Sage Hill Writing named for a cold war radar station
During the Cold War era, Canada and the US established the DEW (distant early warning) Line. This row of radar station resembled a bead necklace strung across the throat of the Far North. It was backed up by two further lines, the Mid-Canada and the Pinetree Line. The idea was to have advance warning in case Soviet aircraft flew over North America.
Part of the Pinetree Line, Canadian Forces Station Dana was also known as Sage Hill. Established by NORAD in 1962, it was decommissioned in the mid-eighties. It stood idle until being turned to service as a conference centre that hosted earlier incarnations of the Sage Hill writing experience. Larry Gasper, a Saskatchewan writer who attended Sage Hill there, remembers the bat guano that filled the abandoned tower.