Several local residents have been part of a fundraising initiative to support a couple of charities.
Cathy Empey, her daughter Mackenna and Nina Lonsberry of Estevan, and Lorne and Pam Wagner of Bienfait have been part of the Travelling Matt Outlaws group that works with the 麻豆视频ern Plains Railway in Ogema. One of the attractions offered by the railway involves a mock train robbery in which the Travelling Matt Outlaws dress up in western gear to rob the passengers. It occurs on the third Saturday of each month, and according to Empey, it鈥檚 a popular attraction, as those rides sell out quickly.
鈥淲e go in the morning, we meet together as a group, and then we go to the location where we rob the train,鈥� said Empey. 鈥淟orne Wagner gets out and stands on the tracks and stops the train.鈥�
The train conductor knows Wagner will be there.
鈥淲e鈥檙e there with our horses, and when we see the train coming, we ride along, and some of the people shoot guns, and some of us just ride along depending on who鈥檚 comfortable with what,鈥� she said.
When the train stops, some of the robbers climb off their horses, board the train and rob the passengers, who know in advance that this will be happening. The money from the passengers is donated to charity, and is evenly split between the STARS Air Ambulance and the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan.
This year the robberies raised $2,022.13 for each charity, and another $450 was sent in, bringing the total to $4,494.26.
鈥淚t鈥檚 two great charities, so we鈥檙e happy with that,鈥� said Empey.
Empey started being involved with the Travelling Matts in 2018, after the Wagners had already been involved.
鈥淲e have so much fun, and it鈥檚 as much fun for us as it is for the people on the train, so we feel pretty privileged to be able to be part of this group and to be able to raise money,鈥� said Empey.
The Wagners became part of the train robberies before Empey thanks to their own horse skills. Empey鈥檚 daughters take horse riding lessons at Wagners farm near Bienfait, and they invited them to come along.
Empey noted that the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan was selected for personal reasons. The team is named after Matt Nix, who died from cancer last year. Nix and Willard Johnson helped start the mock train robberies, and Johnson is still involved with the Outlaws.
As for STARS, it was selected because of the life-saving efforts it carries out for people in southeast Saskatchewan. When the Outlaws presented their contribution to STARS, they toured a base, sat in a helicopter and learned more about the organization鈥檚 operations.
