Radville, Saskatchewan

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Eva's Popcorn Stand, serving many generations of Radvillites.

Radville is a small idyllic valley town in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. A small river, Long Creek runs through the north end of the town providing fishing and recreation to the local children and parents.

The town is in the rural municipality #38 of Laurier (incorporated December 13, 1909). It was incorporated in 1911 after being settled in 1895, named after Conrad Paquin.

The Radville Public School, a traditional 3 story cube shaped red brick building, burned to the ground in 1976. The new Radville Elementary School opened a few years later. In the interim, the students were sent to some reserved classrooms in the high school, and the younger students were sent to the Catholic school.

One of the historic buildings in Radville is the local restaurant. The building started as the Bon Ton Barber Shop and Dr. O'Shea's Office, then became the Radville Cafe, followed with the Paris Cafe, the Boston Cafe, the Lasalle, the Glencoe, the Canadian Cafe, the Radville Family Restaurant, and in 2006, the Radville Family Restaurant II. [Reference: A Community in Blooms Project]. The Canadian Cafe was run by Bob and Judy Lee from 1965 until their retirement in 1996.

Radvilles historic cafe.

Other restaurants that operated in Radville included the local drive-in Hannigan's, (approximately 1970-1980) and the restaurant converted from the old Radville townhall called the Dustbowl Diner (approximately 1980-1981).

Radville had several theaters. The last one, the Oasis Theater closed its doors in 1977 (needs confirmation of date), showing Star Wars as one of its last movies. After standing empty for a few years, the Oasis was bought by local entrepeneur George Hays and converted into the Alley Oops bowling alley. A few years afterwards, George Hays purchased the local newspaper, the Radville Star, and moved the publication into the same building. The other Theater closed much earlier and was converted into a senior citizens hall in 1972 (needs confirmation of date).

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The theater that became a bowling alley.

The local pharmacy, the Radville Drug Store, was operated by Ron Zimmers from the late 1960s through to the late 1990s. Initially, a pharmacy degree was not required, however as the operations grew, Ron proudly worked his education to achieve his pharmacy degree.

The Catholic school, commonly called the Separate School, was named St. Oliver's School.

The high school was called the Radville Regional High School. Many students bore the letters of RRHS for the local Rebels team. The stability of certain teachers who had long terms in the school created a well balanced, solid background for graduates in furthering education. The school principal was Charles Haggarty from 1970 (?) until 1981. Other key teachers include Ethel Carlson (English), C.K. Lai (Algebra, Geometry), Dick Schmidt (Coach).

Radville has an active winter community, featuring a hockey rink with the Radville Nationals hockey team. And what every genuine Canadian prairie community must have, a curling rink!

Radville produced several professional hockey players including: Reid Williams, Rodney Williams, and Darcy Verot.

The province has designated Radville with its own Regional Park to serve the local district. See Saskatchewan Regional Parks [1].

Radville is home to artist and sculpture, Scott Chandler Mcleod. Another prominent artist from Radville is Yvette Moore.

Many famous politicians are from the Radville district. The Websters, and recently, the 2004 Finance Minister Ralph Goodale. Another well known politician is Roy Bailey (politician). And one can't forget his brother, Ray Bailey, a founding member of the Western Canadian Concept (WCC) party.

For those seeking more history, in 1983 The Yesteryears was published.

[edit] History of Mayors

Shopshire
Roth
Armand Bourassa
Terry Calibaba (2002)

[edit] Location

Radville can be found at latitude 49° 27' 40.83" N, longitude 104° 17' 45.17" at an elevation of 2060 ft (ref: Google Earth)

Nearby, the village of Ceylon is 14 miles west, and the city of Weyburn is 32 miles to the northeast. Other nearby communities include Lake Alma, Minton, Gladmar, Ogema, Midale and the Port of Regway. These communities heavily support the Radville economy as it is the largest center in the area.

Major urban centers include Regina which is a short drive 92 miles away and Moose Jaw is 89 miles away.

Highway 28 and 377 passes through Radville.