Blast from the Past: Alpine Drywall North

Members of Alpine Drywall & Plastering (Northern) Ltd. getting together for breakfast at the Yellowhead Casino in October 2019. From right to left is Bob Kelly, master plasterer and ornamental plastering; Wayne Rentz, steel studs, taper; Vern Nerling, former part owner of Alpine North; Gerry Wunderlich; former part owner of Alpine North; Neil Wunderlich, former part owner of Alpine North; Willi Westermeier, master plasterer, taper; and Ralph Westermeier, plasterer and taper. Photo submitted by Ralph Westermeier.

Crews who work together can start to feel like a family. That was exactly the case for the founders and operators of Alpine Drywall North in Edmonton.

One day in October 2019, a crew from one of Edmonton’s most successful drywall companies came together for breakfast. But it wasn’t just any gathering around bacon and eggs—this was a group who had worked together for several decades, making a name for themselves in the 60s and 70s, fighting their way through the early recessive 80s, and moving into the 90s and 2000s having worked on some of the region’s most important projects. The breakfast was little more than a bunch of fellas clicking coffee and mawing toast, but it was important because of the experience, tenacity, and family-like relationships of the people present.

“It was Neil’s idea to get together for breakfast,” says Ralph Westermeier, the youngest of the crew who worked with Alpine North as a plasterer in the 80s and 90s. “My dad, Willi Westermeier, who is retired now but had a master pasterer certificate, was there. So were Bob Kelly and Wayne Rentz, Vern Nerling, Gerry Wunderlich, and Neil Wunderlich. Most of them are fully retired now, but Neil still takes on smaller jobs and finds people to do them. It was great to have everyone together.”

When Alpine Drywall was in its franchise heyday, the fellows pictured above were its finest assets. They worked out of Alpine Drywall North based in Edmonton under family and partners Jerry, Neil, and Dale Wunderlich and Vern Nerling. (There is also an Alpine Loydminster and an Alpine Calgary.)

From the day it started in the late 60s or early 70s, Alpine North was more than a business. It operated at a time when everyone knew everyone and the company had regular guys who golfed, fished, and spent time together like a family. These long-lost workmates kept in touch over the years and thought it a worthwhile venture to get together for breakfast to catch up, share stories, and celebrate their time as a team. Pictured above was the second time the group got together and there will likely be more breakfast meetings in the future.

Alpine North completed some of the region’s most important projects, including a remodelling at the Royal Alexander Hospital, drywall and custom curved bulkheads at the U of A emergency, and a number of northern projects, such as hospitals in Saks Harbour and Grand Prairie.

Westermeier, a current member of the Alberta Wall and Ceiling Board, was with Alpine North for 25 years. He was a plaster foreman for ten years and then widened his repertoire to oversee stucco and ornamental plaster, as well. After Alpine North, Westermeier went to run the stucco division for Provincial Lathing, responsible for some noteworthy projects including the steel studs at River Creek Casino and Hilton Hotel in Edmonton. The company also repaired all the ornamental plastering at the government house in preparation for the queen’s visit in 2005.

“After Alpine North closed, everyone went off and did their own thing,” Westermeier says. “I am younger than all of them and in 1983 when things really slowed down I was the only one who kept my job because I worked hard to hang on. I needed that job and I was a perfectionist, so I put a lot of effort into producing high-quality work.

That work ethic has carried him into his current business— Superior Stucco and Stone, which serves custom homes and commercial projects in Edmonton and surrounding areas. Business is thriving, Westermeier says. He doesn’t advertise and recently signed on with the Catholic School Board. “We do high-end homes and some really beautiful work.” ▪