by:   Bernt Hanson

Dancing has always been a beloved pastime in small town communities, and Eastend has been no different. In the early days of Eastend, dances were held in the loft of a livery barn owned by Crawford and Jones. Dances were then held in a building on main street owned by William Anderson and Byron Walters that at different times served as a poolroom, drugstore, dentist’s office, town office and courtroom. In 1929 Frank and Gladys Simpson built Eastend’s first true dance hall, Simpson’s Hall, on the corner where the old Credit Union currently stands. In the tough economic times of the 1930′s the hall was filled with grain, as the farmers hoped they could store it until prices rose. Because the dance hall was out of commission, dances were held at the Pastime Theatre. However, the theatre was not especially designed for dances and George Fletcher recalls being in the basement during a quick polka and seeing the floor moving up and down with the feet above. Nearly every Saturday …

By Cleo Morvik

Mrs. Dorothy Armstrong is 86 years old. She’s seen a lot and knows a lot, but the way she talks about music is something else. You can tell how much she loves it; that’s why it was such a joy to talk to her about her days of the Big Band era, playing piano in the 1940’s.

She was only about 8 years old when she first started playing the piano. Her Dad was a talented fiddle player and she learned to chord along with him on the family piano (which now resides at her sister’s home). Gradually she started adding melodies to her chords and by age 13 she was good enough to play with the Eastend Rhythm Rascals without ever having a single lesson.

The Eastend Rhythm Rascals was a swing band featuring saxophone by Alfred Olson, piano by Elizabeth Vogt (Hamrin), Myrtle Ovre, and Bernice Hanson and Mrs. Armstrong herself, trumpet by Charlie Widdifield, drums by Jim Humphrey and banjo by Doug Anderson. After the war they were …

By: Shelly Hall

A stage coach is an important part of history. Not so long ago, before trains, planes and cars, this was how people got from place to place. They hitched up a team or met a stage in one of the bigger towns and off they went. Some people decided over the years to continue building these beautiful methods of transport; Herb Koenig is one of these people. Two buggies were made by Herb: one that currently inhabits his front yard while the other was actually made from the fenders of an old Model T Ford. Mr. Koenig is most proud of the stage coach that he built.

Mr. Koenig started building his first stage coach in 1994 with no plans, only a picture and previous knowledge from building a few buggies. The stage was finished in 1996. I asked Herb why he decided to build a stage coach and he said, “Because I wanted one.” He shared some of his construction details with me as well, such as that particular stage has stabilizers in all four corners …

By: Ruby Harvey

The Dollard fire engine, as some would call it, was first put to use in 1917. Although, engine is not quite the right word, it is what most people use to name it. The two-wheeled, four-man powered vessel includes a 30 gallon water tank, two additional ropes and hooks for two more men, and two air tanks for air pressure. This only resulted in about 150 pounds of air pressure. That is only one-quarter of the pressure available on fire engines today.

At this time there were many different versions of similar contraptions. Some were bigger that were pulled by horse and had a pump for two men to create air pressure. These versions could hold up to 75-100 gallons of water. To make up for the lack of water, a “bucket brigade” usually followed close behind.

Although Dollard got a real fire truck in the 1950’s, the old relic continued being active until 1961 and currently is available to view in the Eastend Historical …

Gardenia Rebekah Lodge in Eastend was incorporated as a lodge on April 18, 1928. The meetings were held above the old Rexall Drug Store, but then were moved to a hall above the skating rink. In 1981, they were moved to the Tea Room of Eastend Memorial which is their present location. The Lodge officers were installed by Shaunavon members.

Like other Lodges, they went through tough times such as money difficulties during the thirties, and it was sometimes hard to keep going. Because of the perseverance by some members, giving up was not an option.

The Rebekah Lodge declined in membership from 50 in 1983 to 15 in 2005. The Lodge made the decision to disband and donate their record books, gowns, and regalia to the Eastend Historical Museum for display.

Members of the Rebekah Lodge are proud of their accomplishments. They supported the Arthritis fund, bursaries, senior housing, loans for students, United Nations tours, Benevolent Fund for needy Oddfellows and Rebekahs, World Disaster Fund and World Eye Bank.

Thank you, Doris Stork for giving this information.

The Rebekah’s …