Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

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Image:Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Location.png Moose Jaw is a city in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada on the Moose Jaw River 71 km west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians.

Moose Jaw was established as a city on Friday, November 10, 1903. Image:Downtown Moose Jaw.jpg It is probably best known as a retirement and tourist city that serves as a hub to the hundreds of small towns and farms that make up that part of Saskatchewan. Tourist attractions include the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa[1], Casino Moose Jaw, and the Murals of Moose Jaw.

There are many beautiful parks in Moose Jaw. Crescent Park is located downtown and features a creek, swans and an amphitheatre. "Wakamow Park" follows the Moose Jaw River and features both natural and maintained areas. There are many trails throughout the park for hiking and biking. There are also RV camping and canoe rentals in the park.

The Warriors are Moose Jaw's hockey team which plays in the Western Hockey League at the Moose Jaw Civic Centre.

Local institutions include 4 high schools, 15 elementary schools, and the 57-member Moose Jaw Fire Department.

It is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway.

The largest lake in southern Saskatchewan, Old Wives Lake, is located 30 km southwest of the city.

According to the Canada 2001 Census:

Population:	32,131 (-2.6% from 1996)
Land area:	46.81 km²
Population density:	686.4 people/km²
Median age:	39.5 (males: 37.9, females: 41.1)
Total private dwellings:	14,403
Mean household income:	$37,647

1 Demographics
2 Origins of "Moose Jaw"
3 15 Wing Moose Jaw
4 Tunnels of Moose Jaw
5 Media
6 Famous Moose Javians
7 External links

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Demographics

Racial Groups

93.7% Caucasian
4.3% Aboriginal
0.7% Chinese

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Origins of "Moose Jaw"

The origins of the name "Moose Jaw" are vague, though it appears to be of First Nations origin. One local legend holds that the Indian word Moosoochapiskanissippi means "the river shaped like the jaw of a moose". The name of the settlement might come from the creek that flowed through the settlement.

Another legend holds that the name comes from the word Moosoochapiskun which means "the place where the white man mended the cart with the jawbone of the moose."

A third legend explains that the name came from the Cree word moosegaw which means "warm breezes". In the winter, Moose Jaw is often warmer than the surrounding communities.

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15 Wing Moose Jaw

Moose Jaw is the Canadian city with the highest number of relatively cloudless days which makes it a good site for training pilots. Since 1940, military pilots have trained here. It is currently the home of 15 Wing and the Snowbirds, the air demonstration team of the Canadian Forces.

15 Wing Moose Jaw, located just south of the city, is Saskatchewan's only military base. It is the site of the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) pilot-training program and home of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds (aka 431 (AD) Squadron) it is also home to 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School and the 15 Wing Air Traffic Control Squadron.

The airport at 15 Wing Moose Jaw averages over 120,000 aircraft movements per year. In absolute terms this places it as one of the busiest airports in Canada. When one considers that flying operations normally occur during a 10.5 hour window each weekday the resulting density and complexity of air traffic places it as one of the most challenging air traffic control environments in North America. On May 27, 1977, the 15 Wing ATC Squadron controlled a total of 3,301 aircraft takeoffs and landings in a 24-hour period, thereby setting an all-time North American record that has since not been surpassed.

On Sunday, July 10 2005, on the last day of the Moose Jaw Air Show, Bobby Younkin and Jimmy Franklin, were killed in a mid-air collision at 4:20 pm, Central time during a truly amazing air show routine billed as the Masters of Disaster. The crash happened before 20,000 stunned spectators, and the Air Show was stopped immediately.

The annual Saskatchewan Air Show has been cancelled for the 2006 season; however, it was not related to Masters of Disaster incident. The civil Saskatchewan Air Show Association (SASA) cites financial considerations.

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Tunnels of Moose Jaw

People from Moose Jaw have been told about the tunnels underneath their city for many generations. They were told that smugglers and criminals, such as legendary American gangster Al Capone, used to use them as hideouts. The tunnels are now used as a tourist attraction and two interactive tours of the tunnels are now available. One tour is about the bootlegging days of Al Capone; the other is about the Chinese immigrants who lived in the tunnels in the early part of the 20th century. It is Moose Jaw's main tourist attraction[2] and has attracted people from all over the world.

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Media

Moose Jaw Times-Herald - daily newspaper - Website
800 CHAB - Oldies - Website
100.7 CILG-FM Country 100 - Website

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Famous Moose Javians

Notable persons who were born in Moose Jaw:

Lorne Calvert - premier of Saskatchewan since 2001
Reggie Cleveland - baseball player (the first and only Saskatchewan to start in a World Series game (in 1975, while playing with the Boston Red Sox.))
Sheila Fischman - translator
Clark Gillies - hockey player
Art Linkletter - radio/TV personality
Reed Low - hockey player
Theresa Sokyrka - singer
Lisa Franks - paralympic athlete
Doug Smail - former hockey player
Benjamin deforest 'Pat' Bayly - WW2 communications genius, second-in-command of WW2 spymaster William 'Intrepid' Stephenson (actually born in London Ont., but always considered Moose Jaw home.)