Don Aasen is facing something he hasn’t had much of over the past 25 years: time off.
Aasen is stepping down as a Creighton town alderman and preparing for retirement from Hudbay, where he has worked for 25 years.
“It feels weird already,” he says. “It’s a fantasy at 50, but now it’s a reality. It’s a little bittersweet.”
Aasen earned his
25-year gold watch from Hudbay in September. He’ll be eligible to leave early next year, and in conversation, he sounds like he’ll make the leap in the not-too-distant future.
“I’m eligible on
March 1,” Aasen says, adding, “We may stay here in Creighton and spend time with family in friends outside and in this region. I don’t know if we’re going to move out or not, let’s put it that way.”
Much of Aasen’s own personal history revolves around the mining industry. He wasn’t born in the Flin Flon-Creighton area, but moved here as an infant.
“I’ve always said I learned to walk on Callinan,” he says.
Aasen’s path zigzagged into and out of the Flin Flon-Creighton area over the years. He left and then came back to the area to work for a few years in the 1970s, and returned for good in 1991. More than 25 years later, he is a senior metallurgical technologist at the Hudbay zinc plant.
Outside of his work and home life, Aasen took an interest in local politics.
“I thought, ‘Gee, maybe I should run,’” he says. “It’s easier to wait until nominations are over sometimes. I was ready for council, and I was approached by some citizens and asked if I’d consider running, and I did.
“I’ve always volunteered for something or other. I thought that maybe I had something to give. I was interested in how the council worked.”
Aasen joined Creighton town council in 2003 and would remain for the next 13 years.
He recently confirmed he will not stand for re-election in this month’s municipal election, saying, “I’m at the age where I can’t commit four years to this [council].”
When asked about what he’ll remember from his time on council, Aasen said his memories were mostly positive, but had mixed feelings on economic development.
“We didn’t accomplish as much in economic development as we had hoped to,” he says. “We tried the deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel, which didn’t go. We tried some smaller enterprises. Burbot livers, some of the other resources we have here, neutroceuticals, that sort of thing.”
Another large-scale proposal – turning the now-defunct South Main mine into a microgravity drop shaft – also failed to materialize.
When talking about infrastructure, Aasen is proud of council’s accomplishments.
“There are always little things that go on here or there, but by and large we have a water treatment plant upgraded, good underground infrastructure, piping, sewer, storm sewer, water,” he says. “Doing that without having to abuse taxpayers financially has been our goal.”
Now that retirement is right around the corner, Aasen is starting to make some plans. He wants to travel, and just one day after this interview he was scheduled to leave for Alberta, where several family members live.
His family owns a farming operation north of the small Saskatchewan highway town of Naicam, which he often visits.
Aasen may also follow the well-worn path from Creighton to the southern US, where many local residents live in the winter as snowbirds.
“There’s an awful lot of folks in this area who do spend portions of their time in the warmer climates,” he says. “Not sure if that’s on our agenda – probably not for four or five months of the year – but we’ll look things over a little bit.”
