Telemiracle 44 gets underway this Saturday night and it’s hard to believe it’s been going for 44 years! It’s an exciting and wonderful tradition that has not only united the people of this province, but has helped countless Saskatchewanians make life a little bit easier for them. Every corner of Saskatchewan pitches in and donates what they can to Telemiracle either through a community or school fundraiser or by telephone thanks to their iconic “ring those phones” chant. It doesn’t matter where someone from Saskatchewan ends up in our great country they never forget that “ring those phones” chant and it always reminds them of where they come from.
One of the biggest draws to Telemiracle is watching the crawler at the bottom of the TV screen to see if there’s anyone familiar has donated. I’ll be the first to admit I missed many performances because I was busy staring at the crawler to see if there was anybody from the Kipling/Windthorst area calling in! Whenever my Mom would donated I’d immediately watch the TV to see if our names would appear and sometimes they would, sometimes they wouldn’t, but we know the Telemiracle people appreciated the donation anyway.
One of my most favourite memories of this annual tradition was staying up as late as I could with my Mom watching the show on Saturday night. Normally I’d be done and out by about midnight and my Mom would last until about 1 a.m., so we weren’t exactly party animals! I remember the year Telemiracle reached the $2 million mark in the early 1990’s and the entire cast, crowd, and I’m sure most of Saskatchewan, erupted in cheers and applause. It was a momentous occasion that a province of under a million people at that time could raise so much money. It made one feel proud to be a Saskatchewanian. I also highlighted the fact that Bob McGrath was one of the greatest hosts ever of Telemiracle.
What a great run it has been and continues to be. 44 years of helping our friends and neighbours in Saskatchewan. 44 years of “ring those phones.” 44 years of showcasing Saskatchewan talent. 44 years of Saskatchewanians uniting to host wonderful fundraising events. Congratulations on 44 years of Telemiracle.
