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.
Ralph came to Flin Flon in 1939. "I came right off the prairie, after ten years of the depression, I was looking for work," he said. Ralph's brother Bill was living in Flin Flon and working for the CNR when Ralph arrived. Ralph got a job with CNR, working the rail line between The Pas and Flin Flon, and he also worked for a cartage company called Transport Limited for awhile. He was hired on at HBMS in January of 1941 starting in the zinc plant and later transferring to the rubber department taking the full course in rubber work. His shift bosses in 1941 were Henry Reutter and Bill Judd, with Jack Carr being the Superintendent, Baldy Green was the General Manager and there was also Pernell Caulfield in management as well. Elizabeth "Beth" Csigi came to Flin Flon in June of 1941 from a small town called Lestock, just west of Yorkton. Beth came to work at Ostry's through an arrangement with a woman who was from the same town as Beth and who was married to the manager of the meat department at that time. At that time Ostry's General Store (where Mr. Ribs is located now) had a cash and carry grocery section in the basement managed by Sam Bolt. The main floor grocery was managed by Isaac Ruvinsky, the ladies department was managed by Helen Munroe, the men's department was managed by Harry Suede and the meat department was managed by Phil Price. See 'Card' P.# Con't from P.# The Ostry's building also housed a Salisbury House which was managed by Bill Dodds. The Post Office was where the Fire Hall is now. There was no mail delivery and very few letter boxes. "At Christmas time everything was packed in there like sardines in a tin can!" laughs Beth. The whole town stopped when the train came in. That was the highlight of the day, everyone came to see who was coming into town and who was leaving. There was a train every day. One day the train came from Winnipeg and then the next day it came from Regina. Ralph shopped at Ostry's and soon the grocery department became of particular interest to him! Ralph and Beth began dating in 1943 and were married on September 25, 1944 in Lestock, Saskatchewan. Their first home in Flin Flon was in a suite over Preston's Jewelers near the Commerce Bank. For entertainment in those days they would get together with friends such as the Prices, Hogaboams, Folkestones, Binghams, Kuhneys, Haggartys and Sivertsons to play cards. There were lots of house parties held in those days. The couple would often walk out to Phantom Lake, that was a great meeting place. The couple lived in the suite for about five years. Then they bought a lot in Willowvale. Ralph said, "I had to walk through the bush to find the pegs in the corner of the lot. We poured the foundation in June of 1949. We shared work bees with our friends on weekends." Beth's brother Julius Csigi had come up to Flin Flon for a few years and helped put up the frame of the house. The couple moved into their new home in September of 1949 and two years later the sewer and water was put in. Friends of the couple, Bill and Ann Beveridge who lived in Ross Lake, didn't get their sewer and water till sometime later, "and would come for a bath," laughs Beth. The installation of the sewer and water depended on the terrain, if a person lived in a rocky area they would have to wait till the rock was blasted out. Ralph and Beth's daughter Barbara was born at the Flin Flon General Hospital in 1948. During that time the bus service ran by Doxey was put into Willowvale because by then the "war houses" were built in Willowvale and there were quite a few families living there. There were still no grocery stores in that area and people had to do all their shopping above the hill and very few people had cars yet. Ralph would often pick up groceries on his way home from work and take the bus. Russ Cassan and Peter Lysohirka were the drivers in those days. "Basically the bus service tied the Willowvale area to Uptown," stated Ralph. The Rossington's son Raymond was born in 1952 at the Flin Flon General Hospital. Both children went to Willowvale School and then up to Hapnot. However, Barb took only her grades 9 and 10 at Hapnot and then went to the newly opened Sir Maurice Roche School for her grades 11 and 12. This school (1958-72) was ran by the Sisters of the Holy Names and is located where the St. Ann's complex is now. Ralph retired from HBMS in the fall of 1979. Beth was a stay-at-home mom till her kids were raised. Then she went to work in 1960 for Dr. Graham Craig and she retired from that job in the spring of 1979. In their retirement years the couple have done much traveling, to both sides of the coasts, down into the States and up to Alaska. They go West mainly to visit relatives. They are the proud grandparents of four grandchildren. Two of Ray's children live here. Barb has two as well and they live in Alberta. The couple have no immediate plans of leaving Flin Flon. They do have some concerns about the lack of housing for seniors in Flin Flon. They feel in order to keep Uptown alive that a seniors' residence should be built above the hill, where seniors can walk to the clinic, hospital, library and grocery store, because many of the seniors have had to give up their driver's license. That is the main reason why they sold their home in Willowvale and bought a home on Church Street two years ago. Ralph says, "I hardly ever use my vehicle because we are within walking distance of all the conveniences." Thanks for a great interview Beth and Ralph! What great memories you have and happy 60th wedding anniversary! Thanks for sharing!
