“Is there anybody here from Moose Jaw?” — anyone who remembers the production, Year of the Moose presented as part of the city’s settlement anniversary in 1982?
That historical “melodious moosical” was co-written by Ken Mitchell, Barbara Sapergia and Geoffrey Ursell, a trio with astonishing literary talent and better yet, with Moose Jaw roots. It was those Moose Jaw roots that made the play, Year of the Moose, the perfect celebratory moment of the community’s celebrations. It went on stage Nov. 17-20 that year, under the direction of Lyle Johnson and featuring Peacock Players.
Memories of the play came quickly after reading Geoffrey Ursell’s death notice. He passed away Feb. 21, a month shy of his 78th birthday. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Sapergia, several siblings and a provincial writing community that held him in awe for his many successes as playwright, novelist, poet, short story author, and prolific songwriter. Many of his songs showed up in his musical productions, including Year of the Moose.
Some of the songs from Year of the Moose included Edgar Dewdney, The Promised Land, The Capital Rag, Strolling Around Down in Moose Jaw, Temple Gardens, Loganberry Wine, Mickey Mackey and of course, Is There Anybody Here From Moose Jaw? Music was arranged by Rob Bryanton.
Ursell joined forces with Robert Currie, the late Gary Hyland and Barbara Sapergia to co-found Coteau Books, leading it to become one of the leading publishing houses in Western Canada. Because of ill health he retired from Coteau Books in 2013 after 38 years.
Condolences are sent to Barbara Sapergia and other family members. Geoffrey will be remembered fondly for his creativity and talent, and for his ability to retain his Moose Jaw roots.
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Mayor of Moose Jaw in 1982 was Louis (Scoop) Harrington Lewry who was also chairman of the Moose Jaw 100 Committee.
In his Year of the Moose program message, Scoop had this to say: “This presentation, written by three ‘displaced’ Moose Jaw writers, Ken Mitchell, Barbara Sapergia and Geoffrey Ursell, will literally go down in history as part of Moose Jaw’s heritage.
“Down through the years many people around the world have poked fun at our ‘funny’ name, and it’s only during the past few years that we have been able to take advantage of these connotations of derision by using them to our advantage.
“Now if we would only get our own people to get used to being called Moosochapisanippians!”
The role of Scoop in Year of the Moose was played by George Loucks.
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Louis Lewry was born April 16, 1919 and passed away Feb. 25, 1992 after serving his city and beyond in a variety of political and community roles. He was elected as an alderman in 1948 and then served as mayor from 1950-1956. In 1957 he was elected as CCF Member of Parliament for Moose Jaw Lake Centre but lost his post the next year to J. Ernest Pascoe. He returned as mayor from 1965-1970 and again for six years in the 1980s. He received the Order of Canada in 1980.
Scoop took every opportunity to promote the City of Moose Jaw, was well-known for always having wooden nickels in his pocket to hand out to citizens and visitors, always answered every phone call, sent personalized letters to citizens for special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries, and usually on weekends attended as many such celebrations as possible.
His legacy of community service continues to be recognized through the Scoop Lewry Award which is presented through the Municipalities of Saskatchewan (formerly Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association-SUMA).
The award recognizes outstanding service in municipal government or administration on a local, provincial or national basis. Scoop was president of SUMA from 1956-57 and first vice-president in 1975. The award is not necessarily presented every year.
This year’s winner, announced at the virtual conference, was Malcolm Eaton, former mayor and councillor in Humboldt. The award was not presented in 2019 or 2020. In 2018 the award went to Debra Button of Weyburn.
Without a doubt Scoop would already have a committee put together to plan a party in 2022 for the 140th anniversary of Moose Jaw’s settlement, or at least a committee to plan celebrations for the 120th anniversary of Moose Jaw’s incorporation as a city in 2023.
Perhaps an updated reprise of Year of the Moose would be a suitable celebration for either or both occasions.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
