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PASTIMES | COLLECTING
BY CHRISTALEE FROESE
FREELANCE WRITER
OXBOW, Sask. — Michael Bartolf is
a walking, breathing historical
library. He has shelves, countertops,
tables and rooms stacked with books,
magazines, newspaper clippings and
self-made indexes to many of his collections.
If you ask him about the history of
Saskatchewan, he has more than 300
community history books to grab.
Bartolf also has an index documenting
every post office opening
and closing date in the province, as
well as the land descriptions.
For example, one entry for White
Bear states that the opening date was
1911-02-11 with the land description
being 18-22-16W3.
In addition, the 84-year-old-retired
Saskatchewan farmer has created
numerous indexes from The Globe
and Mail, The New York Times, The
Western Producer, National Geographic
and a number of local newspapers.
These indexes track all references
to anyone who ever came from
Oxbow and area, with entries that
include the publication, date, edition
and page number for listings such as
obituaries and feature stories.
“I read about four or five newspapers
every week and I watch for anything
that is historical. The people
can be a day old or 105 years old, as
long as they have roots back here in
Oxbow, I’ll index it,” said Bartolf.
Collecting historical information
consumes most of his day. Awake by
6 a.m., he heads to his computer to
begin collecting information about
his community. At midnight, he is
often found in the same corner spot.
“Sometimes you’d think he was
married to that computer,” said
Michael’s wife, Ruth.
Otto Neuman, chair of Oxbow’s
Ralph Allen Memorial Railway
Museum, said the Bartolfs have
made an invaluable contribution to
the community both as volunteers
and as historical document keepers.
“He has spent hours and hours
keeping records for the museum and
he does a lot of that work at home,”
said Neuman.
“I don’t know how else to describe
his work but to say it’s priceless.
Where else would you get that kind of
information?”
The most rewarding part for Bartolf
is when he can connect visitors with
their past. His most memorable visitor
was a woman from Baltimore,
Maryland, who travelled to Oxbow
two years ago to trace her roots.
With help from Bartolf, the woman
spent two weeks in the area, eventually
finding information about her
grandfather, the mayor of Oxbow at
the turn of the century.
He was able to find the homestead
of the family as well as information
about her uncle, a Second World War
veteran who was killed in a runaway
horse accident involving a binder.
“It’s all in the paper, you just have to
open it up,” said Bartolf, who also
tracked another uncle of the Balti-
more woman.
This uncle was a stonemason, and
Bartolf was able to take her to one of
four buildings in Oxbow he constructed.
One of Bartolf’s most prized possessions
is a 100-year-old copy of
the Oxbow Herald, which he keeps
in a plastic covering in a manila
envelope.
“I drink very little, I hunt somewhat
and I don’t go coffeeing. I keep history
books,” said Bartolf about his
hobby.
FARM LIVING
Everything you want to know
about Oxbow — and more
Don’t be afraid to ask historian Michael Bartolf, who has
been gathering and indexing information for decades
Documenting the history of Oxbow,
Sask., is a passion for Michael
Bartolf. | CHRISTALEE FROESE PHOTO
To our Customers & Friends,
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Joyous Holiday Season.
Saskatoon Truck
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CLOSED THE WEEK OF DEC. 24-JAN. 2
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Taber Constituency Offi ce 1-888-600-6080
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THE WESTERN PRODUCER | WWW.PRODUCER.COM | DECEMBER 13, 2012
Ted Menzies, M.P.
Season’s Greetings
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happy holiday.
Merry Christmas!
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good health and happiness in the New Year.
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