The Town of Hafford and Rural Municipality of Redberry will be celebrating their centennial in 2013. The following history is a prelude to the big festivities scheduled for June 28 to July 1, 2013.
The following information has been taken from A Walk Down Memory Lane.
Years ago pioneers arrived to rural Saskatchewan to build a dream. Today, we are living the dream. In the 1900s proposed town sites were being evaluated and the area known as Hafford was one. Henry Hudek owned the land on what is now known as the town of Hafford.
A CNR representative offered the land owner $20 per acre, which Hudek declined. The representative was determined to purchase the land so negotiations continued until finally an agreement was made for $30 per acre. When Hudek inquired about what the settlement would be called, the agent remembered how the gentleman would use “afford” frequently during the negotiations, often saying, “I can’t afford to sell it at that price.” So, the agent decided to add the letter H, to represent the man’s last name of Hudek and put it in front of the word afford thus making the word Hafford. The name was registered and the Village of Hafford was born. On Dec. 16, 1913, Hafford was incorporated as a village.
The first council meeting was held on Jan. 19, 1914 with returning officer T. G. Bavin opening the meeting. He was appointed as secretary-treasurer. The first overseer elected was J.B. Thompson and two councillors were Alfred Lafreniere and E.W. Bavin.
One of the first tasks requiring immediate attention was the creating, adopting and implementation of numerous bylaws. By as early as March 1914, bylaws passed included tethering of stock, dog control, imposition of penalties on arrears of taxes, licences, control of pedlars, sanitary issues, fire protection, impounding of stock, obstruction on the streets and lanes, discharge of firearms, store hours, poll tax, curfew and establishing a one man police force and defining his duties.
In January 1914, village council instructed the secretary treasurer to write to the North West Mounted Police, divisional headquarters, requesting a member be stationed in the village. H. Krug was appointed village constable at a salary of $10 per month. The village supplied the handcuffs, baton and badge.
Constable duties included inspecting backyards for sanitation, notifying the pool room, hotel and general public about the laws regarding betting and gambling, notifying people to keep their ducks, geese and other fowl confined and collecting dray taxes, dog taxes and taxes in arrears.
Some people who served as village constables included H. Krug, H. Barnacles, C. Heapy, J. Thompson, A. Ens, Groslin, L. Lelacheur, A. Werezak, W. Grodzinski, F. Terlicki, T. Horbay, T. Kachmarsky, S. Werezak, M. Mudryk and P. Bohun.
