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Mozart & Area
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Mozart is located south of the Quill Lakes. Population of the hamlet is about 35. There are great birding opportunities at the Ducks Unlimited Little Quill Restriction/Campbell Site, located 6.4 km north of town. Mozart is named after the great Austrian musician, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The streets here are also named after classical musicians and the street signs have musical notes on them. Mozart, Saskatchewan is well known in the stamp collecting world, envelopes bearing the Mozart postmark and the special Mozart postmaster’s stamp are highly valued. This is what former postmaster Jean Halldorson had to say about her town and what the stamp collectors were interested in.
Mozart, Saskatchewan 2006 This tiny community is located in the East-Central part of the province, halfway between Saskatoon and Yorkton, on Highway # 16 - The Yellowhead. This is a predominately mixed-farming area with spring wheat, barley, flax, canola and field peas being the main crops. Livestock enterprises consist of cattle, hogs and a few bison and elk ventures. Cultural origins are mainly Icelandic, Ukrainian and Aboriginal First Nations. Mozart's population has shrunk from appox. 70 people in the 1970's to the present count of 25 people. The town still has a Co-op general store that offers grocery, hardware, agricultural supplies and fuel to farms and families in this area. Elfros-Mozart Credit Union is open 3 days/week in this location. Social and recreational activities take place in the Mozart Centennial Hall. It hosts weddings, funerals, meetings and dances. A community gym on the lower level is available to interested community members. In 1991, the hall hosted the Regina Symphony's "Mozart in Mozart" concert. The grain elevators that were once synonymous with the prairie landscape were withdrawn from service in 2000 and demolished in Aug., 2001. The post office in Mozart was relocated into the Credit Union building in 1981. There are presently 52 postal boxes being utilized. Self-addressed, stamped envelopes sent to Postmaster Jean Halldorson by philatelists and music-lovers, receive the collectable postmark and postmaster's cachet. Postcards featuring an artist's drawing of a former post office are also available for a cost of $ .50.
Jan. 27, 2006 marked the 250th birthday of W. A. Mozart, the much-loved Austrian composer. For the 23 years that Jean Halldorson has been the postmaster in the namesake-town of Mozart, Sask., philatelic collectors and music-lovers, alike, have requested the unique "marks" of that post office. The postmaster's mark, a "cachet", and the steel hammer-cancel were first collected in the 1970's after the community's special relationship to the composer was identified by an American philatelist who chose "Mozart" as a theme in his own collection. Jean "retired" her first cachet in Dec., 1991 after celebrating the bicentennial of Mozart's death with the Regina Symphony's performance of "Mozart in Mozart." Now, Jean's second cachet, and the post office's pictorial cancellation introduced April, 2004, are the marks sought by enthusiasts from all over the world.
In excess of 1,000 cards and letters received careful attention for the January birthday. Each was handled 3 to 5 times to properly apply and dry the separately inked marks. (position and clarity are essential for serious collectors.) SASE for these requests generate revenue for CPC elsewhere, but locally purchased stamps and IRC's contribute to Mozart's post office revenue
The following stories were reprinted
with permission MOZART by Thor Arnason, assisted by William Johnson and Dan Nupdal Mozart came into being April 1, 1909 when the railway came through. C.P.R. engineers, who stayed at the Lund farm near Mozart, gave Julia Lund the honor of naming the town site. She chose Mozart after the famous Austrian composer and named the five streets Schubert, Haydn, Wagner, Liszt, and Gounod, also all named for composers. T.S. Laxdal, who had the Gardar Post Office and General Store, opened the first Post Office in Mozart in April of 1909, where he remained as Postmaster for several years. Construction followed rapidly and several businesses began. Some of the early businesses were Barker's Hardware, Laxdal and Johnson General Merchant, Kiest Confectionery, Beggley Pool Room and Barber Shop, Paul Paulson – Blacksmith, P.N. Johnson – Lumber Yard, Pete Backlund – Hardware, Billy Boyce – John Deere Agency, Oli Olafson – Massey Harris, Laurie Johnson – International, and C.W. Johnson – John Deere, then the Hardware store and Cockshut agency, Finnson and Budal – General Merchants, H.B. Grimson – Post Office and Confectionary, Olaf Lund – Livery Stable. The Bank of Montreal of Wynyard came once a week for people to do their banking. Later some of the businesses in town were: Bill Arnason, Rosansuag, Waldmans, A. Isfeld, Hogie, B. Paulson, Matt Pawchuk and Bashutski – all general merchants; Joe Sigurdson – Butcher Shop; S. Laxdal – Red and White Store; later H.B. Hanson, G. Grimson – Hardware; Turner's garage; E.W. Johnson, Ingi Grimson, Oscar Hallgrimson, and Mike Miller – all operated a garage in Mozart. Draymen in town, while all freight came in by train, included John Swinbernson, Steve Nupdal, Charlie Johnson, and Tom Storey. Bill Toy had the first cafe in Mozart and was an ardent fan of the Mozart ball team. He owned two cars which he never drove himself, but got somebody else to drive so that he could go to different sports days where the team was playing. Another cafe and rooming house was operated for many years by Joe Wong and later by B. Fredricks. Barber Shop and Pool room were operated by Joe Sturlagson, Oli Paulson, and Steve Stephanson. Mozart once had four elevators; Co-Op, National, Federal, and Victoria. Some of the agents were Hans Jorgenson, Pete Johnson, Oscar Johnson, Laurie Johnson, V. Haldorson, G. Grimson, Fusi Hallgrimson, Rusty Lanigan, Sam Austman, Kristjanson, Ole Olafson, Barney Johnson, J. Grimson, H.M. Gudmundson, M. Osachuk, H. Essor, D. Hopko, and D. Weinhandl. Section Foremen were Nick Hrynkiw and H. Stackiw. Station agents were Dan King, Langlois, A. Burgess, A. Pierce, F. Woods, Knisley, Kruger, and Sam Roberts. There were also many more for short periods of time. Mozart has had its share of fires. In 1914 on June 2 the National Elevator was struck by lightning and burnt to the ground. 1925 saw the garage, pool room, and Bill Toy's Cafe burnt down. Late in about 1929 another fire destroyed the hardware store, post office, and the bank building. In 1970 the garage operated by Mike Miller burnt down. This building originally was the John Deere agency. In April of 1921 the passenger train was derailed a mile and a half east of Mozart with five or six cars leaving the track. There were several injuries reported. Present businesses are Wayne's Radio and T.V., Credit Union, Post Office, Pool Elevator, and the Co-Op. The population is about seventy. In 1961 the hamlet organized and put water into every home in town. Sewer was installed in 1978. A trailer court for four was constructed and has been fully occupied since. After the fire destroyed the Post Office, Jens Eliasson added a room to his home to house the Post Office. Later Oscar Johnson took it over, selling it to Oli Thomasson who had it until he retired. It was then moved to the east end of town by Dick Cottam where it remained until his retirement. Then the Credit Union expanded their building, including space for the Post Office. It was first run by Lorna Weldon and is presently operated by Jean Halldorson. In 1909 the Good Templars built a hall for the district, then sold it to the Ladies Aid Viljinn who ran it until 1965. They gave it to the Mozart Pioneer Recreational Co-Op who sold it and built a new hall on the acreage that the school had been on. In 1952 the community organized and built a curling rink which was a hive of activity for about twenty years. It then was converted to an indoor skating rink for the young people of the area. Even if the hamlet has not grown to any extent over the years, it is still a pleasant, thriving community and a nice place to live.
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