Today in High Prairie! See what’s happening today in town, celebrity birthdays, local history, world history and your daily horoscope. Please send your birthdays and community events to southpeacenews@hotmail.com and/or spneditor@outlook.com.

What’s Happening Today – May 31, 2023

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. – Story Time at HP Municipal Library (3-5 years)

2 – 3 p.m. – Seniors Drop-In Walks at Kinuso Ag Hall. Come exercise in our hall!

5:30 p.m. – Bingo at Kinuso Ag Hall. Precall at 6:30 p.m., games start at 7 p.m.

7 p.m. – Grouard AA meeting at Brown Building behind Kapawe’no Hall.

7:30 p.m. – Play cards at Joussard Homesteaders Hall, Whist/crib alternate each week.

Today’s Celebrity Birthdays – May 31, 2023

1819 – Walt Whitman, US poet “Leaves of Grass”

1861 – Emily Bissell, Organized first Christmas seal drive

1894 – Fred Allen, Fred Allen Show comedian

1898 – Norman Vincent Peale, US clergyman

1908 – Dominic Ameche, Cocoon actor

1914 – Akira Ifukube, Godzilla film scores

1915 – Barbara Pepper, Green Acres actress

1922 – Denholm Elliott, Raiders of the Lost Ark actor

1930 – Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry actor

1938 – Peter Yarrow, Peter, Paul & Mary singer

1941 – Johnny Paycheck, US singer

1943 – Joe Namath, New York Jet

1943 – Sharon Gless, Cagney & Lacey actress

1943 – Wayne Carson, Always On My Mind singer

1948 – John Bonham, Led Zeppelin drummer

1948 – Mike Edwards, ELO musician

1949 – Steven Kampmann, Newhart actor [Kirk]

1949 – Tom Berenger, Platoon actor

1954 – Vicki Sue Robinson, US singer

1961 – Lea Thompson, Back to the Future actress

1962 – Corey Hart, Sunglasses at Night singer

1962 – Henry “Gizmo” Williams, Edmonton Eskimo

1965 – Brooke Shields, Blue Lagoon actress

1966 – Jeremy Hotz, Canadian stand-up comedian

1971 – Sarah O’Hare, Cosmopolitan model

1986 – Melissa McIntyre, Canadian actress

This Day in Local History – May 31, 2023

May 31, 1915: Mrs. J.W. Cameron closes Grouard’s Royal Hotel and leaves for Peace River.

May 31, 1970: Michael Tomkins, 5, drowns near Big Grassy after finding an old boat and going out onto the lake.

May 31, 1972: HPSD Supt. Fred Dumont announces that E.W. Pratt High School will accept Grade 9 students the following fall.

May 31, 1972: Vanderaegen’s store advertises it is showing a completely restored 1926 Model T Ford.

May 31, 1973: The High Prairie Chamber of Commerce writes High Prairie town council asking that they implement a curfew similar to Slave Lake’s.

May 31, 1986: Louis Rich, 78, of High Prairie, is found drowned in the Heart River. The trike he was riding was also found in the water.

May 31, 1986: High Prairie taekwondo students Daryl Bean, Brian Campbell, Elizabeth Jong and Phillip Rose win four bronze medals at the Battle of Champions Tournament in Edmonton.

May 31, 1986: Julie Eriksson wins a bronze medal in junior girl’s yellow belt at the Alberta Judo Championships.

May 31, 1986: Brian Pardell qualifies for provincials after placing second in the men’s intermediate high jump at the Peace Regional track and field meet in Grande Prairie.

May 31, 1988: Wapiti Aviation shuts down service into High Prairie.

May 31, 1988: Elvin Clouston, a first-year golfer, uses a seven-iron to ace the ninth hole at the High Prairie Golf Course. Claudette Martinson also aces the ninth hole but refuses to have her photo taken.

May 31, 1989: South Peace News reports that E.W. Pratt High School students Kerry Cunningham, Paticia Blonsky, Jodi Goodrich, Nicole Lemay, Chad Haggerty, Wade Prpich and Joe Quartly qualify for the Northern Regional track and field meet in Fort McMurray.

May 31, 1992: The High Prairie 86’ers defeat the Peavine Rangers 5-1 to win $700 and the title at a fastball tournament in High Prairie.

May 31, 2000: South Peace News wins three Alberta Weekly Newspapers’ Association awards including second in General Excellence, Editorial and Sports Pages.

May 31, 2000: South Peace News reports that Mary Goede-Kohn and John Goede both receive awards for their service to the developmentally disabled in the Northwest Alberta region.

May 31, 2000: The High Prairie Bad Boys push their Wheatbelt Baseball League record to a perfect 5-0-0 after defeating the visiting Peace River Ruel Brothers 9-5.

May 31, 2001: High Prairie Elementary School is awarded a $200 prize for winning the 2001 ‘Eggs’travaganza contest. Teresa Trueman’s class enters the contest and comes closest to guessing how much weight their four eggs and a board support.

May 31, 2001: Tim Gordey, Linsay Willier and Cody Noskey all break records at the Prairie River Junior High School track and field meet.

This Day in World History – May 31, 2023

1223 – Mongol armies of Genghis Khan defeat Kievan Rus and Cumans.

1578 – Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England, to Canada.

1621 – Sir Francis Bacon imprisoned in the Tower of London for 1 night.

1759 – The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theatre productions.

1868 – Dr. James Moore [UK] wins first recorded bicycle race.

1870 – E.J. DeSemdt patents asphalt pavement.

1879 – First electric railway opens at Berlin Trades Exposition.

1879 – Madison Square Garden opens in New York.

1884 – Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patents “flaked cereal”.

1891 – Work on Trans-Siberian railway begins.

1893 – Whitcomb Judson patents a hookless fastening [zipper].

1900 – US troops arrive in Beijing, help put down Boxer Rebellion.

1902 – Boer War Ends; Treaty of Unity signed, Britain annexes Transvaal.

1910 – Union of South Africa declares its independence from UK.

1911 – RMS Titanic launched in Belfast.

1924 – China recognizes the USSR.

1928 – First aerial crossing of Pacific takes off from Oakland.

1937 – First quadruplets to finish college [Baylor University].

1943 – “Archie” comic strip first broadcast on radio.

1969 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono record “Give Peace a Chance”.

1970 – Earthquake off coast of Peru sets off world’s deadliest avalanche.

1975 – Fred Newman makes 12,874 baskets in a one-day exhibition.

1976 – The Who sets record for loudest concert of all time, 120 decibels.

1977 – Trans-Alaska oil pipeline completed.

1992 – Final episode of US comedy series “Night Court” airs on NBC-TV.

1997 – Confederation Bridge opens, linking PEI with mainland New Brunswick.

2005 – Mark Felt [Deep Throat – Watergate] revealed in Vanity Fair article.

2012 – Egypt formally ends its 31-year state of emergency.

2014 – Psy’s “Gangnam Style” is first video to 2 billion views on YouTube.

2018 – Danish government bans garments that cover the face.

2018 – Uganda’s parliament imposes tax on social media to stop gossip.

Today’s Horoscopes – May 31, 2023

Aries [March 21 – April 20] – The day is likely to be confrontational. The latest developments in your career have offered you so little encouragement you are tempted to cut back on your efforts, but your financial situation is forcing you to try even harder. The flashes of insight you gain today are only likely to increase your discomfort, but in the end they will provide some valuable information.

Taurus [April 21 – May 21] – You are likely to experience a day of thoughtfulness and reflection. Your state of mind will resemble that of a person who has just rebelled against everything and is now in search of a new vehicle for self-fulfillment. Others seem to be trying to exert pressure on you. Will you yield or will you listen to your inner voice? You will know the answer by the end of the day!

Gemini [May 22 – June 21] – The day may give you great insight into the decisions you face concerning your future. Now is the time to decide on your priorities. Do you want a career right away or would you prefer to continue your studies? Are you satisfied with your love life and family relationships? It is possible a major upheaval in one of these realms will affect all the others. It will be interesting!

Cancer [June 22 – July 22] – Prepare for a somewhat stressful day. Your family life may be marred by some disagreements. There is some likelihood you will feel as though your territory is being invaded and your range of action limited. But you have no intention of surrendering. You have a right to a room of your own. You will fight for it tooth and nail!

Leo [July 23 – Aug. 23] – You may have planned to isolate yourself in order to get things done, but that will not be possible. It is like a force is destabilizing your professional life. Nothing seems to go right today. Everyone may be disagreeing, misunderstandings may crop up, things could be delayed, and communications are likely to be scrambled. You will be asked to take sides in a conflict. Try to stay neutral.

Virgo [Aug. 24 – Sept. 22] – People seem fussy about your way of doing things today. Try as you might, it seems there is no pleasing the authorities. You, one of the world’s great escape artists, would be well advised to choose this opportunity to do a vanishing act. However, if the financial health of your home is at stake, it would be better to stay and face the music.

Libra [Sept. 23 – Oct. 23] – Your characteristic independence may play some tricks on you today. What you say will not be approved of as easily as usual. Even though you have quite a bit of freedom, there are others who assume you feel you do not have enough. There is no way to please everybody. This concern is their problem, not yours. Do the people you associate with daily really understand who you are?

Scorpio [Oct. 24 – Nov. 22] – Here is a day that may make you think you are not exactly in the right place in your profession. Could it be your current position is too traditional? You are someone who wants to expand on all the ideas you have at any given moment. It would seem that your superiors are not evolving in the same way. If this is the case, take the necessary action.

Sagittarius [Nov. 23 – Dec. 21] – Some past stories may come back to haunt you today. If you once held a government post, for example, a journalist could undercover some error you made years ago and publish it in today’s newspaper! Everyone has to deal with the jealousy of others at some point in their lives. So prepare yourself and fight back!

Capricorn [Dec. 22 – Jan. 20] – You may be taking stock of your professional life. If this is so, be careful to balance strategy with personal objectives. If you are a journalist, think about writing for yourself as well as the paper. You could write novels, poetry, or plays. It does not matter what you create so long as it accurately reflects what you feel and is quite apart from your professional life.

Aquarius [Jan. 21 – Feb. 18] – Something strange may happen today. Someone in your family may reproach you for having chosen your profession. It may be your career has little connection with what people have traditionally done in your family. But just because a tradition is lost does not mean it must be mourned. Listen to your heart. If you have chosen a profession you are truly meant for, you will know it.

Pisces [Feb. 19 – March 20] – Authorities who have been your guides up to now may confront you. The hour is here to set aside your fears and lead yourself along your path. This is undoubtedly a very positive state of affairs. It means you are maturing. Besides, there is nothing to stop you from asking for help from time to time, should you need it.