SOURIS, Man. – A few years ago, Kelvin Jenkins was sweeping barley out of the tattered wooden granary in the back of his family’s southwestern Manitoba farmyard.
Today, Debi Jenkins straightens the country-style curtains that hang in the windows of the building and wonders if they match properly with the trendy throw carpets that cover the granary’s floor.
It is not the first thing that may come to mind for farm diversification ideas, but the Jenkins’ private guest house overlooking Manitoba’s Souris River seems the ideal venture for the bubbly couple who love meeting new people.
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“We get a lot of company and the house is always full, so we thought it would be neat to have a guest house,” said Debi. “Then we figured why not make some money with a B & B (bed and breakfast)?”
In with the old and then make it look older, is Debi’s motto. She has a knack for interior design and an eye for antiques.
The abandoned granary has been transformed into a cozy, rustic-looking cabin decorated in traditional cowboy style.
The couple got the idea after a trip to Prince Edward Island, known for its quaint bed and breakfast spots tucked into the island’s natural charm.
Kelvin builds cabinets in the winter and Debi enjoys decorating and crafts, so the project put their natural talents to work.
“I had a picture in my mind of what I wanted, then we just did it,” Debi said.
The family stored materials for three years before the project came together, said Kelvin. All three of their children, ages 20, 18 and 15, pitched in to help.
Odds and ends
The granary provided the structure, but the Jenkins enhanced its rustic look by rebuilding the inside using weathered wood from a neighbor’s old barn.
The window sills and door trim were made from abandoned railway ties discovered nearby. The mantel above the stone fireplace used to be the header beam that rested above the barn door. The fence surrounding the front veranda is actually discarded telephone poles found in some bush near the farm.
Visitors are taken back to the old West, with a wood stove in the sitting room, wide-plank hardwood floors and narrow, steep stairs leading up to the loft where two double beds are covered with matching quilts.
Outside on the veranda, there’s a wood pile on one end and a chair swing on the other. A fire pit is set up behind the guest house and in the summer, a vegetable garden lies next to that.
First-time visitors to the Jenkins’ Rustic Retreat follow road signs perched against two old wooden grain wagons donated by a friend.
In addition to the bed and breakfast, the Jenkins run a three-quarter section grain farm and raise about 40 head of cattle. There are also horses, chickens, ducks, geese, kittens and rabbits.
For many guests, it’s their first glimpse into life on a farm.
With a laugh, Kelvin recalls some recent visitors from Miami who came out in their white bermuda shorts to help harvest.
“They didn’t know what harvesting meant so we showed him the field of sunflowers and he didn’t believe that’s where sunflower seeds came from,” he said.
“They’ve been coming every summer since.”
Bills will be paid
The B & B business brought in about $7,000 last year, Debi said. At the end of this summer, Kelvin said, the $15,000 initial investment should be paid off.
Business is usually booming throughout the summer with weddings, family reunions, honeymoons and class reunions.
Hunters keep business steady through the fall, said Debi, whose brother-in-law is a registered hunting guide.
From Christmas to March is the slow time and Debi said she hopes it stays that way.
“I want to keep it low key or I’m afraid it could lose its flavor.”
