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.
Reece Ronald Romphf was born in Blucher, Saskatchewan (25 miles east of Saskatoon) on March 31, 1923, to Annie (Dufour) and George Romphf. He was a twin, his brother Oliver passed away shortly after birth. He was one of 12 kids (Nola, Harvey, Leila, Everett, Della, Pete, Eileen, Nobel, Reece, Whyman, Calvin and Lucille). Reece was raised on a farm and walked 3Ú4 of a mile to a one room school house called MacKenzieville School. He laughingly remembers his first teacher Ñ a Mr. Lorrit Ñ who used to throw the chalk brush when he heard a disturbance behind him. "It went winging by my ear many times!" Reece left the farm in 1939 and moved to Saskatoon where he got a job working at City Hospital. Reece joined the Navy in 1942 taking some training at Unicorn Naval School in Saskatchewan and then going on to Esquimalt for further training, ending up in Halifax in the fall of 1942. Reece was on "the Derry run" from Newfoundland to London Derry for the duration of the war. "C2 was the name of our furtella. The first ship that was sunk had three of my chums on board. One night we lost three ships: the HMS Icarus, HMS St. Croix and HMS Polyanthus. See 'Live' P.# Con't from P.# When we first started fighting the war we had 135 Corvettes 'til they one by one got torpedoed. One night we picked 49 Americans out of the water off the US Yorkmar. The HMS Gatineau was our senior ship, the destroyer on the 'Derry run'. I lost another friend off the HMS Alberni that went down." When asked if he was scared, he simply stated, "You tried to think of the job at hand and not think about much else!" Reece was discharged on September 26, 1945, returning to Saskatoon to look for work. He was working for Tubby Construction mixing mortar when Donnie McDougall phoned him from Flin Flon and said, "I know where you can get a job for five cents an hour more!" Reece came to Flin Flon and hired on at HBMS in February 1946. He started on the bull gang working for Pete Maloney and George Abele. His first job was loading coke (light coal) for Ben Grimmault. He worked with Vic Sizer unloading concentrate as well. Reece met Marilyn Ward in 1943 when she was a waitress at the Pickerty Caf in Saskatoon. They dated on and off during the war. While Reece was overseas, Marilyn took a hairdressing course. They were married on September 11, 1946. Their first suite was at #3 Hapnot Street just above Marg and Hugh McBratney. "It was $22 a month and there were 21 steps to the two holer out back!" Reece recalls. "The waterworks would freeze up every night during the winter and we'd have to take a blow torch to thaw it out. We stayed there seven months! Then we moved to 33 Boam, buying the small house from Ted and Mary Farr." Their first son Jack was born (in 1948), while the family lived there. By this time Reece was working in the Mill with Clarence Baker Ñ who was a pipe fitter Ñ and also with Bernie Hilliard and Stan Quesnel. Reece joined Branch #73 of the Royal Canadian Legion in 1946. Some of the members he recalls in those years were S.P. Lockhart, Bill Wingert, Vic Sizer, Fred Ledieu, Bus Ketchen and Ken Smith. They used to have live bands playing at various dance halls in those days. At the Legion Reece played the banjo with Fred Barnovich on the fiddle, Lawrence Halldorson on the trumpet, Les Bloxom on the banjo and Marg Brough playing the piano. "We would play twice a week and each get two dollars." Wes Vickery played at the Lobstick, and the Rhythm Kings played at the Jubilee with Wes Vickery on piano, Hugh McBratney on sax, Del Byers on drums and Roy Warren on bass fiddle. Stan Kearns and Reece played at the Elks' Christmas Cheer Broadcast a couple of times. Reece started curling at Ross Lake in 1947 with Wilf Forsythe. In 1948 Reece joined the 'paint gang' working with Ted Wright (Boss), Bus Ketchen, Bill Wingert, Jack Scott, Steve Windjack and later Red Nelson. "I must have painted three or four head frames out of town at Snow Lake, Chisel Lake and Osborne Lake. We were away from home quite a bit. We painted all the head frames in town during the summers such as South Main, North Main and Schist Lake, and in the winter we would do the steel frames inside!" In 1949 Reece along with several other guys started construction on Willowpark Curling Rink. There were Jim McFarlene, Cec. Hope, Andy Galambos, Ted Wright, George Sandford, Reg Burr, Les Brock, Mac McCrimmon and Bill East Ñ all who worked many volunteer hours. Willowpark opened in 1950 with Cec. Hope as the first president. Reece curled with Cec. Hope, Bus Ketchen and Albert Feldman. He also curled with Mac McCrimmon, Jim McFarlene and Jim Hills when they went to curl in Portage. He also curled with Harold Betteridge, Art Opine, Bill Brad, Jim Cook, Eddie Longmore, Hugh Howat and Lefty Stonehouse, among others throughout the years. In 1949 Reece bought his home on 337 Green. In 1950 he Ñ along with many chums Ñ raised the house to pour a basement. Some of the guys who helped him were Don Govenlock, Max McCutcheon, Bus Ketchen, Lewie Wullum, Mel Munson and Jim McFarlene. "In those days everyone helped each other. I got the lumber from Wright's Mill owned by Ted Wright and Ole Sorenson," he said. In 1952 their second son Bob was born. Their neighbours on Green were Lewie and Diane Wullum, Mel and Bernice Munson, Jim and Doris McFarlene and Mac McCrimmon. The family did their grocery shopping at Willowvale Grocery. Marilyn curled at Willowpark with Isobel Ketchen, Kay Einarson, Marilyn Reader, Pat Gilmore, Zandra Wright and Barb Burgess, just to name a few. She was also an avid bridge player and won many tournaments in bridge as she did trophies in curling. In 1968 Reece transferred to the research lab where he worked until his retirement in 1981. In the lab Reece worked with Joe Mahussier, Ed Martin, Wes Vickery, Maurice Smith, Claude Smith, Hal Roberts, Jim Robertson, Len Ballard, Bill Vatcher, Greg Michalkow, Wayne Fraser, Mac McCrimmon and Jim McFarlene. Reece retired in June of 1981 and he and Marilyn moved to Saskatoon that same day. They had many family members there, including Marilyn's mother who Marilyn was very close to. Marilyn passed away of lung cancer February 10, 1997. Reece still lives in their home in Saskatoon. He still plays banjo from time to time. He was a member of the "Dukes of Havard"! He loves his garden, coffeeing with the guys at the Co-op every morning, feeding the birds and watching T.V. He has only two sisters left now. His son Jack (Sue) lives in Victoria. They have four children: Joceyln, Ward, Jonathon and Matt. Bob lives in Winnipeg (Linda Hanson) and they have three children: Beth, Heather and Daniel. Reece still talks about Flin Flon and all the guys that he used to golf, curl, sip a beer, or play a tune with. Although you may find it hard to get him to admit itÉ he did leave a piece of his heart in Flin Flon and tries to come back when he is able. Thanks for the memories Reece!
