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.
Bob Mote came to Flin Flon in 1940 with his parents, Wes and Lena Mote. Wes had worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway and came to Flin Flon looking for work. He hired on with Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting and worked on the train crew. One of the main reasons that the family chose to come to Flin Flon was that Lena's sisters were all here; Mildred Fint (her husband worked for the radio station), Beatrice McDougall (her husband worked for HBM&S), Ethel Brown (her husband worked for HBM&S) as well as Dickie Rawson (her husband also worked for HBM&S). In about 1942 Wes and Reg Radford were riding on the train when the brakes failed. Both men were able to jump from the train just before it fell 250 feet into the open pit. Luckily Jack Russell's open pit crew had just gotten out as it was shift change! Bob started school in grade 4 at Ross Lake where Neil McLennan was the principal. Bob relates how they would make bobsleds out of their sleighs by putting a plank on the bottom of it and slide down Third Avenue Hill. He said it was great because there were hardly any cars then. Also, they had a huge outdoor skating rink on Ross Lake with a railway car made into a bunk house where they could go into to get warm. See 'Skating' P.# Con't from P.# "There were so many kids that we'd have to chase the hockey players off when it was skating time," he recalls. In about 1945 the family moved uptown and Bob then went to Hapnot School (which was where Ruth Betts School is now) and he mentioned that there were primary grades in the school back then. He recalls some of the teachers such as Miss Wadall, Miss Leigh, Miss Alpert and especially his shop teacher Mr. Bill Heard (who Bob later bought his first car from). The roads went to Big Island, then later to Cuprous in one direction and to Beaver Lake, and later to the South Weir in the other direction. Bob also fondly remembered Mr. Kines. "He was a great math teacher, but of course math was one of my favourite subjects." Bob smiles as he begins to remember some of the people he went to school with such as: Keith McDonald, Keith Lamont, Don Bryson, Ross Hillier, Jenny Goy, Olga Goy, Walter Goy, Ivor Hedman, Norma Sattlemeyer, Clara Baker, Kaye Laidlaw, Dora Maluta, Art McKeen, Irene Lucas, Ervin Herbert, the Sattlebergers and the Redahls Ð just to name a few. When he finished school, Bob applied for an apprenticeship at HBM&S. He couldn't get the one he wanted, as the only one opened was carpentry, so he took that. "I never looked back since,"he said, His teachers were Ted Grudgfield and John Ash. Bob stayed with HBM&S till 1963. He then incorporated Custom Cabinet in 1964. The business was eventually separated in the late '90s after Bob "retired". His son Jim took the window portion and Bob's other son, Wes, took the flooring and lumber yard as well as doing contracting work. Bob laughingly says: "I officially retired in '95 when I turned 65 but I am 73 and still working. I have a full shop at home were I do furniture work. I help out the boys as well. I usually get a call at least once a day." Bob and his wife Irene have been married 53 years and are still very active in their church. They have attended the Baptist Church since the early 1940s. "The church was a major part of our lives and still is." Bob relates that when the family lived in Channing for almost 20 years (and would still live there if there had been improved waterworks), they used to have Bible school in their home and the house would be filled with kids. He also recalls how he helped build the Beaver Lake Bible Camp in the late 50s, with the assistance of a man named Sinclair Whittaker. Apparently Mr. Whittaker was a wealthy man who gave away most of his money to help establish various Bible camps and, when he was in his 80s, he helped get this one established. Mr Whittaker was also responsible for the establishment of the Caronport Bible School. Bob relates how even at the age of 80 Mr. Whittaker was in such good shape that Bob could hardly keep up to him. He worked long hours and would rarely stop, even for coffee breaks. Bob speaks with great pride about the free lunches that the Baptist Church today offers the school students for about eight weeks every spring. "This isn't just a light lunch, it's a full course meal," he said. "What's so great about it is that it makes the kids lose their fear of a church." They have as many as 100 kids coming and there is never any trouble with them. The kids enjoy this so much that they 'police' themselves. The troublemakers know that their shenanigans will not be tolerated. Bob said these lunches have also improved the fellowship among the church members and have actually brought in some new families because the kids go home and tell their parents of what a "neat" place it is, and the families start coming to church. "Many kids comment on how great it is and even the kids who don't actually belong to the Baptist Church realize that church isn't a place to be afraid of." Bob mentioned that one of the church choir leaders went on to do great things in the music field. John Vickers, who was once the manager of the local Woolworth's store, has gone on to become an opera star, "Once in our choir we had over 300 members!" Bob said: "Work is a big part of my existence, thank heavens I didn't get some of the trades I had applied for!" Bob and Irene have four kids and two foster kids and had them all living at home at one time. "We all lived in a 22x26' house," he laughs. They have 14 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Bob is such an outdoorsman and says that is part of the reason why they would never leave here. Last summer he canoed over 200 miles with his dear friend, the late Charlie Mott. Bob says it is nothing to skidoo 2,500 to 3,000 miles in a winter. As Bob says, "The only time we go away is when the lake is too hard for the boat and too soft for the snowmobile. I love it here!" Thanks so much for the memories Bob. You have given us a very interesting story! Please Note: Concerning last week's story on Anne Lindsay, we would like to clarify some points: Patricia was born in March of 1947 and Judy still lives here. Also, the curling rink Anne took to The Pas was not her regular rink but was Hilda Erlandson, Jean Runhalem and Mayford Strom. And it was in 1998 when Anne's husband, Allan, passed away.
