[A note from Amanda: Hello, everyone! I had about half of my story done for the week and then started to feel really crappy, and so my dear husband – postcard-writer extraordinaire – offered to pick up the keyboard in my place. Thank you, Kyle, and have a great week, all!]

Hey (as they say in Saskatchewan). I am pinch-hitting today (sans torpedo bat) for Amanda, who is under the weather but will totally return next week.

As you may have learned in this space, my name is Kyle and I am originally from Saskatchewan, Canada (a recovering Canadian, as my friends like to say). Amanda may have also mentioned that I come from a large, eclectic family and I’d like to share with you a story about that family and the power of staying connected.

One of my morning rituals is perusing Facebook Marketplace for things I might need. What might I need, you ask? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a gently used boat. Or a vintage telephone notepad. Perhaps an antique hockey stick or a myriad of other things I CANNOT live without. I sometimes send a link to these treasures to my dad in Saskatchewan so he can call me 5 days later with his opinion on whether it’s a “good deal, even if you consider the exchange.” But I digress.

This morning’s trip down the Facebook Marketplace rabbit-hole saw a diversion to a group called “Historic Saskatchewan” which featured a story about a planned Canadian “super-city” which would have been at the nexus of three separate railway lines. The city never actually materialized as World War I and other factors intervened. One of said factors happened to be the fact that this super-city to be would have been located only a mile (1.6 kilometres) from my mom’s already-in-existence and thriving hometown of Lampman, Saskatchewan.

After reading, I promptly sent the link to my auntie (who still lives there) and my Uncle Jimmy. One of the many perks of having a large family is that you are bound to find a kindred spirit out there somewhere. Nor only does my uncle share my interest in history, he also loves a good mystery and will go to some length to solve it.

To wit, my Uncle Jimmy not only found the story interesting but was able to relate to me an anecdote about how there was actually a railway depot there and the railway station master’s wife was, in the parlance of today, a baddie.

This baddie, or attractive woman in regular speak, caught the eye of the adolescent Uncle Jimmy, who professed a bit of a crush on the lady. He couldn’t remember her last name but did wonder what happened to her after the station closed and they moved away. This is where I stepped in.

Which brings us to connectivity. I am sure my lovely mother-in-law could wax poetic about the inter-connectivity of things, but you’ll have to suffice with my one-off story.

I took it upon myself to throw out a couple of comments on said Facebook page and within a few hours a very kind lady from near my hometown of Fillmore, Saskatchewan had replied with a brief history of the lady in question (Jackie) and a quick story about how her brother also had a crush on the lady of the railway depot.

It seems this lady was very kindly and provided cookies and treats to the local kids and provided a very lasting memory for at least two young boys from the Prairies.

I relayed this to my uncle, who found the story deeply amusing, and it occurred to me that not only are Saskatchewan people equally as nice as North Dakotans (even accounting for the tariffs) but also that connecting stories and people and memories can have a pretty profound effect, even if just for a little while.

I can confirm that I didn’t start my day thinking I’d spend 45 minutes tracking down a long-lost baddie from Saskatchewan to tell my uncle about it – but, you know what, I had a lot of fun and inadvertently demonstrated that staying connected is important.

As such, I’d encourage everyone to do the same. Even if you don’t find a lead via Facebook Marketplace, it is still worthwhile to reach out and connect with someone, anyone who you think might like it!

Postscript: the conversation with my uncle went back and forth into the evening. He finally asked who had provided the information and I sent the name to him this morning. As it turns out, the lady was his childhood friend and they had lost touch but are going to chat today!

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The photo above is of the Lampman elevators.

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I’ll be back next week with the full news.  This week on North Dakota Today we talked about Jeanne Kloos, my Nice Person of the Week, as well as some awesome students preparing for a world championship robotics tournament. (Valley News Live)

Oh, and here’s a video by yours truly on how to make Scotcheroos.  Enjoy! (TikTok)

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