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The highly successful Saskatoon Lions Speed Skating club was formed in 1942 by the late R.W. Clarence Downey, after whom the present-day speed skating oval is named. It is one of Canada's longest-running speed skating clubs.

Several teams played under the Quaker name out of the old Saskatoon Arena. This ca. 1940 image includes Robert M. Pinder, founder of the Pinder's drugstore chain and Mayor of Saskatoon in 1935-38 (back row in the middle, wearing a bowler-style hat) and his son, Ross (located two to the right.)

Quakers Tony Leswick, Archie Wilder and Mike Shabaga - a trio of stick-swinging small-town Saskatchewan boys destined for greatness.

The Saskatoon Playgrounds Association operated Saskatoon's pools and other recreational programs and facilities (including city-wide marble competitions) from 1930-1961, when it was amalgamated with the Parks Board to become the Parks and Recreation Board.

Another Saskatoon Playgrounds Association activity, the Freckle Contest pitted children from each of the recreation units against each other to see who would be the King, Queen, Prince and Princess of Freckledom in Saskatoon.

Riversdale Pool was built in 1925 to replace the old swimming hole formed by a log boom at the Saskatoon Yacht Club docks. It was Saskatoon's only public swimming pool for 30 years.

Purchased in 1903, City Park (now known as "Kinsmen Park") on 25th Street and Spadina has been the site of a variety of recreational facilities and was once the home of horse racing in the City. Traces of the old track are still visible today.

The Children's Day Parade was put on by the Saskatoon Playgrounds Association from 1949-1985.

Cairns Field was the home of professional baseball in Saskatoon from 1913-1963. it was built on land leased from the CPR along present-day Idylwyld Drive at 26th Street and at one time even included a large dance floor.

The City once planned to build a hospital near the corner of College Drive and Cumberland, where Griffiths Field now stands. After the basements were dug the plan fell through for lack of funding. The excavations stood open for decades before a tragedy occurred which forced the City to fill them in.

Saskatoon was determined to host the 1971 Canada Winter Games. The problem: a complete lack of suitably mountainous terrain for the downhill skiing events. The solution: build our own. The Canada Games bid was successful. (Moral of the Story: "If you can dig up enough dirt you can accomplish anything.")

Winter doesn't really stop Saskatoon people from getting out and enjoying themselves. This is good, because we get a lot of it around here. This rink (and an attached speed skating oval) once occupied Westside (now "Optimist") Park on 19th Street and Avenue J.

Thank you for visiting our exhibit. We gratefully acknowledge the kind assistance of the University of Saskatchewan Archives and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix for permission to publish certain of these images, as well as the assistance of Patrick Hayes, U of S Archives, in compiling some of the information presented here.