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Observer Volume 79 • No. 20
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Friday, October 2nd, 2015
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A family legacy: Coderre Construction celebrates 70 years of business Kelly Running Observer Staff
It was a day to commemorate in Stoughton on Wednesday, Sept. 23, as Coderre Construction celebrated 70 years of business and the grand opening of their new shop and offices. As a young man Wilf Coderre joined the Canadian Air Force which worked alongside Britain’s Royal Air Force, during World War II. On his 13th mission the bomber plane he was on was shot down. Wilf was captured outside of Berlin by German forces and spent 17 months in a prison camp, being released when the war ended. Upon returning to Stoughton, Wilf bought his first truck and would begin the 70 year legacy of Coderre Construction with a three-tonne truck: “After the war I bought a three-tonne Ford truck,” Wilf explained. His wife, Lucy, added, “The trucks weren’t available to just anybody; the guys coming back from the war were given special allowances.” “When Dad was released from the camp, he had back pay coming, and it was with that money he bought the first truck,” Kim Coderre, one of Wilf and Lucy’s sons, explained. At the time trucks were hard to come by because the war effort had put a strain on metal and rubber for civilian use. Military personnel returning home were given the first opportunity to buy these trucks as a way to help them reintegrate into society. Shortly after returning and purchasing his truck, Wilf met Lucy: “I had been teaching in Forget,” Lucy remembers. “I didn’t know him before he left, but when he returned everybody knew him. He was the local hero.” The pair fell in love and married, starting their family of three sons and two daughters soon after, the sons – Del, Kim, and Randy – now operate the business which has reached seven decades of service to the community. “I started hauling fuel out of Regina for four or five years, along with cattle and grain for farmers, and then I got into the gravel business,” Wilf explained. “Things just got bigger; I bought my second truck maybe three years after and then we added more trucks and more loaders over the years.” “When I first started hauling gravel, it was cement gravel, all I had was a shovel. I shovelled the load on the truck and then off, it was very hard work.” Kim, another one of Wilf and Lucy’s sons, spoke of how hard Wilf worked stating, “Dad is the perfect example of how hard work won’t kill you.” In the beginning Wilf says there was one gravel pit north of Forget where he worked out of, but as time passed and the business grew, he explained his sons are now have multiple gravel pits they work out of.
See Coderre Construction on page 2
Staff photo by Kelly Running
Chelsea Schindel, Town of Stoughton councillor, joined the Coderre Construction family for a ribbon cutting to officially mark the grand opening of their new building. Schindel also said a few words of congratulations to the amassed crowd celebrating 70 years of business for the family owned and operated company. From l –r: Randy and Jean Coderre, Kim Coderre, Del Coderre, Chelsea Schindel (Town of Stoughton councillor), and Lucy and Wilf Coderre.
Staff photo by Kelly Running
A photo board was set up with history surrounding Coderre Construction, which was a popular feature for many attending the celebration on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at the new building.
Featuring Spring/Summers 2016 Collectons! ALSO HOTTEST FALL STYLES 2015
OCTOBER 3RD
STOREWIDE DISCOUNTS & 11 A.M.-4 P.M. ENTER TO WIN A $500 GIFT CARD 124 MAIN STREET • CARLYLE DOWNTOWN CARLYLE
TRUNK SHOW Refreshments will be served. Joseph Ribkoff gift with purchase!