Members of the Weyburn Agricultural Society are asking residents of both town and country to dig through their old pictures and memorabilia.

They want to borrow anything connected to the Weyburn Fair, 4-H shows, horse and cattle shows, tractor pulls or any other activity the organization might have sponsored in the past 100 years, for a 100th anniversary book.

Printing is planned for 2007 so the book will be for sale during all of 2008.

"We're starting early because it will take a long time to get all the information gathered for something this big," said society manager Sandy Bell.

She admits the society could be flooded by materials like pictures, news stories, entertainment programs, or any other kind of mementos, with its public call for help.

"We wouldn't be upset," she said. "Anything at all would be of interest, even if it's related to the midway or a list of people who performed in the grandstand acts," she said.

Materials will be copied to a computer program and returned to the lender as quickly as possible, she said.

The Ag Society is particularly interested in pre-1950 information and materials where it has discovered a shortage, she said.

In 1968, the society published a booklet to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Twenty-five years later it published another one for its 75th anniversary.

"We want to add to those books," said Bell.

The society's historian, Norm Flaten, said the book is intended to acknowledge the fact the organization provided entertainment but also was a catalyst for interaction between the rural and urban population in this area.

"The mutual dependence of rural and urban people is considered really important," he said.

Flaten said, over the years, Weyburn has at times held the largest 4-H sales in the province.

"A lot of our cattle producers have come through that program. They learned a great deal about cattle showing and growing through the calves they had in 4-H," he said.

The Ag Society continues to do a lot of work, like sponsoring technical update programs for farmers every spring, he said.