The Walls at first found enjoyment renovating their lake-side ‘cabin’ and have since found a variety of ways to keep themselves busy and happy
Fred and Linda Wall found their piece of paradise in southern Saskatchewan.
What they thought would be a relaxing cabin by water has turned into their home where they canoe, skate, fish, swim, hike, garden hunt and putter without leaving sight of their renovated home.
On this morning, Fred went for a hike on the hiking trails he maintains near their Pambrun, Sask., home. In the afternoon he will lace up his skates and glide across the frozen water of the Russell Creek Dam.
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“We were active before we moved here, but we had to drive to get there. Now, it is only 100 feet from us,” said Fred, who retired from SaskTel in 1997, at 51, and has spent the majority of his retirement renovating and fixing their acreage by the lake.
“I enjoy the work out here. It fills in my time. I am an active person and it is another way of exercising. This morning I went for a hike. At noon I eat and read about half a page and fall asleep.”
The couple bought their rural retreat in 2000 shortly after Fred retired. Repairing and fixing the 1960s era bungalow has consumed much of his retirement and given the couple joy.
“I cleaned up the yard and replaced the windows and added two sunrooms and changed the flooring. There was a shop and garage on the property and I updated that. I have been adding more evergreen trees here every year,” said Fred.
The old garage and shed was turned into his personal man cave and antique display area.
“I am a real decorator. I am always building things. I built myself a man cave and filled it up with treasures. I like restoring furniture and collecting things.”
In winter, Fred can step out of his shop, hop onto a toboggan and have a good run down the hill and onto the lake.
“You have a hell of a good ride. I am still a kid at heart.”
In his man cave are old animal traps and furs hanging on the wall. He also has a collection of antique telephones and old radios. On the wall are his own photos in frames made out of barn wood.
“I go to a lot of thrift stores. Those are my favourite stores. I always come home with something.”
One of his best finds wasn’t in a thrift shop, but on the trails. During one of his walks he discovered a maple tree, but with the age rings growing on the outside of the tree and not on the inside. He later found a couple more trees with a similar oddity and has made furniture out of some of the branches.
Linda didn’t retire from her job as a secretary when Fred retired and they moved from Shaunavon. Instead, she moved her job from Shaunavon to Swift Current and commuted from their new home for the next 16 years.
“Lots of places can use those skills, she said. During her career she worked at a radio station, municipal office, high school, credit union, lawyer and accountants office.
When they moved, she worked for a law firm for 16 years in Swift Current before retiring five years ago.
“I manage to keep busy out here.”
Linda still sews most of her own clothes, knits, crochets, reads and is active outside in the yard and their community.
Never satisfied with the designs of store-bought clothes, Linda said she and her mother would buy the fabric and the pattern and make the outfit with a bit more flourish. It’s a habit she continued throughout her life.
“I don’t make clothes as fancy anymore because I don’t need them for work, I need them for being out with the cats and in the garden,” she said.
Fred is a councillor on the local Rural Municipality of Whiska Creek and the pair are chair and treasurer of the local Pambrun Hall committee and the SaskTel Pioneers, a group of retired SaskTel workers who raise and give away money.
When Fred worked for SaskTel, he travelled around southeastern Saskatchewan and found the locations of the best saskatoon bushes and the best cooks, he said.
Worrying about having money in retirement often keeps many people from retiring from their job, but Fred said as long as you go into retirement debt free, he encourages everyone to retire early.
“I think the sooner you can retire the better. You always worry about money. You worry about that for the rest of your life, but you will make it.”
Linda has a more cautious approach. She doesn’t advise people about retirement, but feels people should do what they enjoy before they get too old.
“I think people can tell by our lifestyle and attitude that it is possible and enjoyable too. Fred didn’t know he had time for a job.”
