My View of Tisdale, May 2001

Tisdale - June 5, 2001- Images by: Wesley Parkvold

On Monday afternoon Wesley, with digital camera in hand, set out to make a photographic narrative of the town in which he has lived all his life. To him the starting point seemed to be some scene that would show the town's largest and most prominent building, McKay Tower (above). The Falkon Theatre is sort a land mark in its own right, as other towns have lost their theatres, Tisdale and its people still support this entertainment facility and are rewarded with first run movies

The street above has had some drastic changes to it in the past few years, the laundromat that closed then became a thrift shop, the meat market that was tore down, and the old lumber yard (Beaver Lumber) and the rental place. This was the town that once was and things have changed, drastically. The town's water tower with its guy wires, struts and walkway is almost a symbol for the town itself as it tells the story of progress amidst conservativism. The name of the town proudly displayed on it yet it remains a practical part of the town's infrastructure. In some ways the tower also represents the nature of the town as it serves both those who live in it and those who come to the town for the things they need. It is from the base of the tower that farmers, businesses and those in need of water, come to fill their tanks. So much of what Tisdale once was has changed, in thirty years it has almost been transformed to something entirely different. The larger hospital, the central school, the loss of the wood elevators, all have contributed to this transformation. But where is it going, without the powers of a time machine we can only speculate as to what may evolve around this placid prairie community. Clearly, the rumble of trucks and the aroma of cooking alfalfa, or the occassional sounds of race cars, tell of a different kind of place with a different tempo of life. But despite these semblences of change, there is a kind of stability to Tisdale, much of what is, just as much of what was, will remain, certainly we expect more people, more houses and perhaps more business, but what Tisdale is and has been, is unlikely to fundamentally change.

Wesley shares with many of his peers the somewhat less than complimentary view of TMSS as a school building as he feels that it most accurately can be described as using a blender to do architecture. A jumble of places and confusing locations that lack a participatory harmony one would associate with a new school building. Things like the tour one has to take to access the library, or the jumble of classrooms and labs that seem to be dissociated from one another and their function. The failure to include an indoor pool in the structure.

This trestle located on the CN line and over the Doghide next to the golf course is one of those special places in the town. A place for a walk, a bike ride, a place to enjoy the summer and the winter alike. The trail by the stream runs from the site of the old hospital all the way to the Kinsmen Regional park adding a rustic and natural beauty to a small town that potentially enhances all of the lives of the people who live in the community. A green space that stretches along the little stream for half a mile.

This scene looks like it came from a rural setting yet is taken from atop the railway trestle above. It shows one of the many beaver damns that are to be found on the Doghide right within the town. This unusal view shows the houses and yards that are located East of the TMSS school site as one looks South West from the trestle.

The regional park that is a part of the Kinsmen ball diamonds is one of the most complete and creative children's playgrounds in the area. It is well maintained and each year there seems to be new equipment installed to add to its already extensive collection. The park itself is lush with natural wood from the area, aspen and willow of several varieties. One of the features of this park is the horse shoe pitch which provides endless hours of fun for people of all ages. Also a part of the park are the shelters for large family outings and barbeques.

Tisdale's golf course, though only nine holes is a major recreational draw in the community. It's superb grass greens, challenging fairways and general ambiance makes this course one of the best in the province, as each year it hosts top notch tournament play as it did this past weekend. The course is very well maintained but also very busy all day long. Situated on the East side of town it weaves along the banks of the Doghide offering the duffer a great walk in the park.

When you compare Tisdale to its neighbours, Nipawin and Melfort one immediately notices that both of those towns have much more tree cover, by in large, they are greener. Perhaps this is because Tisdale has experience much more recent growth than its two older neighbours. But there is more to a home town than trees, lawns, and flower beds. There is a spirit in Tisdale, a spirit of community and friendliness that makes a native feel always at home, in fact, students graduating from

Tisdale have a tough time going away and frequently return to live out their lives where they grew up. The neighbourhood shown here is one of the more exclusive parts of town with some of the most impressive homes. These homes have a view of the river valley. The interesting thing about this elegant portion of town is that while one side of the street are very elaborate while the homes on the North side of the street are modest middle class homes. In many ways this typlifies the rather classless nature of Tisdale.

This picture shows the new Tisdale in the making. This is the former primary school yard which has been re-zoned into a residental area and on one side the first housing unit is under construction. Though the North side of the block has been prepared for housing construction no new homes have as yet been slated for the area.

This area looking North toward Wicks and Northern Steel was to have been the site for the new Golden Age Senior Citizens Centre but with the availablity of the TUCs field it was decided to move the project to this more central location in the town. At one time it was a camp ground and was the site of a motel many years ago.

This is one of the trailor parks on the North side of town and is part of the town that has undergone the most change in recent years. North and West of this location has been the area for the development of new homes and new neighbourhoods. The tennis court in this part of the town was once the site of the swimming pool which has now been relocated beside RecPlex.

The Tisdale Hospital is not only a landmark and an important part of the services provided to the town and surrounding communities, but the hospital is a symbol of security, if things go bad, you can count on the caring and skilled staff to look after you. From a kid's point of view, Wesley remembered the site of the hospital before it was built and the hill that was used for sliding. Since the construction of the hospital the sliding hill just hasn't been the same.

Tisdale has many churches and this is a good example, the Christian Fellowship Church has this neat architecture with its round sanctuary and large assemble hall that makes this a valued and important part of the community. This church also has an active and important young people's group providing recreation and fellowship to a large number of the community's youth.

This view of the former Centennial Junior High which is now the town's elementary school, but to its former students it was a great school. Wesley and his fellow grade twelves attended the Junior High for only two years before being moved to the Recplex complex of buildings. Outdoor basketball courts, and a great playing field, made this the best school experience he and his peers remember. No just for fun sponanteous sports activities take place in the TMSS building because the field and outdoor development is not in place and the gyms are not used during lunch hour because of supervision problems. Below is the new site of the Golden Age Senior Citizens centre but this block was at one time the town landfill dump site.

This article was produced from Wesley taking a walk through his town and photographing what he saw as important, the text of the story came about as Wesley discussed the images he made and talked about the reason for having taken each of the pictures.