Although the R.M. of Moose Range No. 486 was incorporated in 1916, settlement of this area had commenced as early as 1910 when a few pioneers crossed the Carrot River and settled along the north bank of this stream.
The name “Moose Range”, was adopted at the first council meeting held on December 16, 1916, and was eventually approved by the Department of Municipal Affairs. The choice of this name is evident, and the majestic moose is still very much “Lord of the Forest” in this area.
At the incorporation the municipality consisted of only six townships, but nearly all of the settled area at the time was located in township 49, range 11 and 12. Due to the small size of the new municipality there were only three members on council the Reeve G.W. Valleau, and Councillors, H.L. Jones and C. Shoberg.
At this first meeting H.A. Farnsworth was appointed Secretary-Treasurer at an annual salary of $50.00. E.A. McShannock was auditor at a fee of $10.00. Taxes in those first years averaged around $20.00 per quarter section. The first bank borrowings were authorized in the amount of $75.00 to meet current expenditures. The municipality did its banking with the Bank of Ottawa at Tisdale.
There have not been many administrators during the sixty seven years existence of the municipality – only seven. The first secretary treasurer was H.A. Farnsworth, who stayed until 1918, followed by A.P. Bigelow who stayed for only fine months and was succeeded by his brother, H.M. Bilgelow. H.M. Bigelow acted until January 1920, when Farnak G. Petrie was appointed. Mr. Petrie was secretary-treasurer until April 1935, and resigned at that time when it was decided to move the office from his farm to the new hamlet of Carrot River. Mr. Petrie converted a granary into on office on his farm on NW 09-49-12 W2 and this served admirably until the settlement and growth indicated the move to a more central part of the municipality.
Prior to the move to Mr. Petrie’s farm the books and records were kept at the homes of the secretaries.
When it was decided to move the office to Carrot River in 1935, a one-room building was erected on the site which is presently occupied by D.B.N. Service. The counter, chairs and table were homemade from rough lumber. A barrel stove was used for heating. The only equipment was on old Imperial typewriter. A gas lamp was used for lighting. In 1949 the R.M. and the Town of Carrot River cooperated in the construction of a new building to accommodate both offices, with a joint council chamber. The building was erected on the area east of the present Bank of Nova Scotia. It also provided office space for rent and at one time, there was the doctor’s office, a dentist, a lawyer, a photographer, the C & D office as well as the library. Eventually it became necessary to carry out major renovations and repairs to the building or replace it. The final decision was for Town and the R.M. to build their own facilities. The result was the handsome building erected in 1989 at the south end of Main Street. The Town erected a fine modern building on Main Street which originally housed the Royal Bank, the Library and the Recreation Director’s office. Now Casper’s Early Learning Co-op Centre has taken the place of the Royal Bank.
Mr. Petrie was succeeded by J.T.B Taylor, who stayed until September 1938 when E.P. Johnson was appointed. Mr. Johnson retired on June 1978 and Mrs. Margaret H. McDonald became Secretary-Treasurer until she retired in 1987. Mr. Stan Prokopetz followed Mrs. McDonald and he stayed until 1987 at which time he was replaced by Richard C. Colborn. Richard was the administrator until 2016 . He was superseded by Beverly Doerksen, who is the current administrator.
The name “Moose Range”, was adopted at the first council meeting held on December 16, 1916, and was eventually approved by the Department of Municipal Affairs. The choice of this name is evident, and the majestic moose is still very much “Lord of the Forest” in this area.
At the incorporation the municipality consisted of only six townships, but nearly all of the settled area at the time was located in township 49, range 11 and 12. Due to the small size of the new municipality there were only three members on council the Reeve G.W. Valleau, and Councillors, H.L. Jones and C. Shoberg.
At this first meeting H.A. Farnsworth was appointed Secretary-Treasurer at an annual salary of $50.00. E.A. McShannock was auditor at a fee of $10.00. Taxes in those first years averaged around $20.00 per quarter section. The first bank borrowings were authorized in the amount of $75.00 to meet current expenditures. The municipality did its banking with the Bank of Ottawa at Tisdale.
There have not been many administrators during the sixty seven years existence of the municipality – only seven. The first secretary treasurer was H.A. Farnsworth, who stayed until 1918, followed by A.P. Bigelow who stayed for only fine months and was succeeded by his brother, H.M. Bilgelow. H.M. Bigelow acted until January 1920, when Farnak G. Petrie was appointed. Mr. Petrie was secretary-treasurer until April 1935, and resigned at that time when it was decided to move the office from his farm to the new hamlet of Carrot River. Mr. Petrie converted a granary into on office on his farm on NW 09-49-12 W2 and this served admirably until the settlement and growth indicated the move to a more central part of the municipality.
Prior to the move to Mr. Petrie’s farm the books and records were kept at the homes of the secretaries.
When it was decided to move the office to Carrot River in 1935, a one-room building was erected on the site which is presently occupied by D.B.N. Service. The counter, chairs and table were homemade from rough lumber. A barrel stove was used for heating. The only equipment was on old Imperial typewriter. A gas lamp was used for lighting. In 1949 the R.M. and the Town of Carrot River cooperated in the construction of a new building to accommodate both offices, with a joint council chamber. The building was erected on the area east of the present Bank of Nova Scotia. It also provided office space for rent and at one time, there was the doctor’s office, a dentist, a lawyer, a photographer, the C & D office as well as the library. Eventually it became necessary to carry out major renovations and repairs to the building or replace it. The final decision was for Town and the R.M. to build their own facilities. The result was the handsome building erected in 1989 at the south end of Main Street. The Town erected a fine modern building on Main Street which originally housed the Royal Bank, the Library and the Recreation Director’s office. Now Casper’s Early Learning Co-op Centre has taken the place of the Royal Bank.
Mr. Petrie was succeeded by J.T.B Taylor, who stayed until September 1938 when E.P. Johnson was appointed. Mr. Johnson retired on June 1978 and Mrs. Margaret H. McDonald became Secretary-Treasurer until she retired in 1987. Mr. Stan Prokopetz followed Mrs. McDonald and he stayed until 1987 at which time he was replaced by Richard C. Colborn. Richard was the administrator until 2016 . He was superseded by Beverly Doerksen, who is the current administrator.
List of Reeves |
List of Administrators |
|
Name Years of Service(In order of service)
Valleau, G.W. 1916-1921 Fitzgerald, C.W. 1922-1928, 1930 Gessner, A.J. 1929 Bell, John 1931 Pomeroy, W. 1932-1933 McGregor, W.B. 1934 Norrish, W.G.H. 1935-1938, 1950 Nelson, H.V. 1939-1940 Murray, R. 1941 Witherow, H. 1942-1949 Radke, W. 1951 Ruda, Frank 1952-1958 Hill, W.H. 1959-1964 Adelman, C. 1964-1974 Sauder, H.D. 1975-1976, 1979-1984 Rudy, P.M. 1977-1978, 1985-1986 Alton, Ron 1987-1990 Novogrodski, S.H. 1991-2004 Stevenson, J.A. 2005-2006 Enns, H.C. 2007-2010 Mazurek, R. 2011-2014 Charko, B. 2014-2016 Wolowski, W. 2017-Current |
Name Years of Service(In order of service)
Farnsworth, H. A. 1916-1917 Bigelow, A.P. 1918(Jan-Mar) Bigelow, H. M. 1918-1920 Petrie, F. 1920-1935 Taylor, J.T.B. 1936-1938 Johnson, E.P. 1938-1978 McDonald, M. 1978-1985 Prokopetz, S. 1985-1987 Colborn, R. 1987-2016 Doerksen, B. 2016-Current |