Love, Saskatchewan

Love (2016 population: 50) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Torch River No. 488 and Census Division No. 14. The village is northeast of the City of Prince Albert and about 48 km (30 mi) south of Prince Albert National Park boundaries and 16 km (9.9 mi) south of Torch River Provincial Forest.

Love
Village
Village of Love
Love Location of Love Love Love (Canada)
Coordinates: 53°29′9.44″N 104°10′2.94″W
Country	Canada
Province	Saskatchewan
Region	Southeast
Census division	6
Rural Municipality	Torch River No. 488
Post office Founded	1935
Government
• Type	Municipal
• Governing body	Love Village Council
• Mayor	Shelley Vallier
• Administrator	Karly Youzwa
Area
• Total	0.46 km^2 (0.18 sq mi)
Population  (2016)
• Total	50
• Density	108.0/km^2 (280/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−06:00 (CST)
Postal code	S0J 1P0
Area code(s)	306
Highways	Hwy 56
Railways	(Abandoned)
Website	Village of Love
[1][2][3][4]

Love is known for its name and a special postmark, which is a teddy bear holding a heart.[5]

Demographics

Population history
(1981–2016)

Year	Pop.	±%
1981	121	—
1986	127	+5.0%
1991	94	−26.0%
1996	83	−11.7%
2001	71	−14.5%
2006	55	−22.5%
2011	65	+18.2%
2016	50	−23.1%
Source: Statistics Canada via Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics[6][7]

In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Love recorded a population of 50 living in 25 of its 30 total private dwellings, a -30% change from its 2011 population of 65. With a land area of 0.46 km² (0.18 sq mi), it had a population density of 108.7/km² (281.5/sq mi) in 2016.[8]

In the 2011 Census of Population, the Village of Love recorded a population of 65, a 18.2% change from its 2006 population of 55. With a land area of 0.46 km² (0.18 sq mi), it had a population density of 141.3/km² (366.0/sq mi) in 2011.[9]

History

(Information gleaned from the Love history book Love At First Site and interviews with residents.)

In the early years, the village was called Love Siding because of the railroad siding located there. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) had extended its tracks through the area in 1929, building sidings as it moved north and west from Nipawin to White Fox, Love, Garrick and ending in Choiceland. The siding was provided by the CPR for the loading of firewood, pulp, lumber and other forest products, later adding agricultural and dairy products as farming developed.

The village was named after the conductor of the first train to pass through the siding – Tom Love.[10]

Development began in 1934 with the building of a general store by William (Bill) Sears, assisted by Emery Long. In 1935, a Royal Mail Canada post office was established in the store, with Mr. Sears as postmaster.

The first houses were built by Eldon Lamb and Walter and Myrtle Haight and in 1936 Grant and Ray Emery built a general store for Lamb and Earl Johnston who were operating a lumber mill nearby. The population grew as millworkers and lumberjacks moved into the unincorporated community, building homes (usually little more than shacks) for their families. With no official town-site surveyed, the homes were built wherever there was room.

In 1939, the provincial government offered a 35 acres (14 ha) block of land for sale on the east side of the SW‑16‑52‑15‑W2. Because the homeowners wanted title to their property the Love Development Company was formed to tender a successful bid of $1200 ($20,800 today) for the entire block. The land was surveyed into a townsite of organized lots, which were sold at $50, $75 and $100. Anyone who already lived on one of the lots had the option of purchasing it.

Love incorporated as a village on June 2, 1945.[11] In July 1945, at the first council meeting for the Village of Love, it was decided that the village would buy out the remaining unsold assets of the Love Development Company.

More lumber mills located in and around the village, which grew to a peak population of approximately 250 by the 1950s, by which time the local timber was becoming depleted and agriculture had grown considerably.

In its heyday the village had two general stores, a hotel with a beer parlour (bar), a pool hall, a couple of cafes, an insurance office, a couple of gas stations which included general auto repair and a few other businesses catering to people involved in the lumber industry.

As farming grew, a United Grain Growers grain elevator had been built in 1947 for the convenience of the farmers in the area. With the building of the large inland grain terminals on the prairies of the Canadian west, the small grain elevators were no longer needed and most, including the one at Love, were demolished. The CPR discontinued service in about 2002 with the closing of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevator at Choiceland. In 2008, a number of local business people and investors purchased the Nipawin to Choiceland tracks, which now operates as the Torch River Rail.

On Halloween night of 1987 there was a drunken bar brawl which took place at the local bar, The Hillbilly Haven. there was fisticuffs and tomfoolery afoot. The police had to intervene. The famed author, artist and poet Donald Burke was there as a young boy. He wrote about the incident in his New York Times best selling novel When It All Went Down.

The village has received some international recognition due to its unique postmark consisting of a teddy bear holding a heart. People from many parts of the world have sent bundles of wedding invitations to the Love post office to be stamped with the romantically oriented post mark and then forwarded to their final destinations.

Connie Kaldor has written a song about the village, which is the title track of her 2014 album "Love Sask."

See also

• List of communities in Saskatchewan
• List of villages in Saskatchewan

References

1. "2011 Community Profiles". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
2. National Archives, Archivia Net. "Post Offices and Postmasters". Archived from the original on 2006-10-06. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
3. Government of Saskatchewan, MRD Home. "Municipal Directory System". Archived from the original on 2016-01-15. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
4. Commissioner of Canada Elections, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada (2005). "Elections Canada On-line". Archived from the original on 2007-04-21. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
5. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2007/02/14/love-sask.html "Saskatchewan flooded with Love letters", CBC News, February 14, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
6. "Saskatchewan Census Population" (PDF). Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
7. "Saskatchewan Census Population". Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
8. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Saskatchewan)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
9. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses (Saskatchewan)". Statistics Canada. June 3, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
10. "Sask. community finds Love connection". CBC News. February 14, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
11. "Urban Municipality Incorporations". Saskatchewan Ministry of Government Relations. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2020.