Mossbank's youth - coming home?

In the last five years Saskatchewan has experienced economic growth that leads the country. This has however caused problems for many small towns like Mossbank that may find their dot on the map erased sometime in the near future.

            While the economic prosperity has helped develop some areas of Saskatchewan, young people are drawn to bigger centres in the province, weakening the economy of small towns they leave behind.

According to the 2006 census, well over half of Mossbank’s residents are 45 years of age or older and only one-quarter of the town is in the age range from 20 to 45. From 2001 till 2006 the town has had a decline in population of about 13 percent, from 379 to 320. It has since risen to nearly 500, according to health region statistics, but the town still struggles to maintain services.

            Carl Weiss, the mayor of Mossbank, said that his town has seen first-hand the economic consequences of the boom.

            “There’s nothing here for them (young people) and they like to work, they like to drive trucks and cars and have the odd beer and they like to be employed” he said. “Right now all of our young guys are all there (on the oil fields) and they’re making nothing but money, but the unfortunate thing about that is that they’re not spending too much here.”

            Weiss said that it was important for young people to support the town. When they are gone they can’t.

            “Keep kids in school, support the rink, support the bar, and support everything really. It doesn’t have to be a hundred per cent support really, just some support, as long as there’s support that comes from them. Now we don’t have them at all, it’s all gone.”

            Mossbank resident Audrey Tate’s grandson moved away to attend the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Much of his graduating class did the same.

            “There were nine in Robert's graduating class and there are I think two of them around here so they chose not to go to university and the rest of them went.”

            Tate added that there isn’t enough opportunity for these young people. “Once you go to university what are you coming back to Mossbank with? What are you going to do with that education in a small town? There isn’t anything,” she said.

            She feels that to live in Mossbank, young people have to create their own opportunities.

            Seventeen-year-old Grade 11 student Carson Kowalski was born and raised in Mossbank. He plans on creating his own opportunities in Mossbank after high school.

            “My brother owns a concrete company he just started up the last couple of weeks, and I’ve been working for Bear Concrete out of Moose Jaw for the last three years,” he said.

Kowalski want to use his experience to one day start his own concrete company. He prefers to live in a small town.

            “It’s free roam. You can do whatever you want, really. The people are nice,” he said.

            However Kowalski added that because of the location many of his classmates will choose to leave.

            “All our young people are moving away but there are no jobs here really. The only way you can live here is if you drive to the city and work,” he said.

            While Mossbank may have difficulty keeping younger people, Tate said it’s still a great retirement destination.

            “People retire out here because it’s close to the city. I can be in Regina in an hour-and-a-half and I have other children there so I commute back and forth quite a lot. Moose Jaw is only 45 miles away and that’s nothing in this day and age.”

            Towns like Mossbank are trying to benefit from the boom. They are trying to find ways to keep their young people, but for now they may have to wait a little while before they younger generation comes back.     

By Martin Weaver      

Photo credit Nathan Frank