From Dale and Lynn Redekopp
"While searching for the Totzke bridge in the Dana SK area and not lost, but temporarily unsure of our position, as we used to say in the air force, we came across a headstone in a gravel pit. Doing a little research revealed that Stephan Wawryk is in fact interred in the Saint Maurus Catholic cemetery which is located to the southwest of Dana. Why this headstone is located in the gravel pit is a mystery.
We finally located the Totzke bridge. I could find very little information about this bridge other than it spanned the CPR rail line where the CPR had planned a town named Totzke which was never built. This non-existent town was named after an area farmer. The rail line is long gone and the bridge appears to be used for having campfire parties on the bridge and garbage disposal under it. The bridge appears to be structurally sound but there are rumours that the bridge will be dismantled."
A fellow encounters some strange things in life.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
DeleteWow, talk about a lonely headstone. The headstone looks pretty new.
ReplyDeleteYou just never know what you are going to find, although Bandy seems to find interesting things every time out. I would certainly appreciate any more information on either the headstone or the bridge.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is the spot where he died.
ReplyDeleteI think that is a pretty good guess.
ReplyDeleteQuite a difference in design between the modern headstone with his wife at the cemetery and the more traditional monument at the gravel pit.
DeleteI think it is CN that goes through Totzke. The Aberdeen subdivision goes between Humboldt and Duck Lake Junction, and at Totzke there is a junction with the Cudworth Subdivision that headed north toward Cudworth and south toward Neely. The 2014 Street View shows the northward track still in place at that time.
ReplyDeleteHeading north the track is still there, wheatland rail short line. the track heading south from the cn aberdeen line (that went though totzke, where you can still see the elevator, and then under the bridge in these photos) continued south through peterson, meacham, a few sidings before crossing the cp mainline to continue to young saskatchewan. from what i can tell, the colonsay potash mine forced some rerouting of traffic and the line from the mine all the way north to totzke is completely gone, no tracks left, little remnants other than that old bridge.
Delete