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Smithers Men's Shed: from concept to going concern in less than a year

The group is up to 15 members, includes women and is actively working on projects

Everything has a beginning. And this one seemed to be a very good idea to check out.

Dan Fries and Paulie Threlkeld were at a meeting in March 2024 by a gentleman from Fraser Lake. The seed of a concept for a "Men’s Shed’ for Smithers was planted. 

Newly retired paramedic, Dan, wanted to catch up his honey-do-list, Paulie wanted to start now. They started right away.

Quickly they figured the challenges would be, how do we fund it and where do we have it?

They had a month of meetings and started applying for grants. Bruce Hobson had a shed they could use. Reno got started and by August 22 of last year, when an article came out in The Interior News, they had 10 members. They needed a bigger place.

The Bulkley Valley Bowmen offered theirs. They had quite a large shed and they needed a more "symbiotic" group on the property. The bowmen are young and lead busy lives.  

Since September 2024, the Men’s Shed has been working on the bare bones of a building at the archery range. They consider Paulie a “founding father’ and she isn’t allowed to leave. 

Men’s Shed Smithers is all-inclusive and has accepted another woman who really needed to find a niche.  

A quote from their brochure: “A Men’s Shed is a group of men who get together in their community to develop new skills, discover new interests and make new friends. But it is so much more than that. For many men, aging and retirement can lead to loneliness and a loss of purpose; and that’s where Men’s Sheds come in.”

At present, there are 15 members with the same desire and like-mindedness. Their president, Dan Fries, encourages people to come out and meet the group. They meet Thursday afternoons at 1 p.m.

The project on the go at the moment is getting their workspace ready. As well, when they get a tool donation they will fix it up and sell it. They are refurbishing a Beaver Rockwell table saw and have built a stand for it. It looks good. It will be for sale mid-February and be advertised on their website smithersmenshed.org, as well as, Facebook’s Market Place.

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From a new beginning to a story with a final closing.  

With a helping hand from the Lutheran senate to start up, and because of the desire of a few, a Lutheran congregation was a church in our community for 50 years. The congregation grew and changed location a few times. 

Finally from its present home, across from the museum in Telkwa, the Lutheran Church congregation had their final service on Dec. 22, 2024 and officially closed at the end of the year.

The council is sending out a huge thank you to all who came.

As it closes its doors I think of the final words spoken at the end of each service — a reminder to all — go in peace.