In the early 50's he owned some gravel trucks and went up North to haul gravel for building roads. While the lakes were frozen they could take short cuts across them, but as spring arrived and the ice started to melt it got a little tricky. There were some trucks that went through the ice and driver and truck were lost, but not Dads.
Dad also had a trap line up through some of the watersheds along the park boundary. He sold a lot of mink, beaver and muskrat to Yaegers Furs in Brandon. Money was pretty tight and this added income helped out a lot.
Later on he went to Brandon to work as a carpenter. Some years he worked for his nephew-in-law, Gib Bell and some years for Don Wilton. The A & W in Dauphin was built in the early '60's and Dad worked on that. When it was finished they had a grand opening, which we all went to, and met the Burger Family!
Dad was away all week so it was exciting for him to come home on Friday night. He always brought a gift for Mom and something for us kids. One of the things he brought home from Dauphin one Friday night was Lion Lamp that sat on top of the TV. It sat there for many years and Mom still has it.
The Convention Centre at Riding Mountain was built in the late '60's and Dad also worked on that. Bob and I were married in that building in 1978 and also had the reception there. A few years ago the building was moved to Onanole and is now the Onanole Rec Centre.
