This feature will attempt to renew some acquaintances with those who called Carman and the area home at one time or another. I have randomly selected people to answer questions about their past and present so the readers can get up to speed on their lives.
1. Firstly, let’s get in touch with you again. When did you live in Carman?
I was born at Carman Hospital and lived just outside of the town boundaries at the home my parents still live in today on the east end of town. It was a great place to grow up.
2. Did you attend school here?
Yes, I went to Carman Elementary and Collegiate graduating in the class of ’91 when my classmates elected me as valedictorian for our grad class.
3. What did you do for jobs as a student?
I worked at S & K Strawberries U-Pick. It was a great job that taught me about interacting with customers, giving directions, and counting money. It also came with the side benefit of all the strawberries I could eat during picking season. In the offseason, I got to work on the tractor to plow fields and do other farm jobs. Later, I got a part-time job at Carman Furniture, renting out videos and delivering furniture to customers.
4. What activities did you participate in as a student?
I played minor hockey and was involved in 4-H. I rode horses with the Graysville Light Horse and Pony Club and got into public speaking there.
5. Did your family live here? Who and what did they do for a living?
Yes, my parents, Neil and Dorothy, were both teachers in the public school system. Mom taught kindergarten, and Dad taught biology at the high school. They also co-owned S & K Strawberries U-Pick.
6. What was your chosen career after school?
I studied agriculture at the University of Manitoba and worked for the Province’s Department of Agriculture in the summer, briefly as an agronomist the year after I graduated. In 1997, I went abroad to travel and teach English in Prague. I enjoyed teaching, and I stayed for five years. After a brief stint back in Carman, I went to Japan to teach English there.
In 2002, I returned to Canada, landing in Vancouver with my now-wife Yuki, to attend the B. C. Institute of Technology for Broadcast Journalism. I landed internships with CBC Radio and Television there and Global News in Kelowna. Those internships resulted in my first job in journalism—a three-month stint as a TV reporter in Kelowna, followed by a position in Brandon, where CBC Manitoba was reopening its one-person bureau in Westman in 2010.
Since 2011, I have been with CBC at its Kelowna bureau, expanding into web writing, shooting and editing my own TV and video stories, and hosting our current affairs radio shows. I’ve also been able to report to a wider audience, with many of my stories being picked up by CBC’s flagship TV broadcast.
7. Did you meet your spouse here or where?
I met my wife Yuki while teaching English in Japan. She had been studying English Literature in England and had recently moved back to Japan and started working for the same English language school that I was at. Yuki now works in the public school system in Kelowna as a certified education assistant.
8. Did you raise any children here or where? Names, where now and doing what?
We have two energetic kids: Cody, who is 11, and Myla, who is 8. Cody will enter middle school this fall and play on a recreational U13 hockey team. Myla is starting her second year at the U9 level.
9. Do you have extended family living here?
Yes, my Uncle Charlie Froebe, Aunt Della and Uncle Ken Heaman, Cousin Murray Froebe and his family all live in Carman.
10. What passes your leisure time? Hobbies? Sports?
I spend much of my energy chasing after our kids, but I enjoy hiking and playing Ultimate (frisbee) recreationally year-round. I was on the committee bringing the Canadian Ultimate Championships to Kelowna last summer. We also watch a lot of hockey in our household… Go Jets!
11. Have you travelled for leisure and where?
Most of my travels were when I lived in Europe and Asia, so now, the travel is mainly around B.C., and I am back to see family in Manitoba and Japan.
12. Do you ever return to Carman?
Yes, either at Christmas or in the summer. We were at the Carman Fair this year and really enjoyed being back for that.
13. What are some of your fondest memories of your Carman days?
Growing up on our property and having the freedom to explore the forests or safely bike around town as a youngster. I also enjoy Manitoba’s vast blue sky and the yellow fields of canola. Finally having a ‘79 Camaro, driving around town or to the drive-in theatre in Morden.
14. Any last words you wish to send to our readers?
I love seeing how much Carman has changed in positive ways with more diversity, the pathway, the library extension, Ryall Park and the Active Living Centre. Yet kept its small-town charm and community spirit. It’s a wonderful place and I was lucky to grow up here. I am also very happy the town has such a dedicated community newspaper as the Carman-Dufferin Standard. In a time with declining local media coverage, Carman is very lucky to have journalists to share the wonderful stories of the community…..something that social media can never replace.
