On this day in history, in 1965, Canada officially adopted the Maple Leaf as the country’s flag.
In Yorkton, that meant the it was the first time the flag was raised at the RCAF Station, with a half-hour ceremony and the proclamation of the Queen’s proclamation read by W. Cdr. T. Goldring, the commanding officer at the RCAF station.
The transition to the Maple Leaf did not go smoothly, as reported by the Enterprise on February 17, 1965:
“However, it would appear there is a shortage of the genuine Maple Leaf flags as of yet, apart from the useless Japanese-made flags which flooded the country prior to the official decision on flag measurements and design – and over City Hall today the Red Ensign still flies as well as at the masthead on the flagpole at the Legion Hall.
“The Red Ensign was hauled down on Monday at the Land Titles office and no flag flies above that government building yet. The same is true at the Yorkton Court House. No flag flies at the masthead today as the new Canadian flag has not yet been received and the Red Ensign was hauled down on Monday.”
Locally, the city of Yorkton was gearing up for the official opening of Columbia school, which happened on February 24 of 1965. Congratulatory messages were printed from businesses in the city in anticipation of the new school’s opening. The school was named after the team from Columbia University which conducted an extensive survey for Yorkton’s educational facility, according to the Yorkton Enterprise. The school had been open since September of that year, but the grand opening was delayed to allow construction to complete.
The other grand opening of the week was the Yorkton Hotel, which had completed a five year renovation project.
In sports, the Terriers had a lost two to the Saskatoon Quakers and were preparing to meet the Regina Caps. The Terriers were not at the bottom of the season standings at this point, since a team from Winnipeg had not played a full season. They did win the fewest number of games of any team which had played the complete season.
The big food sale this week saw steak on sale for 79 cents a pound at OK Economy and Shop Rite. Also on sale were apples, a four pound poly bag of Red Delicious apples going for 79 cents at the same store. To help you eat your steak and apples, you could buy a dinner fork for 11 cents.
