MEATH PARK, Sask. – Michele Sachowski’s husband knows she is in the
bar every night, but he’s not worried.
She owns the place.
Sachowski runs Humphrey’s Tavern in the northeastern Saskatchewan
village of Meath Park. She opened her bar on Friday, Feb. 13, 1998, and
figures her luck was running that day since she is still in business
and has hired three staff to assist her.
She worked at the village’s former pub but went without a job for three
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years after it burned down. She said she was driving her husband crazy
because she wanted to work, so they created a new pub. Humphrey’s
Tavern is named after Michele’s father, who died before he saw her in
business.
A contractor helped her choose among three likely buildings in the
village and the oldest one proved to be the soundest. The 1920s
building had been a store. Sachowski and her contractor tore down the
living quarters at the back, plugged up the hole at the side used to
haul in firewood and removed two large front windows. Then the
contractor put a new building within an old one, adding walls and a
ceiling. The room that resulted is draft-free and bright for a pub. It
holds a pool table, three VLTs, plus tables and chairs for a maximum of
105 people.
The gambling machines are a necessary evil: “If we didn’t have them we
wouldn’t be here.”
Sachowski is in the pub every day until midnight except Wednesdays when
she helps at her youngest child’s play school.
Women are not unusual in pubs, with the wives of owners usually taking
shifts, she said.
“I don’t feel unique. I’m just trying to get by.”
But she said it is probably easier for a woman owner to deal with
rowdies. She finds the men tend to behave better, wiping their feet at
the door and arguing less in front of her and her all-female staff.
Her pub is brighter and cleaner than the previous one, she said. It is
even drawing women and senior citizens who are not afraid to come in
for the afternoon to drink coffee or other beverages.
“After nine, we let the music go louder, swearing happens and a
younger crowd comes in.”
She said she’s never had a bad situation in her bar, other than two
after-hours break-ins.
“You have to know someone’s limit or how far to let an argument go.”
Social trends have also helped. More people are drinking in moderation
or bringing a designated driver.
She has few problems with underage drinkers because one of her staff
has teenagers and knows most of the young people in the area. The
tavern also gets yearbooks every year to check them out.
Sachowski said the best part of her job is meeting people and talking
to them.
Although not all of the village’s 250 residents are customers, the
tavern has some seasonal highlights that draw new faces.
In winter, there is a groomed snowmobile trail that runs right by the
front of the pub. In summer, tourists from nearby Candle Lake stop in.
And in spring and fall, Sachowski has held special events like a pig
roast, a magician and female impersonator. She also supports the
community by donating raffle sales such as a local crafter’s willow
chair to the skating club. She hosted the second annual chili contest
March 23 to raise money for the Garden River firefighters.
A customer who has popped in for a beer says, “You can’t beat the
small-town bar. They’re friends.”
