Two big openings defined the end of September in the Yorkton area in 1962: The new Yorkton Union Hospital, and the potash mine in Esterhazy.
Two weeks of celebrations marked the opening of the potash mine in Esterhazy, at the time the largest in the world. The mine, then owned by the International Minerals and Chemicals Corp.(IMC), cost $40,000,000 and was said to be capable of mining 1.2 million tons of potash each year.
Of course, that potash mine continues to expand, and the K3 expansion of the mine was recently opened in Esterhazy. The mine is now owned by Mosaic after a merger between IMC and Cargill.
The first major potash project in the province, and a major economic driver for the towns that surround it and the province as a whole the mine’s opening was greeted with two weeks of celebrations. Premier Woodrow S. Lloyd and Federal Mines Minister Paul Martineau opened the mine with Mayor D. A. MacKenzie of Esterhazy, Thomas Ware, president of IMC and Louis Ware, board chairman for IMC.
Thomas Ware was profiled in the Enterprise, and spoke “with intense feeling” of the need for fertilizer production to feed the world.
Yorkton was celebrating its own milestone, with the new Yorkton Union Hospital’s grand opening. The hospital was celebrated both in town and in the surrounding area, as it was planned as a central service point for the region – a function it continues to serve.
The next step was the establishment of a new psychiatric unit, adjacent to the hospital, which was planned to house 148 beds. The facility, which has since been named the Pine Unit, was established with a goal of keeping patients within the health region, lowering the chance of isolation as they underwent treatment.
While it was the official opening of the hospital, the hospital had actually been accepting patients since March 31, 1962.
Former minister of health J. Walter Erb credited the selfless dedication of the community with the creation of the hospital.
“The wealth of a community is not in its buildings but in the spirit of its people who, as with this magnificent structure, have achieved what is not possible individually but which can be accomplished collectively.”
Rudy Schick, chair of the hospital board at the time, noted that the new hospital was very different from the first hospital built in Yorkton. That first building came in 1902 and cost approximately $3,500. The then-new building cost $3,000,000.
Not all was well in the world of Rudy Schick, who was also the center of rumors that he was going to sell his main business, Northern Motors. Indignant, he told a meeting of the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce that he had not sold his business, did not intend to sell his business, and nobody was offering to buy his business for $180,000. He would not be offering sales on inventory, he said, because there was company policy regarding inventory in the event of a sale. Nor would he be trying to become a hospital administrator, noting that if someone was willing to give him $180,000 he wouldn’t go work in a hospital after that kind of windfall. Unfortunately for Schick, the question of whether or not he would sell Northern Motors would soon be irrelevant, as he died in 1963.
Winter was coming and the weather was getting colder, and so it was time to get your kids a snow suit. The “Kul-e-Tuk” model at the Bay cost $15.99, and was described as an “Eskimo-style” parka made of Orlon pile with a quilted satin lining.
