Entertainment
Overview
With all of the time and energy that it took to get all of the farm and housework done, families did not have a lot of time for entertainment. Pioneer families faced hard times, but they found some joy in life through entertainment. Entertainment for the early settlers included socializing, games, special occasions, community picnics, church, and music.
PHOTO CREDIT: WESTERN DEVELOPMENT MUSEUM
Taking a trip to town was an opportunity to socialize.
Children’s Games
At school, children played games like Follow the Leader, Blind Man’s Bluff, Red Rover, Mother May I, and Hide and Seek. They played circle games like Duck-Duck-Goose and Drop the Handkerchief and variations of tag (Freeze Tag, Elbow Tag, Pom-pom-pull Away, and Mr. Wolf).
Kids played games together for entertainment.
Older students played ball, dodge ball, and Ante Over while younger students played hopscotch and jump rope games. When the teacher rang the bell, students rushed to the door of the school and lined up.
Younger kids would play jump rope games.
If the weather kept them indoors, they played I Spy, Simon Says, Seven-Up, Hot or Cold, or Who’s Got the Button. These are just a few of the games they played.
In the winter, children built snow forts or slid down snowbanks. When the yard was covered with freshly fallen snow, a game of Fox and Geese was enjoyed by all.
Kids had a lot of fun playing games during recess at school.
Adult Socializing
Adults were very busy with all the work to be done on the farm and did not have very much time for socializing. When neighbours came for a visit, the adults enjoyed a game of cards, checkers or horseshoes. Going to church and taking a trip to town was an opportunity to socialize with other adults. Any outing that the adults had was their opportunity for socializing.
These neighbours are playing a game of cards.
These women are visiting outside one of their homes.
Three men meeting for a visit.
Special Occasions
Occasions that brought people together were weddings, square dances, box socials, picnics, and school concerts. Work parties called ‘bees’ were organized for building homes, schools, churches, or barn raisings. There were also quilt making and sewing bees for the women. Bees provided a chance to get together with neighbours. After the work was completed, there was often a meal followed by singing or dancing.
PHOTO CREDIT: SASKATCHEWAN HISTORY ALBUM
This couple was married in 1937 in Saskatoon, SK.
Community Picnics
Everyone looked forward to a community picnic. It was a day filled with fun. Picnics would be hosted by families or groups at houses, schools, churches, or other locations where a group of people could gather for the day. Families would arrive wherever the picnic was being held in the morning with their baskets of food.
Baskets were filled with plenty of food to feed families at the picnic.
During the day there were races, ball games, tug-of-war and other contests. Lunch was a time to share food with others. Picnic baskets were filled with plenty of sandwiches, ham, chicken, salads, cakes, pies, and cookies. Then there was singing and maybe even dancing. At the end of the day, everyone got back on their wagons and went home.
Everyone looked forward to a community picnic because it was a day filled with fun for all ages.
Church
Attending church services was one way that people were able to meet their neighbours. It was the church that helped to create a sense of community among the settlers. Before an actual church was built, people would often gather at someone’s home or at the school for church services. The early churches were very cold in the winter with a small stove providing the only heat.
PHOTO CREDIT: WESTERN DEVELOPMENT MUSEUM
This is a church being built in Wolseley, Saskatchewan.
Church helped people settle into their community.
Music
European immigrants brought their musical instruments with them when they came to Canada. Each immigrant group had their own songs and dances.
The violin (fiddle) was one of the most popular instruments because it was small and lightweight. A fiddler played the fiddle and supplied the music for many gatherings where people could enjoy singing and dancing.
Other instruments that were brought by immigrants included the harmonica, button accordion, guitar, banjo, mandolin, plus brass, and woodwind instruments.
This young girl is playing a fiddle.
The French Canadians, Scottish, Métis, and English Canadians had different styles of fiddling. Immigrants from Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, and other areas of Europe had their own fiddling styles.
Many different cultures had violins (fiddles).
The first harmonicas were produced in Germany. The harmonica became popular because of its small size, low cost, and high availability. It was perfect while travelling because it fit in a pocket.
Harmonicas were small enough to fit in a pocket.
Concertinas were similar to accordions and were played by stretching and squeezing the instrument between their hands. The concertinas were produced in England and Germany. Immigrants from England, Germany, and Italy brought the instrument with them. The concertina was played for folk dances and songs.
The accordion was popular with the German, Polish and Czech immigrants for playing waltzes and polkas.
PHOTO CREDIT: SASKATCHEWAN HISTORY ALBUM
This band from 1948 is seen playing a variety of instruments including an accordion, guitar, drums, and trumpets.
German immigrants brought brass and woodwind instruments which were used in German bands. German bands also had concertinas or button accordions for playing dance music including the polka, schottische, and waltz.
The mandolin was popular with Italian immigrants. Mandolins and similar string instruments were brought by immigrants from many countries. The instruments were used for traditional folk and classical music.
PHOTO CREDIT: SASKATCHEWAN HISTORY ALBUM
Many European immigrants learned how to play instruments in their home country.
When immigrants from Scotland came to this country, they brought many of their traditions with them. One of these was the bagpipe. Pipers played bagpipes at weddings, dances, and funerals.
These couples are enjoying themselves dancing and listening to the band play music.
Music was very important to the Métis people. Music and dancing were a part of their social gatherings. The fiddle was the most common instrument. Other instruments were the concertina, harmonica, hand drum, mouth harp, comb, and spoons. A fiddler was often accompanied by someone playing the spoons or drumming on a pan to supply the rhythm. Métis music and dance were influenced by their Scottish, Irish, French and Indigenous roots. Métis dances included the jig, reel, square and round dance.
The fiddle was the most common instrument used by Métis people.
Learn about how important music was to the Métis culture.
