聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 For all the evils social media introduces - and there are many - it can still be a wealth of information.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The downside is that it puts people in silos that they need not ever feel compelled to leave.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Whether it be Twitter or Facebook, many already spend far too much of the 21st century trapped in their own echo chambers where they choose to only hear from those who have the same view.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But every now and then, one is reminded what an amazing tool social media truly is, especially when it comes to providing valuable tidbits of current and historical information.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 One such amazing tidbit floated down my Twitter feed the other day. It was a simply a screen capture of the Waghorn鈥檚 Guide of the 1910 populations of cities and towns in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Of course, some might see this as little more than another part of the endless array of trivia that flows down the social media tube, no more useful than the abundance of cat pictures or friends telling everyone what they ate for lunch that populate social media feeds.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But this particular bit of trivia was actually a gem because of its insight into how much (or, in some cases, how little) Saskatchewan and other Western communities have changed.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Consider the 1910 populations for the listed Saskatchewan communities: Alameda, 450; Arcola, 1,287; Balcarres, 400; Balgonie, 500; Biggar, 400; Broadview, 500; Carnduff, 600; Carlyle, 400; Craik, 450; Cupar, 300; Didsbury, 1,000; Davidson, 675; Duck Lake, 439; Esterhazy, 450; Francis, 400; Govan, 500; Hague, 300; Grenfell, 950; Hanley, 600; Humboldt, 1,200; Indian Head, 1,800; Kamsack, 400; Lashburn, 300; Lanigan, 750; Lloydminster 1,300; Lumsden, 300; Maple Creek, 1,200; Manor, 375; Melfort, 750; Melville, 1,740; Moose Jaw, 18,000; North Battleford, 1,800; Nokomis, 750; Outlook, 550; Oxbow, 750; Pense, 300; Prince Albert, 7,000; Qu鈥橝ppelle, 800; Quill Lake, 300; Regina, 15,000; Rosthern, 1,100; Rouleau, 450; Saltcoats, 450; Saskatoon, 10,000; Sintaluta, 400; Swift Current, 1,800; Vonda, 400; Wadena, 300; Wapella, 520; Watrous, 900; Weyburn, 2,500; Whitewood, 600; Wolseley, 1,400; Yellowgrass, 500; and Yorkton, 3,000.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 By way of comparison, the following are the 1910 populations for other Western Canada communities, big and small alike: Banff, 500; Birtle, Man., 400; Blairmore, Alta., 1,000; Calgary, 30,000; Dauphin, Man., 3,500; Edmonton, 25,000; Fernie, 3,000; Grandview, Man., 860; Kamloops, 3,000; Red Deer, 1,750; Winnipeg, 150,000; and Vancouver, 90,000.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 It makes for interesting trivia here, not the least of which is the fact that Winnipeg was bigger in 1910 than Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton combined.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This tells much more about the importance of oil and sea trade in the last century compared with the relative insignificance of the Prairie grain trade that dominated Winnipeg and our province in the early years of last century.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Oil and other commerce opportunities dramatically took over migration patterns.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Similarly, it tells us that Indian Head, Swift Current, North Battleford and Wolseley were virtually the same size a century ago.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A preferred location on the Canadian Pacific Railway main line in a fertile grain-growing area was obviously no guarantee of long-term community success. Further economic opportunities were required.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 And in the context of Saskatchewan, rapid growth is a relative thing.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Consider that all four of these Saskatchewan communities in 1910 were the same size as Red Deer, smack dab between oil rich Edmonton and Calgary.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 It pretty much tells you what you need to know about the relative success of the two provinces.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But what may be most telling is how many small farming communities are virtually the same size now as they were back then, and this is despite the fact Saskatchewan鈥檚 population has gone from 492,000 in 1910 to 1.1 million today.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 How little some communities have changed reflects how much the province, as a whole, has changed.
