THE IGNITOR NEWSLETTER
VOL.14 No. 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 2003

"Living the Past for Future Generations"

Leduc West Antique Society Executive:                www.leducwestantique.com

ANNUAL MEETING

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2003

TELFORD HOUSE in LEDUC

4907 46 street (East end of Main Street in Leduc)

at 6:30 p.m.

The doors will open at 6:00 p.m. A potluck supper will begin at 6:30 p.m. Bring a potluck dish. Plates, cutlery, coffee, and juice will be provided. The Annual Meeting will begin at 8:00 p.m. Door prizes are welcomed !!! All prospective members are most welcome !!!!

Agenda for the meeting will include the Financial report for 2002 & an election of officers for the 2003 Executive & two Director positions. This will be followed by a General Meeting with the new officers presiding.

There will be a SPECIAL RESOLUTION to change the wording of the By-Laws regarding the length of term of the 3rd Party Policy representation. Presently the wording is such that the term is for 3 years. The wording change would be "the term of office for all major contributor seats would be 2 years."

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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE - Walter Burak

A belated Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to everyone !!!

2002 has been a challenging year for the Society. We are well known to put on great events that require a lot of volunteer hours. Maintaining this profile is where the challenge lies. A special thank you to all those who have helped in some way !!!

The building boom has been impressive at the site. A lot of private funding has been committed to the society. To see four buildings started this year will surely impress many. Some of the smaller projects and concems may have been neglected; however, in time these things will be corrected.

This fall our caretakers Al Litke & Penny Wiig will be leaving the site after four years of residence in the replica station. I would like to express our thanks for their ideas & work that they dedicated to the society. In August 2002 we received a letter from Al & Penny expressing a desire to leave the site. On December 30, 2002 an agreement was signed with a vacating date of September 1, 2003. Five Society members have loaned money with zero percent interest and no pre payment deadline to pay out the mortgage.

We do need a caretaker living on the grounds at all times. What we need are names of individuals that are interested in doing this. Membership input is required for this. One idea that has been discussed is to turn the replica railroad station into a museum and provide another residence for the caretakers. Perhaps there is someone with a mobile home that is suitable and interested. The society will need to expand some resources to provide utility services to another site. We have plenty of time until September to make all the required arrangements for this to happen. Contact any of the executive with your ideas.

The planning process for this year has already started. Any ideas or suggestions are most welcomed. See you at the Annual Meeting on February 22, 2003 at Telford House in Leduc.

PARK NEWS
Event Co-ordinator & Editor - Marg Burak 986-0054

I just read over the September 2002 newsletter. It's all in there what I probably should be saying now. So to avoid repeating myself I'll just say we had a fabulous year, both financial and eventful and I am looking forward to the new year!!!!

At the executive meeting in October I turned over a list of comments, ideas, or suggestions that arose from the membership and the public during the 2002 year that should receive attention at the park. Now you can see why we are always asking for workers.

As a member there might be something that you may be interested in pursuing. Contact one of the executive if you can assist with any of the projects or help fund some of the projects, or donate labour or equipment used for some of the projects. We hope to hear from you soon !!!!

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PROJECTS FOR THE SITE - - TO DO LIST

(1) Landscaping Projects: These are major expenses & may take years to complete as money is available.

- widen road at north gate - extend Vintage Iron Street
- extend the track to the campsite
- extend track siding to lake to display snow plows - cars used for storage could go in bone yard
- landscape around lake on all sides, Graham building, and the engine building
- gravel needed around main concession, & north & west side of Founder's Gallery
- pour a cement pad at the front of Founder's Gallery & a cement floor for Engine building
- More gravel on roadways especially on RR Ave.
- Extend Railroad Ave. to the west and curve to the south to meet the parking lot. road should eventually extend north for access to north side for tours, displays of vehicles, etc.
- build up area around main concession with black dirt - seed grass

(2) Projects to Build:

- a loading ramp for the exhibitors, - a gate arm to go across the north road
- a new booth for north gate or put a new roof on existing one with a shade protection
- a tractor pull sled - preferably self propelled
- a people transporter to go between exhibits
- a second grill house for the second concession
- a rail around verandah on Modeller's building
- permanent wash rooms
- a new roof on information booth
- more benches, more bleachers, more picnic tables, more shelves like the pie shelves for crafts
- a storage box for sand toys for outside use
- a covered shed for open display of farming equipment - built up with gravel & ties
- redo board walk for the church - wheel chair accessibility

(3) Painting Projects:

- repaint wash stands - attach two paper towel holders
- paint beams on verandah on Modeller's building
- finish painting corral bleachers, finish painting second concession

(4) Maintenance Projects:

- finish the siding on the bleachers
- fix floor on both stages
- change the step on the people mover to the back
- check appliances well in advance - wider seats on green picnic tables
- repair pop corn machine
- complete canopy roof over dance floor

(5) Smaller Projects:

- make a wire door on burning incinerator to avoid burning garbage flying out
- make more pop can containers, more garbage barrels
- make more specific signs - change dates on existing signs for next years events
- Modeler's building set up year round displays - shelves on walls or show cases
- set up Arnold's display
- pick up show cases at St. Albert - contact Bill Smith - repair donated show case
- cut up sawmill slabs & stack in pole shed for steamers.

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(6) Purchases:

- a swing set for the sand box
- an electronic digital scale for tractor pulls
- cash registers
- a set of tables just for the Modeller's building - more tables for the Vendors
- concession supplies - coffee pots, juice containers, metal sink plugs, etc.
- new cooler for main concession - a hot water tank & septic tank for second concession
- more toilets, - large toilet paper roll dispensers
- smaller garbage holders to attach on walls of our own toilets for diapers, napkins, etc.

(7) Janitorial Projects:

- clean out reefer completely, - clean up garbage along track - clean up bone yard storage area
- keep Founder's Gallery, Modeller's building, etc. clean & organized.
- reorganize contents in electrical building & tool shed.
- clean up & reorganize contents in Sanitary Cafe & under bleachers

(8) Moving Projects:

- Move north gate booth to other side of road - need shade protection
- Move electrical building & tool shed to south side of engine building. Need the contents handy for maintenance work.
- Move rail cars used for storage to bone yard

(9) Office Projects:

- Update current membership information - addresses, phone #'s, deaths, etc - should be done once a year - hard on the phoning committee, newsletters returned
- contact all lifetime members who have not picked up their pins
- make a list of all newspapers in surrounding area with contact person & Fax #'s
- make a list of radio stations outside the immediate area with Fax #'s.
- information should be collected on all fire trucks - complete a registration form for each These vehicles should be run through the parade.
- Try to encourage more corporate sponsorship for projects.

(10) Fire Protection Projects:

- check all fire extinguishers

(11) Electrical Projects:

- Install proper electrical cable to second concession. - Install electrical cable to north side of swale for use at second stage
- Replace electrical outlet in engine building - make cable more permanent. More outlets.
- have lighting in toll booth for night security
- Install electrical cable on north side for new buildings. (Applied on grant)

(12) Adopt-a-tractor Project:

- Looking for someone to continue this project.
- A sign should be posted with name of tractor and person responsible.
- all tractors should go through the parade

(13) Restoration Projects:

- all donated equipment should be restored, small plaques placed on, & properly displayed
- cupboard in south east corner of engine building is to be restored and put into the log house
- keep the golf cart operational & clean - repair & paint box car

(14) Artifact Acquisitions Project:

- looking for someone to continue Mernie Smith's work.

(15) Water Projects:

- put in water line to front gate - similar to one leading to concession - necessary for watering flower bed.

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In addition to all these projects there are major projects that require attention. If anyone has a million dollars stashed away and would like to donate it here's your chance.

The first one is to find new accommodations for a new caretaker as Wally mentioned in his report. We will be looking at several thousand dollars for that.

Secondly the members that loaned the money to pay off the mortgage will have to be reimbursed. We do have our yearly raffle & our next casino won't be until 2005.

The deficiencies in the station structure need to be corrected. This will take place when the station is vacated. A cost of approximately $40 thousand.

We received a great deal of clay which will be required to upgrade the existing roadways and extend others as well as extend the railroad to the RV camping area. Last year over $4000.00 was spent on fuel consumption. Imagine how many hours were spent to use that amount of fuel. Thanks to the guys who put in their time !!!!

We are having the huge Rumely tractors at the show. Therefore we require a proper loading ramp. I would suggest incorporating it into the restructuring of the north road.

Since we are adding the Tractor Pull Championship pull-off to our fall show it would be wise to build our own sled. This may take two or more years; but, it is necessary to have our own. There goes another $20 - 30 thousand.

We are getting another display on loan in our engine building. Since this group chose our site it is only right that we should have a cement floor in there to properly display it. The cost would be around $20 000.00. Who knows the display might become permanent.

We need around $20 000.00 to put on our events unless I can get a bunch of corporate sponsors. In addition, there are some projects that have to be completed before our show.

For 2006 we were asked to host the Councillors assembly from all over Alberta. This involves around 600 - 800 people. We will require showers, permanent washrooms, etc. The Calmar Historical Society will be having a casino this year so hopefully we will be able to get some funding to help us put up a unit similar to the one at the Devon camp grounds, or maybe we could incorporate a unit into the station garage which is already heated.

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The Society is committed to cover all mortgage payments, and do major repair work on the replica station. Our events at the Park have been successful and provided us with a good cash flow; however, this success is not guaranteed. In order to keep our standards and put on successful events for the public & the membership we must continue to make improvements & add new features. It will require a great deal of money to continue with our success at the Park.

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I am looking forward to another exciting year at the Park. I know we will be strapped for cash; but, we will survive. I know I can count on you to assist in whatever way you are able to. Please call 986-0054 if you can assist with any of the Park Events or contact one of the executive. We are working towards becoming the best show in Canada.

2003 Dates

- May 24 - Antiques in the Country (We will hold an auction if we have sufficient amount of articles.)
- June 1 - LWAS Picnic
- July 26 & 27 - Annual Exposition
- August - Highway #39 Mega Market - FREE parking for you as a vendor at LWAS
- Sept 13 - Country Harvest - an addition is the Tractor Pull Championship

The site is available for weddings, pictures, picnics, barbeques, camping, etc. We have several requests for bookings already.

We NEED SPONSORS for the various events, petting zoo, corral events, advertising, trophies, etc.

Sign up for the Volunteer Schedule to keep the Park open on weekends - June - September from 12:00 am - 4:00 pm. Available at the Annual Meeting.

I received a request in January to allow the Llama Association to put on their yearly demonstrations at the Park during our Exposition in July. This event has been held at Northlands for the past 10 years. They participated in our show last July. They were quite impressed with our facility. They will rent their own tents, bleachers, penning, etc. The event will be at no cost to our Society. Also their sponsorship does not involve any of our sponsorship. The advertising will promote their event as well as ours. Their location will be along the west side of the grounds. The trailers & campers will be located east of the corral with the exception of a few necessary to keep an eye out for the animals. This location will not interfere with our car displays in the area as they are nearer to the trees. Also the truck club requested to remain with their display in their usual place north of the Graham building so they will not be involved in that area.

I feel this will be an excellent addition to our show as it is dedicated to the whole family and will attract another group of people to join our extended family.

Bob Hill is building a miniature Rumely for the kiddies tractor pull.

The Tractor Square Dancing event will be twice each day.

Tractor Pulls will begin early in the morning both days at the show.

The corral will have Gymkhana Events both days.

NOTE: The ladies for the concession & the Bake Sale asked if you would begin baking pies for the concession and other goodies for the Bake Sale to sell at the Exposition.

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MEMBERSHIP

Please renew your membership once a year. Don't allow 2-3 years to pass before you pay. We would like to thank the members who pay so promptly and those who changed to lifetime. Continue to help us increase our membership.

IN MEMORIAM

Elsie E. Smith was called to her eternal home on December 12, 2002 after five and one half months of sickness and months of hospital care in Edmonton. Born and raised in the Parside area. She will be remembered in Shellbrook for her many years working in Cornwell's Drug Store, her ever present smile dressed in her white dress. She was a member of the royal purple. Married to Bill Smith in 1962. Edmonton became their home for 40 years. They were very active in several organizations connected with Antique societies. She leaves her husband Bill, one brother Alrick Grimm & family in Cranbrook, B.C. and many other relatives. Cremation has taken place and she will join her mother, sister, and brother at a private family ceremony at a future date in Neilburg, Saskatchewan.

Editor's note: Elsie was truly a gem. She was one of the most gentle and loveable persons I have ever known. She taught me many things, one of which was her secret to make pie crusts. I, along with many other members, will miss her very much with fondest memories.

                My First Christmas in Heaven

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below,
With tiny lights like Heaven's stars reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away the tear,
For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear,
But the sounds of music can't compare with the Christmas choir up here.
I have no words to tell you the joy their voices bring
For it is beyond description to hear the Angels sing.

I know how much you miss me .... I see the pain inside your heart,
But I am not so far away, we really aren't apart.
So be happy for me, dear ones, you know I hold you dear,
And be glad I'm spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I send you each a special gift from my heavenly home above,
I send you each a memory of my undying love.
After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold,
It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other as my Father said to do
For I can't count the blessings he has for each of you.
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear,
Remember, I'm spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

Author unknown !!

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KOLLECTOR'S KORNER by Bill Smith

This has been a quiet year for collecting for myself. Maybe it was just as well as now I have ahouseful of stuff that I will eventually have to dispose of. This of course happens to all collectors sooner or later. As they say you never seen a shroud with pockets. However, it was fun collecting when there was Elsie & I. The biggest question was not the cost; but, where are we going to put this new acquisition. When you fill all the drawers in the house, pile stuff underneath and start hanging items from the ceiling you know you got a houseful. It was so much fun for so many years. Now suddenly when one is left alone the house is just so empty, it may as well be four bare walls. However, we did meet such great people through the antique clubs and always tried to be part of the family. How we enjoyed our Ledue West group. Elsie must have made 400 pies for our various events. As for me I puttered around and tried to look busy at the site. The fresh air, the lake with the geese & ducks, and all the lovely trees coming on stream. So many new buildings. What a show place it has gotten to be !!!!

Ah yes, I got carried away, now about what's hot. Toys are the big item now. One of our members was to the Toronto toy show. Many toys especially toy construction equipment and toy models of big trucks can easily run up to a $1000.00 or more. This really scares us old codgers. I bought my 1st car a Model T 1927 Ford for $50.00 in 1948 and drove it for 6000 miles before I sold it. It had a three pedal transmission and I wanted a standard gear shift car. I always was sorry I sold the Model T as it sat on blocks through the depression and was almost in mint condition. As Shakespeare said, "What fools we mortals be".

RAFFLE

The tickets are in this newsletter. Please sell them as soon as possible or return them for us to sell. The draw date is at the Country Harvest. This allows us more time to use them for advertising for our events. Please don't lose them, we need all the funds we can get.

EXPOSITION SUPPER

This year we are planning on roasting buffalo on a spit, as well as, having Tim cook chicken. We will purchase our salad locally so we shouldn't run out. Supper will run probably between 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. There will be no pre-sold tickets. The concession will also remain open so you will be able to have a salad & a burger or just salad. You will pay when you pick up your order as prices will vary. That way no one will be left with a ticket if the chicken is gone or the buffalo is gone. Another reason for this change is children don't always like to eat what the adults do. The concession will also be selling pies. Coffee & pop will be extra. I hope this will work out much better.

BEER GARDENS

The licence has already been included on our insurance. If there is anyone interested in operating this please contact me. Perhaps someone has better ideas how this should be run.

ENTERTAINMENT

Kathy is already booking various groups. The kiddies talent show will be on again. So start practising & phone Kathy with your entry. We hope to have the Fashion Show again.

If you are planning on bringing a private golf cart or scooter you must notify me before the event. More infbrmation will be in the May newsletter. SEE YOU at the MEETING on FEB. 22/03.

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