Biggar, Saskatchewan
Encyclopedia
Biggar is a town in central Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is located on Highway #14, 93 kilometres (57.8 mi) west of Saskatoon, the province’s most populous city. Biggar has become well known for its unusual town slogan, an Olympic athlete, and a world-record deer. The town was featured on American morning newsmagazine The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
in February 2010 as part of an ongoing Canadian-oriented segment during the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
.
History
Biggar was incorporated as a village in 1909. It was named after William Hodgins BiggarWilliam Hodgins Biggar
William Hodgins Biggar was an Ontario business lawyer and political figure. He represented Hastings West in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal member from 1890 to 1898.He also served on the parliamentary Committee overseeing the construction of the Legislative Assembly building for...
, general counsel of the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) railway which had come through the area in 1908. The GTP made Biggar a divisional point on its line, building a large station and roundhouse. The population grew as Biggar became a home terminal where train crews were changed.
In 1911 Biggar was incorporated as a town. Settlement continued and the population increased to greater than 2,000 by the mid-1920s, peaking at 2,755 in 1966. According to the 2006 census, Biggar is now home to 2,033 people.
The town is known for its slogan "New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
is big, but this is Biggar." It was created in 1914 by a survey crew who painted it onto a town sign as a drunken prank. According to The Biggar Museum and Gallery, the graffiti remained unchanged until 1954 when the slogan was officially adopted.
Biggar will celebrate its 100th anniversary as a town in 2011. Residents are contributing to the online Biggar Encyclopaedia to create a detailed history of the town.
Economy
The Biggar railway stationBiggar railway station
The Biggar Railway Station is a heritage railway station operated by Via Rail located in the town of Biggar, Saskatchewan, Canada.-History:Biggar received its first railway service in 1907 when the Canadian Pacific Railway built a branch line through the area...
was constructed in 1909-1910 and is serviced by Via Rail
VIA Rail
Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
with The Canadian
The Canadian
The Canadian is a Canadian transcontinental passenger train originally operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1955 and 1978. It is currently operated as an Inter-city rail service by Via Rail Canada with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario and Pacific Central Station in...
serving the station three times per week. Biggar’s prosperity was directly tied to the railway for many years. Up to 500 local people were at one time employed by CN, which took over the GTP. That number has now dropped to under 200. As the railway industry has decreased, Biggar has shifted its economy to agriculture and related industries.
Biggar is home to Prairie Malt Limited, a large barley processing plant. The malthouse has an annual capacity of 220,000 metric tonnes. Malt is a primary ingredient in beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and whisky
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
. Prairie Malt employs approximately 70 full time employees. It creates significant spin-off employment among local trucking firms such as Biggar Transport, with a fleet of over 50 trucks.
The Town of Biggar lists more than 150 businesses and services on its website. These include a manufacturer of petroleum and hazardous material containment tanks, a sodium sulphate plant, a large greenhouse and a variety of financial, farm and health services.
Education
Two school divisions operate in Biggar. The public school is Biggar Central 2000, a kindergarten to grade twelve school run under the Sun West School DivisionSun West School Division
Located in west-central Saskatchewan, the Sun West School Division covers approximately 25,600 square kilometers. On its east side, the Division includes schools in Davidson and Kenaston, whose attendance areas include students on the east side of Highway 11. The Alberta border serves as the...
. St. Paul's RCCSD operates St. Gabriel's, a Catholic kindergarten to grade nine school.
Great Plains College offers post-secondary certificates and diplomas in nursing, emergency medical technician, electrician and truck driving.
Notable Persons
Biggar elected Major James ColdwellMajor James Coldwell
Major James William Coldwell, , usually known as M.J. , was a Canadian social democratic politician, and leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation party from 1942 to 1960. He was born in England, and immigrated to Canada in 1910...
, the leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
, as their Member of Parliament from 1935–58. He was noted as the person that fought for and won old-age pensions, as well as other social democrcatic reforms in both the William Lyon Mackenzie-King and Louis St. Laurent
Louis St. Laurent
Louis Stephen St. Laurent, PC, CC, QC , was the 12th Prime Minister of Canada from 15 November 1948, to 21 June 1957....
governments. Biggar is also the hometown of Sandra Schmirler
Sandra Schmirler
Sandra Marie Schmirler, SOM , was a Canadian curler, who captured three Canadian Curling Championships and three World Curling Championships. Schmirler skipped her Canadian team to a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the first year curling was a medal sport...
, a 1998 Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medalist and three-time world champion in women's curling Schmirler died in 2000 at the age of 36 of cancer. Her funeral was broadcast nationally by CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
and TSN
The Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
, a first for a Canadian athlete.
Biggar honored Schmirler’s contributions to sport and her hometown by constructing The Sandra Schmirler Olympic Gold Park, which houses a gazebo, playground, memorial and wall of fame.
The town is also home to the World Famous "Hanson Buck." Milo Hanson is a Biggar-area farmer and hunter who in 1993 shot a white-tailed deer that was awarded the Boone and Crockett Club World’s Record. Hanson reported that after the award was made public, he received hundreds of calls from journalists, photographers and artists wanting to tell the story.
His record remains unbeaten.
Government
Biggar’s current mayor is Ray Sadler. The Town of Biggar is located within the Rural MunicipalityRural municipality
A rural municipality, often abbreviated RM, is a form of municipality in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, perhaps best comparable to counties or townships in the western United States...
of Biggar #347. Provincially, Biggar is represented by MLA Randy Weekes
Randy Weekes
Randy Weekes is a Canadian provincial politician. He is the Saskatchewan Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the constituency of Biggar, after first being elected in 1999....
of the Saskatchewan Party
Saskatchewan Party
The Saskatchewan Party is a conservative liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was established in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative and Liberal party members and supporters who sought to remove the Saskatchewan New Democratic...
. Federally the town is within the riding of Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar
Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar
Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar is a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.-Geography:...
, whose current MP is Kelly Block
Kelly Block
Kelly Block is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the electoral district of Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar in the 2008 Canadian federal election. She is a member of the Conservative Party. Block was appointed to the Procedure and House Affairs Committee and the Access to Information,...
of the Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
.
Demographics
Climate
See also
External links
- Official Town Website
- http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/biggar.html Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan