MOSSBANK — The apple pie day tradition continued in Mossbank this year.
Every year on the third Wednesday in August the community bands together, baking apple pies with fruit from local trees for the event.
For the second consecutive year yields from local apple trees were poor.
In fact Cheryiln Nagel, one of the organizers, described the apple crop as terrible.
“They fell from the tree. The texture wasn’t good. The taste wasn’t right.”
Still community members baked apple pies and residents came in good numbers for afternoon dessert even though harvest was in full swing.
Proceeds from the apple pie day go to the Mossbank and District Museum, which has the only blacksmith shop in Saskatchewan still in its original location.
Museum tours were offered.
The museum board has fundraising challenges ahead of it.
The Founders’ Building, a blue metal building containing most of the exhibits, needs roof repairs.
The bolts in the roof have rusted and let water through. No estimate of the cost is available yet.
“We have to get some money in the bank first,’’ said Nagel.
The museum is asking for donations to help with the roof repair.
Longtime business closes
Longtime Mossbank business, The Bent Nail Cafe, will close by Aug. 30.
Bent Nail vice-president Chris Costley thanked customers and staff in a lengthy Facebook post.
The owners “are going to look at options for adjusting the business model to current economic conditions,” said the post.
Mossbank district has not had a good harvest for years.
A combination of tighter budgets, increased minimum wage and other operating cost increases since Covid-19 made the business unsustainable, he said.
The business is labour-intensive with high waste due to ‘‘in-house made freshly prepared products.’’
The town of about 400 people still has one sit-down food service location.
After years of sitting idle the Mossbank Hotel recently re-opened featuring a family menu in the Mossbank Bar and Grille.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net.
