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No more clearing snow Town employee of 23 years retiresAngele Cano Northern News Services Published Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Michel himself is a character, a hard worker, and an all-around nice guy, say fellow town employees and community residents, adding he will be missed immensely. After 23 years on the job, he completed his final day of employment as an equipment operator for the town on April 27. Michel began working for the town in September 1989 after packing up and leaving when the zinc mine shut down in the now-defunct town of Pine Point. He and his family lived there for 20 years while he worked at the mine. Michel noticed an immediate difference upon moving to Hay River from Pine Point. “At the time, it was kind of sad to leave, but, after you got out of that kind of life in a company town, it was much nicer,” he said. “Everything was about the company. It's altogether a different kind of life. People there looked after themselves, but people are friendlier here.” His job in Hay River wasn't always easy, though. Sometimes there were 12-hour shifts in the dead of winter to remove snow – especially this year. “Mother Nature took all the snow from down south and dumped it up here,” joked Michel. Originally from northern Saskatchewan, Michel, who turned 65 in December, said he was surprised when 20-plus town employees and friends gathered at the town garage to bid him farewell, noting he was grateful, but humbled. “I wasn't expecting all that,” he said. “I just wanted a goodbye. It was kind of a surprise.” Michel will miss the people he encountered through his work, but said he won't retire completely. He'll still do odd jobs and go fishing more than he would when he had a day job. But he and wife, Germaine, are planning to stay in the NWT. “I've been up here for 45 years now and this is home,” he said. “There are too many nice people up here compared to down south. I can't leave now.”
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