The day that Doug and Dona O’Brien moved to Flin Flon was a lucky one for the citizens of this fine community.
Doug was raised by a father whose motto was, “If you live in a community, you get involved in that community.” When it comes to the O’Briens, truer words were never spoken.
The O’Brien family includes six children in Tom, Karen, Laura, Maureen, Diane and Kevin. The O’Briens came to Flin Flon in 1972 from Regina, where Doug worked at the radio station CJME, owned by the family that also owned Flin Flon’s CFAR.
Doug had accepted the managerial position at CFAR vacated by Jay Leddey, who had moved on. Among those working at CFAR at the time were Joe McCormick, still the station’s newsman, and the late John Poulin.
Also on staff were a young Dennis Beyak, now the TV and radio voice of the Winnipeg Jets, and Andy Stewart, who is still entertaining CFAR listeners as host of the Royal Canadian Legion’s weekend show.
In time the O’Brien family would purchase CFAR along with radio stations in The Pas and Thompson, giving them ownership of what is known as the Arctic Radio Network.
It’s home
When the O’Briens came to Flin Flon, they bought a home at 410 Green Street. All their school-aged kids went to Willowvale School until junior high. The first three children then did Grade 8 at Birchview School and Grade 9 at the original McIsaac School.
When shopping, the family kept things local. The O’Briens were so pleased to see just how many businesses were a part of the community. There were a number of grocery stores, such as Willowvale (owned by the Klewchuk family), Central Meat and Grocery (owned by the Perepeluks) and Cash and Save (owned by the Malutas).
Before leaving Regina, Doug had been a charter member of what was known as the Cosmopolitan Club, which was similar to Rotary, Lions or Elks.
So it was no surprise when Doug became a Flin Flon Rotarian in 1979. His fellow Rotarians at the time included Graham Craig, Nazir Ahmad, Dr. Bailey, Gord Mitchell, Mickey Perepeluk, Lew Parres, Alfie Boyce, Otto Bergman, Jack Gordon, Earl Watson, Murray Davidson, Ed Yauck and Rob Scheifele.
The same year Doug joined Rotary, daughter Karen became the second Flin Flon Rotary Exchange student. She spent the year in Mexico.
Son Kevin would also be an exchange student, spending a year in New Zealand. In time three adventurous grandchildren would also take part in the Rotary Exchange program.
Involved
The wives of the Flin Flon Rotarians were once known as the Rotary Anns, but in 1992 they joined the International Inner Wheel organization. Inner Wheel holds the honour of being the largest women’s organization in the world.
Dona is now a national representative for Inner Wheel. Like her husband, she is no slouch in the volunteer department.
Besides raising six kids, Dona took advantage of a grant and organized the first parent school councils in all the schools. She also formed the La Leche League for breastfeeding moms, and was involved in Band Parent Council when band first became a part of the school program.
Dona’s other volunteer groups and activities have included the Catholic Women’s League through St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church, and the Trout Festival.
As dedicated as he is to the Rotarians, the club isn’t Doug’s entire life. For someone who is “sort of semi-retired,” he sure keeps busy. His family always comes first, and he also has his church and other volunteer efforts.
Over the years Doug has been involved with the Flin Flon Bombers, Trout Festival, Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce, Knights of Columbus and Community Futures Greenstone.
He has earned many honours along the way, including the Lieutenant Governor’s Make a Difference Community Award.
Changes
When asked about changes they have seen in 42 years in Flin Flon, Doug and Dona mention the fact that there were two jet flights a day in and out of Flin Flon back in 1972.
When asked what encouraged them to stay in Flin Flon, the answer is always the people and the wonderful activities for a family to get involved in.
There were the lakes and beaches near town, swimming at Phantom Lake, hockey and skating. This just wouldn’t have happened in a bigger city.
Also, in 1972 no one would have thought the population would decline. At that time all cities seemed to be growing, as Flin Flon had until the 1970s.
About the only negative for the family was that it took eight hours to visit family in Regina or Winnipeg, unless they took a jet.
When the O’Briens are asked what can be done to retain residents in Flin Flon, talk turns to more seniors’ facilities (some built near lake properties) and work on tourism.
Indeed so many people in the rest of the country don’t know how wonderful northern Canada is, and Flin Flon could help accommodate those who would like to discover the beauty of the North.
While Doug and Dona still reside in this area, most of their children have moved elsewhere.
Eldest son Tom, who lives in Thompson, became the owner of the three Arctic Radio Network stations in 2000. Maureen (Andreychuk) and Karen reside in Winnipeg, with Laura (Kennedy) in Saskatoon, Kevin in Toronto and Dianne (Russell) here in Flin Flon.
Doug and Dona are the proud grandparents of 20 grandchildren, ranging in age from 11 to 29.
Thank you, Doug and Dona, for all the volunteering you have done and are still doing in our community.
