The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Snow Lake witnessed another busy weekend, recreation-wise, with activity in the community's arena, curling rink, and on local snowmobile trails. The SnoDrifters Snowmobile Club held their inaugural poker derby of the season. Up until this point, the snow cover hasn't allowed the staging of such an event. However, on Sunday afternoon (January 14) 48 people on 40 separate sleds traveled 64 kilometers of trail in search of a winning poker hand. When the snow had settled, Todd Saskowski placed first and went home with $104, Denis Hornyak placed second and received $64, and Wilfred Bartlett garnered third spot and in the process claimed $44 for his effort. Buoyed by the success of this derby, the club plans to hold another on Saturday, January 24. Also in the club's plans are Drag Races, which will be held on March 6 and Radar Runs on the following weekend. Club spokesman Robert Stoupe says that the Drag Races and Radar Runs will be open for both stock and modified machines and, as in past events of this nature, the club is hoping to see some entries from outside the community. Over at the arena, the Cranberry Portage/Snow Lake Winter Hawks took on the Cross Lake Islanders in some entertaining 'AA' Midget action on Friday night. Sorry to say the local squad came out on the short end of a 7 - 4 score, but was in the game throughout. Saturday saw action at both the arena and the curling rink. At the arena, the Thompson Bantam team was in for a couple of games against Snow Lake's Bantam Spartans. With the local team only able to ice eight skaters, their legs were worn down quickly and the boys out of Thompson won both games handily. Not to take anything away from the Thompson team, they definitely came to play. While the hockey was being played out at the Wilfred T. Lipton Arena, the New Britannia Mine Bonspiel was shaping up at the Gordon R. Rupp Curling Rink. This spiel is basically for fun and that's what the 12 rinks involved had. Each game in the event is four ends and each team member skips an end. This makes for lots of laughs and some surprisingly close games. There is no winning team; it is a pick-a-prize bonspiel and the picking order is determined by which team's number comes out of the hat first. The yearly spiel is capped by a mouthwatering spaghetti and lasagna supper, expertly prepared by the Royal Purple Ladies. On a sad note, word of the deaths of two well-known former Snow Lake citizens has reached the community. Willy Holunga and Lois Chell have both passed on. Mr. Holunga's funeral will be held Saturday afternoon (January 17) in Snow Lake, while it wasn't known at this writing where and when Mrs. Chell's service would be held.
