Floral used to be a thriving place. It once had several
churches, businesses, sport teams & clubs. The only thing
remaining is this old school, an old church & cemetery. It was
built in 1947. Which replaced the original school on the same site
that was there from 1902. The school closed its doors in 1962 and
was designated a historic site a few years later. The school is now
used a community hall.
Floral is most famous for being the birthplace of Mr. Hockey,
the legendary Gordie Howe. Howe's grandparents were some of the
original homesteaders in the Floral area. Gordie was born to Ab
& Katherine Howe in a farmhouse March 31st, 1929. There are
several different accounts of when the Howe family moved to
Saskatoon. One account says that it is 10 days after Gordie was
born, another says 3 months after he was born and another account
says at age 9. Whenever it was Gordie is known to have attended
King George School in Saskatoon, playing hockey for the school
team. Gordie never forgot his roots, even sending signed items to
children from the Floral School who wrote him letters.
