Yorkton Stories

Dick DeRyk

A podcast hosted by Dick DeRyk about people and events, past and present, in Yorkton, Saskatchewan Canada. It is presented by Harvest Meats and Grain Millers Canada, and supported by Miccar Group of Companies, BakerTilly and Drs. Popick and Caines and associates, optometrists, all in Yorkton.

  1. May 6

    She was Canada's first female plumber

    When Linda Cymbalisty married Joe Skomorowski, they set their sights on leaving Winnipeg and setting up their own plumbing shop in a rural town. And that included quitting university and becoming a plumber herself! As it turned out, that was easier said than done – much, much easier said than done. She was far ahead of her time, and ran into  major roadblocks with educators, and even with the plumbers union.  But she was not a quitter. She knew what she wanted, and would not, did not give up. They attained their goal, set up shop in Norquay, Saskatchewan, and are now retired in Yorkton. Text us your comment

    27 min

  2. Apr 10

    The long forgotten Terrier junior hockey team

    In 1997 Gene Krepekavich, the longtime Yorkton Terrier booster, volunteer and club president for six seasons published the history of the first 25 years of the junior Terriers hockey team. It starts with the 1972-73 season.  But what few, if any, remembered then and now, and what is not recorded in recent official histories of junior hockey in Yorkton, is an earlier team, also known as the Yorkton Terriers, which also played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. It played one season, 1955-56, and hosted that season's SJHL all-star game. It was managed and coached by Bill Hunter -- THE Bill Hunter of World Hockey Association and Edmonton Oiler fame which came a decade later. On it was one player who still lives in Yorkton, Merve Kuryluk. He was 18 at the time and on his way up the hockey ranks. It was covered for CJGX Radio by a rookie reporter, also 18 years of age, Linus Westberg. We talked with both of them 70 years later, and listen in on interviews Linus did with hockey and media luminaries who attended the game, and the preceding dinner at the Yorkton Hotel. Text us your comment

    54 min

  3. Mar 2

    Snowarama started as a bumpy ride in a highway ditch

    A local fundraiser that started in a snowy highway ditch has grown into an event that refuses to slow down, and now includes wheeled riders in the desert.  We follow the history of Yorkton’s Snowarama from a 1977 ride sparked by the pro wrestler "Whipper" Billy Watson to a multi‑chapter effort that supports SaskAbilities programs including Camp Easter Seal, the summer fun program, and adaptive technology services that enhance the lives of clients with various challenges.  A number of those who built and grew the event talk about why they did what they did, and still do! Founders, fundraisers, and next‑gen riders share how Yorkton's Snowarama kept growing while those in Regina and Saskatoon didn't make it into this century. Text us your comment

    59 min

  4. Feb 4

    Duval Lang: High school football to professional live theatre

    Duval Lang, known to many as Duve, has been immersed in Calgary live theatre for 46 years now. He ended up there for university, and has called it home ever since, other than when he travelled the world as an actor. But in Yorkton, in the 1960s, he was one of the players on a provincial high school championship football team, representing Yorkton Collegiate Institute; not a big guy to be playing on the line, but fast and pesky for the opposition to deal with.  His dad, Elmer Lang, owned a plumbing business among various endeavours, and was involved in baseball, hockey and curling in the city; his mother Meta volunteered for many community organizations, including the Yorkton Arts Centre and its art gallery. We talked about his life in Yorkton as a youth, and his long and well-recognized, rewarded and rewarding career in live theatre. Text us your comment

    45 min

  5. Jan 8

    Ruth Shaw: her story and the stories she wrote

    To the many newer residents of Yorkton, the name Ruth Shaw likely isn’t recognizable. But to those who lived here in the latter half of the previous century, the name, and the woman who bore that name, was an unassuming but powerful force and voice in helping the province and beyond know about Yorkton through at least three major roles she played in the city. For 16 years she was the reporter and bureau manager of the Regina Leader-Post, a job she took over from her husband when Cliff died unexpectedly at an early age. She was then the manager of the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce for 22 years.  During all that time, she was an active promoter of Yorkton events, and was involved in the formation of the Yorkton Arts Council and the Yorkton Film Society, which became the Yorkton Film Festival. In retirement when she was in her 80s, she learned to use a computer and wrote 113 historical vignettes, recalling Yorkton happenings and people. Text us your comment

    42 min

  6. 12/16/2025

    Five Yorkton teens: the road from here to elected office

    They were typical teenage boys when they lived in Yorkton in the 1970s, 80s, and into the early 90s. They came from different backgrounds, attended school here, took part in a variety of activities, pursued different goals, and left when they completed high school, four ending up in Alberta and one in Saskatoon. A common factor for these five young men from Yorkton is that they ended up at higher levels of politics – three are now members of Parliament, one was an Alberta cabinet minister, one is an Alberta cabinet minister. All of them represent conservative parties, although they were definitely exposed to a wider range of political views back then, as is inevitable when we’re talking about Saskatchewan.  They are Members of Parliament John Barlow, Brad Redekopp and Burton Bailey, as well as Alberta MLA and cabinet minister Searle Turton, and former Alberta MLA and cabinet minister Dave Rodney. We agreed, from the start, that this podcast would not be about partisan political issues. Instead, we talked about their youth in Yorkton, their influences in life, and their views of how politics happens today.  Text us your comment

    57 min

  7. 11/20/2025

    About Dan the Storyman, Poetree and Friends, and ultra running

    Dan Calef was, and sometimes still is, Dan the Storyman, known locally as the story-telling head of the Yorkton public library from 1983 to 1999. He looked after story time for kids, and told stories on local television in a show that ended up being shown nationally, and then also on American television. We turn the tables on him in this podcast by telling his story.  Here in Yorkton, he was also regularly seen to be running on the streets of Yorkton, easily recognizable by his long-ish hair and beard and his steady gait. Dan wasn’t just jogging. Less well-known than the story telling and the local running was the fact he took part in marathons in Canada and the United States, as well as what is known as ultra running – 100 kilometre runs, and events to see how far one could make it in 24 hours of continuous running. We sat down with Dan and asked him to tell us the story of Dan the Storyman. But obviously his story is not complete without also taking a much closer look at the television show in which he appeared for five years, a local CICC/CTV production called Poetree and Friends. Taking it one step further, any story about Poetree would not be complete without others who were closely involved: the show's producer Greg Popowich, and writers and puppeteers Debbie Hayward and Joyce Bagley. We talked with Greg, and thanks to Saskatoon-based actor Kevin Power, we were able to use audio clips from episode 92 of his podcast, SaskScapes, which prominently featured Debbie and Joyce. Text us your comment

    36 min

  8. 10/18/2025

    Food security and 15 tons of potatoes

    In the summer and fall of 2025, several factors came together, one of them out of the blue, to tackle and do more about hunger and food insecurity in Yorkton. The first was in early summer when the city of Yorkton hired a barriers to access co-ordinator, someone who was tasked with helping to set up local committees to address various barriers in the community. There was already a social housing committee dealing with homelessness and housing, but other needs and opportunities were identified, including food security. What was definitely not anticipated by the group as it was getting its feet wet, was an email received by the Yorkton Community Fridge on August 13, 2025 from Second Harvest, a national food rescue and redistribution organization.  It asked if Yorkton would like to receive potatoes – 15 tons of unwashed, Burbank Russets. The committee agreed to take on the opportunity, and the associated challenge of distributing that many potatoes. Text us your comment

    32 min
See All (44)

About

A podcast hosted by Dick DeRyk about people and events, past and present, in Yorkton, Saskatchewan Canada. It is presented by Harvest Meats and Grain Millers Canada, and supported by Miccar Group of Companies, BakerTilly and Drs. Popick and Caines and associates, optometrists, all in Yorkton.

Information

  • Creator
    Dick DeRyk
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Yorkton Stories
  • Show Website
    Yorkton Stories