The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Wanda Pockett arrived in Flin Flon in 1945 at the age of one year, along with her parents, Abe and Ida Pockett, from Dauphin where the family were mixed farmers. Abe, like many before him, came to Flin Flon looking for work and he hired on at HBMS working in the Smelter. The family lived on Green Street for a short while and then moved out to Creighton. Wanda went to school in Creighton, having such teachers as Mrs. Johnson, Gladys Coward and Mrs. Beck. Some of the students that she remembers were the McIntyre sisters, Shirley Allen and Mary Berabba. During her growing up years Wanda was a shy and quiet girl who stayed to herself. She worked at Phantom Lake for Ed and Rosalyn Noah and for entertainment she would often go to the Rex or Northland theatres. She met the love of her life in 1964. Howard Abrahamson came to Flin Flon in 1957, just to visit his sister Frances Wall and her husband George and their family who lived on Bracken Street then. Howard smiles, "Curiosity got me a job with Orville Thompson since I was a trained electrician and refrigerator man." He worked with Orville and Earl Lister until 1962 when he went on his own with Howard's Refrigeration. See 'Natural' P.# Con't from P.# Howard also played the violin and guitar and he would play for dances along with Don Brooks, Charlie Zimmerman and a few others at the old Birchview Scout Hall. Abe and Ida Pockett used to attend these dances. Howard smiles as he states, "I think they had developed a bit of a plot, as I was invited to dinner at their home one night and it was there that I met Wanda. I soon discovered that Wanda was a natural cook. I got her to come to work for me answering the phone and after work she would make me supper and eat with me before she went home." They got married in 1965 and first lived in the little shop on North Lane. Howard laughs, "When we got married I was 41 and Wanda was 21 but she has been catching up with me ever since!" The couple moved to 77 Green Street where their two sons, Kirk and Lance, were born. Their neighbours were Earl and Evelyn Steven, the Peevers and the Bolton family (Mr. Bolton was principal at Birchview School "forever"). Later Howard bought a little log "shack" on Tweedsmuir Avenue and moved it onto the back of the lot and they built a brand new home. Their neighbours on Tweedsmuir were the LaCroixs, Mansells, Nomelands and Stan Zolinsky. The boys went to Parkdale School where some of their teachers were Gladys Neufeld (Coward), who had taught their mom at Creighton School, Mrs. McFadden and Harry Antoniw who was principal at that time. Some of the kids that the boys chummed with were the Mansell boys, the Koop boys and Mark Weeks. They were active in basketball, playing "shinny" on outdoor rinks and "just horsing around with their friends". Howard had their present cabin in 1960, and the boys loved it out there at the lake, snowmobiling and ice fishing as well as boating in the summer. They spent many hours hauling wood. Howard belongs to the Elks and the Legion. He recalls some of the members of the Elks in the early years as Lorne Whiteman, Abe Pockett, Kelly Stevenson, Geoff Mould and George Brice. Howard started at HBMS in 1965 in the electrical services department for the Smelter working with George Muggaberg (foreman), Henry Budlong, Stewie Evans, Wally Woroniuk and later Glen Bensen. Howard retired from HBMS in 1986. However, in 1981 the couple took over the running of Bakers Narrows Lodge for six years, where Wanda once again put her cooking skills to good use. They also rented 15 cabins at that time, mainly to visiting Canadians and Americans. Tom and Jim Miller from Wisconsin still keep coming back as does Larry Peterson from Minnesota, one of their first customers. He still comes up and now brings his whole family. Howard became Mayor of Flin Flon in 1971, just after the strike, after serving on council for seven years. One of the main accomplishments for him during his three year term was to reverse the one-way traffic on Main Street to two-way. He recalls, "spending ages trying to find a parking spot on Main Street when it was one-way and driving around down another one-way on Hapnot Street and back around on Main Street until finally someone would pull off Main Street." Howard was also a driving force behind the new City Hall and police station. He stated that the one person on City staff during his term as mayor who really helped him a lot was Earl Watson, who at that time was the secretary-treasurer for the City. He was especially alert when it came to property becoming available for the City to buy near Main Street, thus enabling them to buy, demolish and make some badly needed new parking areas for Main Street. See 'Main' P.# Con't from P.# When thinking of Main Street in those days, one businessman who instantly comes to mind for Howard is Sam Hankin. Customer service second to none. If he didn't have what you needed he would get it as fast as he could. Sam also sponsored sports and was involved in many community activities. When talking of Flin Flon and how it has progressed, Howard states, "Main Street is going through a negative growth period right now, many buildings need to be torn down and they slowly are. This is a transition time right now, but good things will come, the present merchants just need to be patient and not give up!" Howard and Wanda both say that they would like to see more seniors housing in this community. The Abrahamsons have no intention of ever leaving Flin Flon. They have turned their cabin at the Narrows into an all season home. They have five grandchildren with twins on the way. Kirk lives near Arborg, Manitoba and has a store. Lance lives at Breadenbury, Saskatchewan in the community that is known for being the best decorated Christmas community in Canada. It is on Highway 16 about half an hour out of Yorkton. The family just celebrated a family reunion at Camp Whitney this year in celebration of Howard and his twin brother Gerald's (from Pelly, SK) 80th birthdays. Thanks so much for sharing! Very interesting and positive history and future for Flin Flon.
