As we continued northwest on our Saskatchewan road trip, we arrived at the prairie town of Biggar, population 2161.
We had passed this sign several times over the years, and were always amused by the creativity in the wording.
This time, we made a stop for me to get the photo and to check out some of Biggar’s history. I liked how the colourful sign stood out against the azure sky.
According to information in the local museum, the slogan was created in 1914 by a survey crew who painted it onto a town sign as a drunken prank. The graffiti stayed in place until 1954 when it was adopted as the official town slogan.
Biggar is the hometown town of Sandra Schmirler, a gold medal winner in the 1998 Winter Olympics and three time world champion in the sport of curling. You’re not a true Saskatchewanian if you’ve never heard of “Schmirler the Curler”, as she was fondly referred to.
Avid hunters will know that Biggar is where the world record white-tail typical buck was taken in 1993 by Milo Hansen.
“This country is made up of small towns and big dreams”
Brian Mulroney ,18th Prime Minister of Canada
Radically Retired 
I like the colorful sign against the blue sky, too. The slogan on the sign reminds me of a small sign my dad had in his “shop” when I was growing up. My dad’s name was Rich (well, really it was Otho, but he went by Rich. He had no middle name. Sorry, I digress!) Anyway, the sign said, “If you’re so smart, why ain’t you Rich?” The type of humor seems the same to me. 🙂
I’ve never heard of Schmirler the Curler or even of Biggar. Now I have!
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I like your Dad’s slogan sign too! Although it’s none of my business, I’m curious as to how his given name became “Rich”. In my hometown everyone had a nickname and it was fun learning about how many of them came to be. I’m happy you learned something new about Saskatchewan. Just imagine how knowledgeable you’ll be if Saskatchewan trivia is ever a topic of conversation in your travels 😉 Thanks for reading and commenting, Betty! Enjoy your Tuesday evening!
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I don’t mind you asking at all! His last name was “Richmeyer”, so that’s how he became “Rich.” What’s odd is that when he was born, the doctor didn’t bother to check the spelling of his last name. So, he spelled it as it sounded rather than how his family spelled it which was a more German spelling. And no middle name was given!
I am glad to be learning about Saskatchewan. I believe learning something is never a waste – life is enhanced in some way either now or in the future or maybe even both.
Hope you have a nice evening, too!
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So interesting! My Grandpa immigrated to Canada from Germany with his mother and 8 siblings when my Grandpa was 16 years old. They were Swiss but their father had moved to Germany for work. Each immigration officer spelled the surname the way he/she thought it sounded. Consequently, my Grandpa and many of his siblings have different spellings of their surnames. They believed they had to keep the spelling that was documented in their immigration records.
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I guess the correct spelling of last names wasn’t considered to be very important! My dad kept the doctor’s spelling of his last name. I’d guess there are many families with similar incidents.
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