By the time this article is read, December will be upon us and many of us will be scrambling with Christmas preparations and holiday gatherings! The Square Butte Community Association has had a busy few months with many community-focused events and are in the midst of planning a New Year’s Eve Party – the first one we will host in many years!
Purchase tickets at www.squarebuttehall.com/dance-tickets ($25 for members, $30 for non-members) before they sell out and be guaranteed a fun evening with friends and neighbours to ring in 2023… 8pm to 1am, 10:30 pm lunch, door prizes, cash bar, DJ music for dancing and midnight toast!!
Our New Year will also welcome new Board Members to our Association and we thank those that volunteer to help make our lil’ Community Hall a gathering place and focal point for celebrations, fundraising, family focused events, and rental opportunities. It is through our Community focused approach that our Hall becomes a 2nd home for many and a welcoming place to visit with friends and neighbours, both young and old.
Every year brings change and new opportunities for everyone. There have been decades of work and commitment that have built, maintained, promoted, preserved and celebrated our special Community. Mary Ann Watson is one such individual who has given her time and historical knowledge to help make our Community thrive! Her family has long, strong ties to this place we call home and Mary Ann has always been focused and committed to celebrating and preserving what “community” means to many of us!
Mary Ann, her brother David, and parents Norma and Tom Wildman, moved to the Square Butte area in 1947. Her brother David first attended the Square Butte school until it closed, and later both Mary Ann and David attended Sheep Creek School. Traveling to school in those early days often involved some eventful rides on horseback but by the time Sheep Creek School opened, there were buses to take the children back and forth. Mary Ann recalls (through her musings in “Foothills Echos”) that she often got into trouble at school for too much talking and giggling – a trait many of us enjoy to this day!
Childhood memories for her focused on this community, its happenings and the beauty of our area, all while working hard to build their ranch. When Mary Ann’s father passed away, she, her mother Norma, and her brother David, continued working and running the family ranch. For a time, Mary Ann moved away and lived in the Sangudo area with her husband Earl Watson and they both pursued a variety of successful business opportunities. They later returned back to our Community and she still currently lives on part of the property that her mother Norma and step father Alex Lyall owned. Mary Ann’s mother Norma was a long time member of the Square Butte Ladies Group and Mary Ann continues to be an integral part of this group to this day.
Our Board will be left without Mary Ann’s invaluable contributions as she re-focuses her attentions on her many other pursuits – she certainly is a busy lady! Thank you so much Mary Ann!
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Inquiries: info@squarebuttehall.com
