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.
Eileen Switzer came to Flin Flon in 1935 for a holiday. She came back the following year after having almost finished her nursing at St. Boniface Hospital but when she had taken ill, she was not allowed to finish. Her father Percy Switzer had come to Flin Flon in 1929 and her brother Roy had come in 1934 and both worked at HBMS. Eileen became their housekeeper for awhile. She met and later married Thomas Leel in 1937. Tom worked at Bell's Hardware store for about five years and then he got on at HBMS and worked there till his retirement in 1979. He worked mainly in the Tankhouse and was foreman for many years. The family lived mainly in Ross Lake for almost 40 years. When they first moved to Ross Lake, the Huber brothers had a grocery store with Frank being the butcher and his brother taking care of the rest of the store. There was a little drug store nearby owned by Jack Lavitt that had a coffee counter and sold confections, as well as Sue's Candy Bar was there also. Later Harold Wigg had a grocery store called Ross Lake Groceteria that is where the paint shop is now. Ross Lake School went to grade 7 and both Eileen's sons Loren, who was born in 1942, and Norman who was born in 1944, went to that school. Foster Park was going strong then with many ball games played through the week and in the winter there was an outdoor rink where many kids learned to skate. The family's entertainment centered around the great outdoors where they would go fishing, canoeing and berry picking. Tom was a member of the Flin Flon Volunteer Fire Department. He had joined before he and Eileen were married and stayed with it for about 15 years. He fought both the Richmond Hotel fire and the Flin Flon Hotel fire as well as the fire at the Rex Theatre. The boys were active in cubs and scouts; as well Loren was in the air cadets and had Ben Grimmault as one of his instructors. Neil McLellan was one of their scout leaders and he was also a long time teacher at Ross Lake. Some of the major changes that Eileen recalls were when the road came in from The Pas in 1950. Till then they had to send their car to The Pas by train, the family traveled on the same train and then the car was unloaded in The Pas and away they went. The same procedure had to take place coming back. There was no air service at that time so you were really dependent on the railroad. Passenger air service finally came in about the mid '50s and was called Canadian Pacific Airlines and Eileen recalls that Lamb's Air Service came in about that time, too. The family had a summer cottage at Denare Beach where they would spend their summers. However, when Tom retired they sold the cottage and put a housetrailer on the property and lived there for a few years. The couple did a fair bit of travelling, going to Spain one year and to Hawaii twice. They also traveled a lot by car. Tom passed away in 1989 and Eileen stayed on at the lake for a couple more years but found it difficult on her own. Eileen moved into Heritage Manor in 1991 and sold the trailer the following year. "I really miss the squirrels, birds and my neighbours," she says. Eileen said when she first moved into the Manor they used to play a lot of cards, and they still do, but to a lesser degree. "We do puzzles," she says, "and musicians come once in awhile and play for us. We used to have potluck dinners once in awhile but now we will sometimes just have a catered meal brought in. "It is wonderful to have people drop in and the yard is very nice in the summer, we each have our own patio and I still love to have flowers. Although it's getting harder to do!" When asked what changes she would like to see, she replied, "I would like to see a different kind of building established with a central kitchen and a staff similar to a nursing home because there are some who need extra help. We do have good home care but it gets to be a chore getting our groceries in, even before you have to cook a meal, especially when I can no longer drive a car!" At 90 years of age this fine lady is doing exceptionally well and her memory is great. She said her son Loren told her, "Mom, I never think about the things you can't do Ð I'm just thankful for the things you can do!" Eileen has three granddaughters and two grandsons as well as six great grandchildren. She says she gets to see them fairly often although some live out in British Columbia. What a pleasant lady to visit with. I really enjoyed my afternoon with her. Thanks for sharing your personal story with us Eileen and have a great day!
