The third installment of stories of Humboldt is on display now at the Humboldt and District Museum, this time with a journey to the past through music. 

Catherine Harrison, museum curator, begins the story with one of Humboldt’s preeminent couples of the 1950s, Frank and Inez Bower. Frank Bower was a doctor of optometry, one of the few in the region. Bower would travel around the district offering his services, so he was well known throughout the area. 

His wife, Inez, was widely known for her musical talents. Harrison explains that she played piano at the church and conducted the high school orchestra while raising a family. Additionally, she was a talented songwriter, and it was one composition in particular that gained her a measure of international notoriety.  

“When the Golden Jubilee rolled around celebration Saskatchewan’s 50th anniversary, the mayor of the town asked her to compose a song for a Humboldt celebration,” explains Harrison, “She wrote a song called ‘The Old Red River Cart,’ which was a lovely country tune from the 1950s.”

The song caught on to the point where it was pressed into a vinyl recording along with three more Inez Bower originals. The records sold remarkably well across the country cementing Inez Bowers’ reputation as a songwriter and performer. On the strength of those songs, she toured across Canada performing as somewhat of a folk troubadour. 

Another element of the new installment is based on an autobiography of Dr. Robert Gaskin, one of Humboldt’s early veterinarians. Gaskin chronicled his time in Humboldt in a six-page document that follows much in the spirit of fabled veterinarian humourist, Dr. James Herriot.

“There are these crazy stories of a country vet,” laughs Harrison, “Tales with all kinds of strange situations.”

Finally, Harrison highlights the time capsule from the old City Hall that was torn down in 1965. The capsule was contained in a cornerstone of the old building. That cornerstone was laid 16 years after Humboldt was deemed a town; it contained photographs, original building blueprints, and a handwritten history of the town stemming from 1928.

 As always, Harrison invites community members to come down, relive the history, and help the museum staff to fill in the blanks for some of the tales and records of the old town.