Leadership in Lloydminster has always been a hot topic. Ask any long time local what they thought of a specific mayor and you may be in for a long chat.
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The Border City has had many councillors, mayors and other local leaders lend their hand in moving the city forward. One that comes to mind for me that I previously briefly wrote about was Kathleen (Kay) Matheson.
Matheson was someone who gave back to Lloydminster quite frequently.
She was born in Rosenheim, Alta., in 1918, which is a rural community in the Municipal District of Provost. She remained in the area for her early life before marrying George Matheson in 1940 and moving to Lloydminster in 1941.
She had two children, Judy and Gary, in 1942 and 1945. Matheson had a strong devotion to the Catholic church and enjoyed singing in the church choir in her younger years.
She held office in the Catholic Women’s League, serving both on council and as its president. She also served as chairperson and trustee on the Catholic School Board for 11 years.
Before delving more into her municipal life, another portion of her history that’s important is her unwavering dedication to giving back. She received the Saskatchewan Volunteer Recognition award in the 1980s. She volunteered for the Saskatchewan Allied Arts Council, Saskatchewan Arthritis Association and the Bea Fischer Foundation, just to name a few. She also chaired the steering committee for the Lloydminster Theatre/concert hall.
She was always looking to give back and her time as alderman, and eventually mayor, was no different. Although her time on council was somewhat difficult.
“I was sort of treated like a little girl,” said Matheson.
She quickly found her footing on council, responding to others on council who would ask her if she understood the material.
“I do understand it, would you like me to explain it to you,” she said, quickly shutting down the comments.
She served on council for nearly a decade before taking the reins as mayor in 1979. She ran on a platform of giving the city a younger look in the future. Running against then-Mayor Russ Robertson, she won in a landslide victory, capturing 2286 votes to Robertson’s roughly 900 votes.
She saw to it that a dispute between farmers on the Saskatchewan side of Lloydminster was resolved. She contacted the Reeves for the RMs of Wilton and Britannia about taking another look at a sewage disposal plant.
The issue was big enough the department of environment was even involved. The situation, luckily, was remedied within two months.
One of Matheson’s most amazing feats was appearing at the opening of the Vic Juba Community Theatre. It was described as a herculean effort for her to attend, but I know she wouldn’t have wanted to miss it.
Matheson was dedicated to the community she served and highly motivated to make things happen. Without her, I’m sure countless issues wouldn’t have been solved, and although she spoke humbly about her work, she accomplished much in her time.
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