Flat Lauren's Trip
to Yorkton, Saskatchewan
Hi, my name is Joyce Schneider an aunt to Ashlee. I was so happy to have Flat Lauren come and
stay with us for a few days. After all,
any friend of Ashlee’s is a friend of ours.
She arrived in late January and would have to return by the middle of
February. Our home has four people
living in it. Fred, the father; Joyce
(that’s me) the mother and two sons, Joel and Jonathan. Fred is a pastor at St. Paul Lutheran
Church. I am at home and keep busy with
volunteer stuff and stuff for my family.
It would be nice for me to have another girl around the place.
Lauren was quite tired when she arrived so we all went to
bed looking forward to our days together when we could show Flat Lauren some of
the amazing people and places of our city.
That really was quite a long trip!
On Saturday morning we went to "Breakfast with Fred"
where a group of people enjoy breakfast together. It seemed that Lauren liked the fruit.
On Sunday, we went to church.
Lauren helped me with the video and sound for the worship service. She was a great help.
Lauren enjoyed meeting Zack our puppet at church.
He is great friends with the kids and everyone at church.
That night we went tot the outdoor rink, which is half a block from our house. You will notice that Lauren is wearing her new coat. She need a winter coat as it was quite cold out, -22 degrees celsius out. Of course, if we went to the rink, Lauren would also need skates.
We had lots of fun but one time Lauren fell flat on her back.
On Wednesday, we went to quilting at the church. Lauren enjoyed this and learned a bit about sewing and tying quilts. The quilts are made to be sent overseas to help others keep warm.
While at the church, Lauren thought she would like to meet our secretary, Anna Marie.
Lauren got right into helping her with the bulletin.
Lauren brought some snow inside to make a snowman and then posed with them.
She seemed to enjoy hanging out with someone her own size for a while.
The next day we went to "Soup Haven" where we make lunches to be sent to the school in Yorkton. There are 8 elementary schools and two high schools in Yorkton.
We had to make sure that she did not fall all the way into the bag.
Mostly we work to make sandwiches, and then put them in bags with Juice, Fruit and a snack.
(Can you find Lauren?)
Time to check out the sites!
To the Gallagher Centre
This is our recreation facility. It has:
- swimming
- ice rinks
- curling rinks
- indoor soccer field
- indoor track
- physiotherapy
- convention facilities
Once Lauren looked around, she thought she might like to try out a few activities.
Of course, Lauren would need a bathing suit and a skating outfit for her activities. 
My friend, Emily, took Lauren out on the rink. She showed her a few steps and then did a number of jumps and spins with her.
This is Lauren at the swimming pool - sorry the photo did not turn out so well. At the pool there is a waterside, whirlpool, sauna, lazy river, waves and another pool for just swimming, water polo, diving, etc.
This is Lauren at the Curling Rink. She is actually standing on a curling rock. In Yorkton, winter lasts from November to sometimes March, so we need to take advantage of winter sports and facilities to keep active. Lots of people also enjoy ice fishing, cross country skiing, hunting and snowmobile riding, indoor soccer and indoor walking tracks and other gym sports.
Lauren watches people as they walk and run on the indoor track.
Lauren carved out a snow shelter for herself.
Of course, Lauren just had to check out our Public Library.
Lauren really wanted to take a photo with a "Flat Stanley" book but the librarian said that they were all taken out. Flat Stanley is very popular.
We only have one Fire Station in Yorkton. It was rebuilt in 2009. We also have new equipment (our old equipment could only go 4 stories high) which makes it so that buildings can be built much higher in our city.
Well, we decided it might be good for Lauren to see City Hall. This is where we received Yorkton pins and tattoos for the Division 12 class.
Below are some pictures of a mural at the city centre square.
It shows the many different lifestyles, cultures and people of our area.
The amazing thing about this mural is that some parts of it are 3D.
Notice the Ukrainian Dancers and the Medicine Wheel
to represent the Native People that live here.
This is the sky view image of Yorkton that we found hanging in City Hall.
You can see the city quite well and notice the farmland on the outskirts.
This photo must have been taken in the summer.
You can see the different colours of the crops in the fields.
This is the Tourism Yorkon Chamber of Commerce Building.
This lovely lady showed us some brochures and fact sheets about Yorkton. Notice the Saskatchewan Roughrider Flag in the background.
The tourism place had a display set up of different seeds and crops that are grown in Saskatchewan.
Well, as you can see Lauren is heading back to Vancouver. I would like to thank Ashlee and the Division 12 class for letting me share my city and activities with Lauren and you all. I hope you will find a few items that I have sent alone with Lauren. I thought that you might enjoy seeing her fashion ensemble - winter coat, skates, skate dress and bathing suit. I have also sent along a few "fact" sheets about our area. The secretary at the Mayor's office game me some Yorkton pins and tattoos to send along for each student. It was a pleasure to have gone on adventures with Flat Lauren.
Interesting things about the people of Yorkton:
There are many different ethnic groups in Yorkton, but a pre-dominant one is Ukrainian. Many people here celebrate the Ukrainian festivals. Of course, many of the festivities involve food and also Ukrainian dancing. The Ukrainian people celebrate Christmas on the 6th of January.
It seems that the weather is discussed quite often. It is either too cold, too windy, too wet or too hot. You only occasionally hear someone say that the weather is just beautiful.
We have to plug our cars into an extension cord which is plugged in at the house. The car has a block heater that keeps the engine warm when it is extremely cold.
When it is very cold, people go in and out of buildings very quickly - not usually stopping to chat with others.
We have "one" of many things. One Tim Hortons, one Wal-Mart, one mall, one fire hall, one Wendy's, one Burger King and one theatre. Yorkton is classified as a city but actually feels like a very large town. People are very friendly and helpful to tone another.
The city is small so we find that many people know many of the residents. In fact, when talking with someone it is not unusual to find that they are related to someone else you know in the community. Many people here have a fear of driving in the mountains and have never seen the ocean.
