In 1972 they decided to enter a Float in the Rodeo parade and won the comic trophy. The Following year they won again. These trophies are on display in the Manor.

031 March 30, 1976, they entered the first Carpet Bowling Tournament held in this area. There were members from Gypsumville, St. Martin, Steep Rock, Faulkner, Hilbre. Ashern, Eriksdalc, and Lundttr and Mooschoru‘ who hosted the tournament.

The Club has purchased the (LN. Station in Ashem, for a Museum, also property on which to place it. This should be an interesting addition to the area.

The Club is assisting in the local history book being compiled at this time.

Asher-n Post Office

A new modern post of lice was built on the present site in l964. Previous to this time postal facilities were in four different buildings on Main Street.

Earlier post masters were: Mr. Bert Hyde. Mr. F. Pickersgill. Mrs. Ethel Hyde and Mike Patola (who is our present post master).

Left to right: Rachel John- son, asst. poslmtstress; Mike Patola. postmaster receiving 25 year pin. P. N‘ Ciao/ten, area snpr. {1976)

Mr. W. H. Hyde, our first postmaster and our present postmaster? Mike Paladin.

Geological Field Studies — Interlake Area by Andrew D. Baillie

in 1949. and in the early ‘SD‘s, field studies of the geology of the lnterlake Area were initiated by the Manitoba Mines Branch and also by several oil com— panies spurred on by at large discovery of oil and gas in Alberta. The oil and gas in Alberta, discovered in l947, occurred in ancient coral reefs that flourished in shallow marine waters in Western Canada during the period described by geologists as Devonian, some 385 million years ago. As Devonian rocks were known to outcrop along the east shore of Lake Manitoba and along the shores and on the islands of Lake Winnipegosis, oil com- pany and government geologists were all anxious to see if the rocks outcropping in Manitoba had similarities to the oil bearing rocks of Alberta. As Ashern was centrally located in the lnterluke Area, the Ashern Hotel enjoyed a spurt in its business during these years as Field geologists scoured the ares to study the outcrops. The results of the Manitoba Mines Branch field studies were written up in a series of reports which were published by the Department of Mines and Natural Resources.

One item in these reports of particular interest to residents of the Ashern community was the naming of a rock formation the Ashern Formation, alter the Town of Ashern. Rocks of the Asherrt Formation are brickwred to orange in colour. and are exposed in scattered small out- crops north at Moosehorn and west of Mulvihill. These rocks mark the spreud of the Devonian seas to this part of Manitoba and extending into Saskatchewan. Alberta, and US. in what is human geologically as the Williston Basin. The Ashem Formation contains the oldest Devo~ nian beds in this area and it is a prominent subsurface marker well-known to geologists in Western Canada and US

Another outcrop of rock that was of considerable in- terests particularly to oil geologists. was on Red Deer island in the farm yard of Mr. Gunlaughson, an early settler in the area. The outcrop was in the form of low mounds that were actually reefs made up of material not unlike that which composes the rock that produces the oil in Alberta reefs. The discovery of these mounds in l949 * caused a great flurry of excitement in the oil industry. Subsequently, many more reefs were found outcropping along the shores on the islands of Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis.

To the east of Ashem. and throughout the whole Interlake Area, there are many outcrops of another group of rocks that were deposited in a much earlier time called the Silurian. During Silurian time, more than 400 million years ago. warm shallow seas covered most of the interior of North America. The rocks quarried near Lun- dar and lnwood, and exposed in many outcrops in this general area, all belong to this group which was named by geologists the “lnterlake Group” alter the Interlake region.

Although no oil or gas has been found in the Bravo nian or Silurian rocks of Manitoba, they are important to the Province as a source of limestone For many in- dustrial uses.

The technical reports on these interlakc Area rocks; ' published by the Department of Mines Branch, are: