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, 2024

10 a.m. – Prayer Shawl knitting at HP St. Mark’s Anglican Church Parish Hall. Everyone welcome!

10 a.m. – Kinuso Seniors Coffee Time at Kinuso Seniors Centre. Ne members welcome.

1:30 p.m. – Enjoy trump & whist games at the HP Golden Age Centre, 4824-53 Ave.

7 – 10 p.m. – Family Dance at McLennan Elks Hall. Admission is by donation.

7:30 p.m. – Darts Night at HP Legion Hall. Come out and enjoy the fun!

7:30 p.m. – High Prairie AA chapter meets at HP Church of the Nazarene.

Today’s Celebrity Birthdays – May 31, 2024

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, 2024

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, 2024

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, 2024

Aries [March 21 – April 20] – Today you are likely focused on sex, romance, and committed relationships. The planetary energies surrounding love are promising. If you are in a relationship, you and your partner could make plans to embark on a new enterprise together, which is likely to succeed. If you are involved but not committed, expect the relationship to move forward now. If you are not with someone, who knows? By the end of the day you might be!

Taurus [April 21 – May 21] – Today you should be glowing with good health, energy, and stamina, and be doing well at work, whether career, volunteer work, or a personal project. Success should come your way on all fronts, particularly since you have been working hard. You are finally likely to see the results of past efforts. Success feeds good health and good health feeds success. Make the most of both!

Gemini [May 22 – June 21] – Love and romance are likely to be tops on your agenda today. You are feeling especially warm and loving now. Current and potential love partners could feel strongly drawn to you. Children might also prove a source of happiness and satisfaction. If you are artistically inclined, this is the day to start or finish an enterprise, which could well lead to fame and fortune. This should be a wonderful day!

Cancer [June 22 – July 22] – Important enterprises centering on your home could take up a lot of your energy over the next few days. Many people might come and go from your life. Perhaps you are moving to a nicer place, or maybe transacting a lot of business in your home. Whatever it is, it is likely to produce the results you are hoping for. Work hard and make the most of it!

Leo [July 23 – Aug. 23] – Some absolutely wonderful news could come your way, possibly about career or financial success, perhaps involving positive changes in your neighbourhood. If you have been thinking about working in writing or publishing – or any art, for that matter – this is the day to set events in motion. Your imagination is operating at a high level and so is your ability to communicate with others. Go for it!

Virgo [Aug. 24 – Sept. 22] – You should feel especially warm and loving today toward just about anyone you meet. Good news about money may have caused you to feel especially positive. This could attract new people to you and bring closer those already in your life. If you have been thinking about starting an artistic project, this is the day to do it. Creative ideas should flow freely. Have fun!

Libra [Sept. 23 – Oct. 23] – You should be looking beautiful and feeling especially positive, warm, and loving – attracting people of all kinds to you. Your self-confidence, optimism, and determination should peak over the next few days. Anything you have been thinking about starting including a new partnership, business, creative project, romance, is highly likely to succeed and bring good fortune your way. Enjoy!

Scorpio [Oct. 24 – Nov. 22] – Creative inspiration could come from deep within today. Visions, dreams – anything that excites your imagination could bring ideas for new projects. You might also find your understanding of others greatly increases, attracting new and old friends. The only downside is you could get so lost in ideas you temporarily lose touch with the material world. Try to keep a foot in both camps.

Sagittarius [Nov. 23 – Dec. 21] – Group activities prove beneficial on several levels. You might project powerful warmth and love for all life. You are feeling especially optimistic about the future. Your enthusiasm could spill over to others, attracting them into your aura. Acquaintances become friends, friends grow closer, and love relationships grow stronger and more stable. You could gain a lot of intriguing, useful information, particularly about the arts.

Capricorn [Dec. 22 – Jan. 20] – You might find yourself in the public eye at some point today. This is fine since you are looking and feeling great. You are likelier than usual to project warmth and friendliness to others. Acknowledgment for an artistic or creative activity could come your way. Whatever you start today is likely to succeed, whether it is a new artistic project, career, or romance. Enjoy!

Aquarius [Jan. 21 – Feb. 18] – If you have considered a career in publishing, this is the time to go for it! It is also a great day to enroll in law school, an advanced degree program, or any field of higher education. Love with someone from far away could well be in the offing. At the very least, you could make a new friend from a distant state or foreign land. This should be a satisfying day for you!

Pisces [Feb. 19 – March 20] – Your dreams could be vivid, pleasant, and full of information to help you make a decision. New and exciting contacts could come into your life today, possibly proving helpful in showing you ways to increase your income. New careers, sidelines, and investments appear promising and worthy of consideration. Make the most of whatever comes your way. It could make a difference!