The range of rural amusements may not have been as wide as the range of amusements available to modern city-dwellers but it was considerable and, when examining the full social calendar of a small town during its heyday, one can only be amazed at the stamina of participants. Organized entertainment was simple in pioneer days and often was focused upon school and church events or the occasional dance. But as local society became more settled and populous, a variety of fraternal and educational societies were established. Depending upon the ethnic composition of the area, these might include the Orange Lodge, the Masonic Order, the Imperial Order of Daughters of the Empire, the Women's Institute, an agricultural association, a literary guild or debating society and so on. The fortunes of individual groups might rise and fall but, until the years of rural depopulation, the vitality of the community was never in doubt. In every district, an important day would become associated with one town's festival, perhaps a picnic on Queen Victoria's birthday, a ball tournament on July 1, an Orangemen's parade on July 12 or a fowl supper at Thanksgiving, and other events, such as the school Christmas concert, would be celebrated in every town. This photograph shows the cast of a high school performance of Julius Caesar in 1912. Because the family was the fundamental unit of society, family amusements such as cards, checkers and puzzle games were always popular; in summer, family travel, often to that rare wonder of the southern prairies, a lake, was also a common experience.
All these events depended upon the development of a congenial community and convenient means of transportation. As with so much else on the prairies, the first network of clubs and amusements was established to fit the world of horse and train. Automobile travel and rural depopulation have drastically altered social life and have created an environment that differs little from suburban Canada.
