20 Boxelder, MMPP
13 Arcola Road, MMPP
5 Aspen Cresc, MMPP
52 Boxelder Cresc, MMPP
22 Hiawatha St., Kenosee Lake
SK895426
SK893714
SK883968
SK893484
SK888289
$322,000
$354,900
$398,000
$425,000
$740,000
MMPP RESORT
MMPP RESORT
MMPP RESORT
MMPP RESORT
KENOSEE RESORT
OBSERVER
VOLUME 86 • NO. 2 | FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022 PM40011904
THE
Heart of the Moose Mountains
WWW.CARLYLEOBSERVER.COM
INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Redvers and Manor Grads PAGE A8-9
Observed At PAGE A7
Pit Boss - Traeger and Lousisan Grills
FACEBOOK.COM/CARLYLEOBSERVER
Celebrate Seniors PAGE A10
Pet Corner PAGES A11
13 Pellet Flavors, Rubs & Sauces, Many Accessories
Stop by for all your Grilling Needs.
FURNITURE & ELECTRONICS
27 Railway Ave., Redvers
306.452.6309 VISIT US ON FACEBOOK
Carnduff ’s Bert Steenbruggen has no regrets By Paul Kimball
If you live around Carnduff, you’ve met Bert Steenbruggen. Everybody knows everybody in small towns. But even if you don’t, chances are you have met or heard of him. At the time of this interview, he had just lost a close cousin and not too long before that a 100-year-old sister that he talked to on the phone weekly and a nephew to COVID. Every week, it seems like he’s losing someone he knows. As a result, he spends a lot of time reflecting on his life. Life hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but he will smilingly tell you that he has no regrets. He is experiencing the wear and tear of time, but he doesn’t complain. “After all, the alternative is no heck.” ‘Heck’ isn’t the word he uses, but you get the drift. Steenbruggen was born at home at the beginning of the de-
pression. He was the last of six children and is the only one still living. When he was 10, his dad was killed in a gravel pit accident. Life got off to a rough start, and wasn’t getting any easier. Jobs were scarce and often very unpleasant. He cleaned up garbage and coal ash and emptied outhouses. He got teased a lot about his job. On good days, he was called the town scavenger; on the bad days, kids called him far worse. Mockingly, they would hold their noses whenever stinky Steenbruggen went by. This led to some fights, which didn’t help the overall cause. He quit school in grade 9 because he hated it and focused on filling some of the gap that his father’s death had left. At 16, he got polio. The following year, the polio vaccine came out. Sadly, it missed him by one year. He worked hard to overcome his polio limitations, even play-
ing hockey. One night he had to take a teammate to the Gainsborough hospital. A nurse needed a ride home to Carnduff and he offered her one. She accepted even though he was a total stranger. His heart didn’t pitter-patter that night, but a year later, he married that nurse, Edith Shier, even though her sister felt that she should have held out for someone better. Their marriage lasted for almost 62 years. Three years later, Steenbruggen was a dad. There were some difficulties during Bernie’s birth, so the decision was made to stop at 1 child. That birth eventually led to three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He loves them all and talks of them with glowing praise. He also thinks the world of his daughter-in-law Claudia, seeing her as ‘God’s gift to us’. Tired of working for others, Steenbruggen decided to start up his
e l y l r Ca DOWNTOWN õï
ĩ
vĻË à = Ĺ ļ T
Bert in his favourite chair, reflecting on his life with no regrets. Photo submitted by Paul Kimball own farm. He borrowed money to buy four quarters of land, but it didn’t have a great opening chapter. His first crop was poor, but he survived by milking his cows and plowing snow for the oil companies. He persisted and the second year was much better. In the next few years, he added pigs to
the cows and crops he already had, plus more land and acquired several mules. He became a mule whisperer of sorts, breaking in the most stubborn of animals. In the 1970’s he had another hospital encounter. This time, in Regina, a man suggested that he set up a tire business at the Steen-
bruggen farm. The idea grew on Steenbruggen. For 29 years, he sold tires as he farmed and ranched and met many, many people. Perhaps that’s where you know him from. Things had come a long way from when he started out with those four quarters of land. A2 » STEENBRUGGEN