It was a fantastic day.
We checked out a the provincial legislature building, the second largest in Canada.We took in a free tour and learned about the dreams that led to its construction. It is a beautifully appointed building.In the park in front of the building you can find a statue of Walter Scott. As the first premier of Saskatchewan he was responsible for the building of the massive legislative building. He apparently had dreams of Saskatchewan eventually having a population of around 10 million and thus would need such a large building. With a current population of less than 1.3 million he was a bit over enthusiastic, however they do have a beautiful seat of government and the park around it is one of the largest urban park in Canada.Unsurprisingly there is also a statue of Queen Elizabeth II in front of the legislature. The horse she is sitting on was gifted to her from the RCMP and was born in Saskatchewan. It was said to be the Queens favourite horse and she rode it for 18 consecutive years at the Trooping of the Colour that celebrates her birthday.We also visited the War Memorial in Regina. It is a simple, dignified memorial to the brave citizens of Saskatchewan who paid the ultimate price serving their country.Of course no trip to Regina would be complete without visiting the RCMP Museum. Karen even talked me into trying on the serge, kind of.
There is a joke that says you can watch your dog run away for 3 days in Saskatchewan. Though obviously an unfair generalization, as we were driving back to Pangman I was a bit overwhelmed with the massive openness of it all.
There is no way I can do justice to it, however it is amazing. Crop fields for as far as you can see in any direction and a sky that for me redefined the term ‘Big Sky Country’.Back in Pangman we headed to our new favourite hangout, Ronny’s on Railway. This community based business is a tribute to what a small community can do. This is also the location that hosted the chicken plucking demonstration.The museum attached to this is a well thought out dedication to the history of the area and the people who live there. However when you walk into the ice cream parlour you are immediately transported to a time of bobby socks and the jive. At $3.00 for an ice cream cone I truly felt like we had travelled back in time.
Though Pangman is unlikely to ever be a primary holiday destination, it certainly deserves a visit if you are ever travelling through the area. And if you do, it is essential that you stop by Ronny’s for an ice cream or a coffee, or something stronger if you wish as they are licensed. Make sure to say hello to the locals inside and be prepared to be invited to sit down and join in a conversation solving the worlds problems. Every time we left that establishment I felt better about the world and the people in it.
