Elk Ridge founder passes away

Nigel Maxwell

Morris Sawchuk said his friend Arne Petersen was a tremendous visionary.

The founder of Elk Ridge Resort passed away on Sunday at the age of 85. Sawchuk, a former property owner at Elk Ridge, described Petersen as a fantastic guy with unprecedented energy.

“What he did for the community and the privilege he created for a lot of us property owners and the opportunities, were just too great to mention,” Sawchuk said.

Born in Wadena in 1937, Petersen left home at age of 15 to work in the oilfields, then on roads and in construction.

That was followed by 10 years with MacMillan Bloedel and five years with the Prince Albert Pulp Mill. In 1975, he formed the Precision Service and Engineering company which he owned and operated for 20 years. Even before buying property at Elk Ridge, Sawchuk sold Petersen equipment at the Glenmore dealership and recalled how much Petersen loved to work on heavy equipment and move dirt.

“Arne was not the type of guy to sit behind a desk. He liked to be out doing things physically,” Sawchuk explained, joking Petersen never had a hair out of place but could always be seen working on a tractor or grader.

In 1989, Petersen bought the property known as Elk Ridge and drew up plans for a unique and challenging golf course which could complement busy Waskesiu. The first nine holes were ready in 1993, and by 2003 there were three nines in operation – the Aspen, Birch and Tamarack courses.

(Elk Ridge/Facebook)

Over the past four decades, a number of tournaments have been held at Elk Ridge including the Canadian Senior Women’s Championship, the Provincial Championship for Senior Men, the Saskatchewan Men’s Mid-Amateur and Women’s Amateur, and the Saskatchewan Mixed Championships. Many junior events have taken place and earlier this year was also a stop for the PGA’s Canadian tour.

In 2017, Petersen was inducted into the Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame. Brian Lee, Executive Director of Golf Saskatchewan, told paNOW Petersen was a pioneer and visionary for basically taking a huge risk in the area east of Price Albert National Park.

“It is a 27-hole marvel up there”, he said.

Lee added his own uncertainty if any of the other developments, such as the residential area or the hotel, would have happened had the golf course not been built there.

“Or at least it’s into the community and establishment it is now. One man’s dream led to a community in the north which is pretty cool to think of,” he said.

In the fall of 2021, Saskatchewan group, Routes2SK took over ownership of the northern Saskatchewan landmark. On Monday, Managing partner Ryan Danberg told paNOW Petersen is Elk Ridge.

“Arne built Elk Ridge, Arne is everything about Elk Ridge. It was his vision,” he said.

Commenting on how the property was once comprised of muskeg and heavy dense forest, Danberg said Petersen’s work ethic was second to none and was a leader in the tourism industry.

“He worked from sun up to sun down and he built the place. For us as Elk Ridge owners now, we are forever grateful for what he did,” Danberg said.

Danberg also sits on the Resort Village of Elk Ridge council and explained how recent news of Petersen’s death has hit everyone hard. He added the ownership group is committed to carrying on the legacy Petersen built.

In addition to the many projects he was involved in, Petersen was also a proud family man and had two daughters (Debby and Darlene), four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Debby Klarenbach told paNOW her father was one of a kind and truly broke the mould.

Funeral arrangements are pending, and have been entrusted to Gray’s Funeral Chapel.