(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW Staff)

By Ben Tompkins

World Champion Chuckwagon Racer

‘Home of Layne MacGillivray’ welcome signs officially erected in Melfort

May 16, 2023 | 1:05 PM

For those entering the City of Melfort, no matter what one of the three entrances they decide to come in on, they will see a new yet familiar face that greets them.

The ‘Home of Layne MacGillivray” welcome signs were all officially erected this past Friday, after being accepted by city council in March.

MacGillivray himself was in Melfort on Monday to view the signs, as well as reconnect with friends, loved ones, and community members.

“It means a lot. Melfort is where both my wife’s and I’s roots are, and we still have a lot of friends and family here, so it’s definitely a great honour to have the signs go up, and it’s something we will cherish for a long time,” MacGillivray told northeastNOW. “Legacy is very huge, and we appreciate the City of Melfort for going through the steps of putting them up and honouring us in the way they did.”

(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW Staff)

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When talking with northeast locals, one of the comments made towards MacGillivray was that there was room on the posts for another sign right below it.

MacGillivray originally laughed at the notion, but when asked about it later said it’s obviously a goal.

“It’s always your goal when you leave home in the spring, but there’s a lot of guys with that same goal, so it’s tough competition for sure. We’ve prepared the same we’ve prepared every year and we’ll see where it goes with us this year. We’ll take it one day at a time and see what we can get done,” he added.

“It’s kind of still overwhelming for sure, we haven’t had a whole bunch of success in our chuckwagon career, other than these last few years, so hopefully, this is the beginning of a lot of good things to come here.”

The four by eight feet signs were donated by the MacGillivray and Claggett families, along with a third anonymous donor.

Layne originally had no idea that the signs were being made, until they were revealed to him late last year, as part of a year-end celebration.

He explained that was quite an emotional night for him, which has carried over, knowing that these signs will be standing forever.

“I didn’t know anything about the signs, it was popped on me in November when they had the party for us, and it was pretty overwhelming when I got the news that night and I was actually pretty emotional, to tell you the truth,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of good wagon drivers come out of the City Melfort, so to have our names up there means a lot. We want to represent Melfort well because it’s where our roots began and our roots will always be here, so it’s a huge honour.”

MacGillivray is a professional chuckwagon driver with the World Professional Chuckwagon Association (WPCA).

He travels across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and B.C., competing in chuckwagon racing from May until September.

The world-champion chuckwagon racer was born and raised in Melfort, graduating from MUCC in 1993.

MacGillivray is a third-generation professional chuckwagon competitor and won his first world championship, late last year.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8