Radisson ’71 Seniors Club

The Community Hall in Radisson, Saskatchewan started as the town’s first electric light and power plant. Renovations began in 1919 and the building was completed in 1924. In 1930, a fire broke out in the power plant, which badly damaged the building. It was rebuilt with insurance money, and lumber supplied by the town was used to repair the floor, which the community’s Athletic Club laid down. Afterwards, the club used the building for dances and town meetings, so the building then became known as the Athletic Hall. Decades later in 1971, it became the Pentecostal Church. During this time, the first meeting for the organization of a seniors club was held, resulting in the ’71 Seniors Club.

By 1975, seniors were sharing the space with the local youth group, and they received some grants to modernize the building. They installed plumbing, gas, power, paneling, new flooring, insulation, eavestroughs, a new roof, and stuccoed the building. In 1981, the club was officially renamed the “Radisson ’71 Seniors Club.” To this date the Radisson ’71 Senior Club is still active in the community. The town of Radisson still owns of the building, but the seniors club are its custodians.

This hall is available to the community and surrounding rural municipality to rent. It’s been used for weddings, anniversaries, funerals, meetings, birthdays, family gatherings, and garage sales — to mention a few. The hall has become the only gathering centre for the town, as the community no longer has access to a town hall due to its closure. Therefore, they are very desperate to maintain the integrity of the building — especially due to its age — to keep people in the small town. They want to fix up the building exterior and develop a more inviting outdoor gathering space for the whole community to enjoy.

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