Maple Leaf Mailbag rock'N roadshow

Got up early and went to the Poppelwell family farm. Decrepit. It's hard to imagine that someone lived here up until 3 years ago. Decided to get on our way to Melville. Got lost in south central Saskatchewan arrive in Melville 7 hours later. We are in Melville to meet up with the Millionaires. The Millionaires are a local Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team. This night they are playing local rivals the Yorkton Terriers. Melville is a CN town. Pretty much everyone in the town of 4200 has some link to the railway. And pretty much everyone has a link to the Millionaires. The old CPR made a lot of people milionaires but there are none on the team. Just a bunch of 18 and 19 year olds hoping to earn a scholarship. I am impressed with the volunteers. 50/50 men and ticket takers, souvenir sellers and concessioneers all here to support the team. Many of them don't know the players or the coach, some don't care about hockey, but everyone understands the value of community. About a 100 fans agreed to wear our MLMB hats, the whole of section M. Yorkton won the game. For now, they are the millionaires. Tom, Blake and I will never be millionaires, but tonight we are rich.

Morning. We grab breakfast at the restaurant/ hotel/bar formally known as the Prairie Palace. On the way out of town we stop at the old farm. My family history still stands here. The Poppelwell homestead is a reminder of times past; when life seemed simpler. Now a bunch of derelict buildings are what remain. My great grand-parents came west by train to carve out a better life. That search for opportunity that brought them to this prairie is the same reason why my family left this place ... and could be the reason why I've returned. Onward! We roll on across the land of the living sky to a town called Melville. Home of the Millionaires. Streets paved with gold? Gucci and Bentleys? The team's wealth isn't immediately apparent. However, if one looks closer you will find a rich history dating back one hundred years. The pre-world war II barn-style ice rink is the ideal setting for enjoying an evening sporting spectacle. There is no denying the entertainment value of a live ice hockey game. Go Millionaires!

We're up early to get some shots of Eston before heading out to the farm. The farm is about twenty minutes out of town. You've never seen a more haunted looking place. WE can't get in the house, but we walk around the outbuildings, and we get inside the barn. Daylight makes its way through the porous roof. We poke our heads into an old trailer. Blake's family would drive the trailer to whatever far country of their land they were farming at the time and sleep in it. It's equipped with bunks and a small stove. Old metal scraps are piled up everywhere in back, but there's an order to them, as though the last farmer, Blake's great uncle, expected to use them again one day. Old trucks, old tractor wheels, old rods of all shapes and sizes. We've poked about for long enough. It's time to get on the road to Melville. Big game tonight. The Melville Millionaires are playing the Yorkton Terriers! The rink is packed with Millionaires supporters. Unfortunately, their cheering is not enough. The Mill's play a good game, but can't overcome a one-goal deficit. Coach Fiesel is philosophical.

Shooting at Blake's granparents abandonned farm. So many things are still there, can't believe it! Old trucks and Farm machines are lying on the ground, all rusty. Makes nice pictures... Arriving in Melville just in time for the start of the game. Go Millionaires! They lose but we had fun with the coaches after the game...Sleeping at King George hotel, corridors look like the hotel in the SHINING... A dog is barking and we hear some crazy sounds in the middle of the night...BRRRRR...