By Derek Holtom
The Waywayseecappo Wolverines were bolstered this season by the return of former players for their final year of junior hockey. That includes defenseman Kurt Rookes, the most offensively dynamic blueliner in the MJHL this season.
A native of Manson, Man., Rookes led all defenseman in scoring heading into the final game before the Christmas break with four goals and 25 assists for 29 points in 31 games.
His level of comfort with the Wolverines is plain for all to see. After a solid rookie season where he put up 16 points and 94 penalty minutes, Rookes spent the past two seasons in the WHL with the Wenatchee Wild and the Swift Current Broncos. But with only one season left, Rookes opted to return to the MJHL.
“I’ve always liked Wayway – they were always good to me when I was 17 years old,” he said. “It’s nice and close to home. My billets live 50 minutes from home, so I can see my family a lot.
“I also get to play with lots of guys I grew up playing with in Yellowhead. Guys like Ben Roulette, Jase Wareham, Max Collyer, lots of guys like that who are here,” he added. “Also, I enjoy playing for Landyn (Cochrane, Wayway’s Head Coach and General Manager). He’s been a really good guy, and someone you want to play for.”
The Wolverines have had an up-and-down season so far, but as they’ve gotten healthier they’ve started to string together more and more victories – a key to them to move out of fourth place and start climbing the West Division standings.
“I think we’ve had a really good start, despite having a lot of injuries,” says Rookes. “We’ve had up to seven guys out of the lineup at once, so that was pretty tough for us. And guys are starting to come back from injuries now, so we should be ramping up from here on out.”
Along with leading the MJHL in scoring for defensemen, Rookes also leads the league in power-play assists with 20. His ability to get his teammates the puck in good spots is a big reason Wayway’s power-play operated at a solid 23.1 per cent rate.
“I give a lot of credit to Landyn, we have a really good power play system going there,” says Rookes. “Also two guys on my side, Sebastien Hicks and Ben Roulette, are pretty lethal themselves. They make my job pretty easy – I just have to give them the puck, and it’s been working out.”
With all that said, Rookes says the goal for the Wolverines is to finish higher in the standings and get their first non-survivor playoff series win – and more.
“We have some key pieces coming back, so it will be good to see what we can do,” he said. “We’re right there with a lot of teams. With us getting guys back, I see no reason we can’t be beating those teams ahead of us.”
Last week
Kings 1, Wolverines 0
The Wolverines managed to give the division-leading Dauphin Kings all they could handle on Saturday night to finish the 2025 portion of their schedule, dropping a heart-breaking 1-0 loss in Dauphin.
The lone goal of the game came with the Wolverines on a power-play in the third period as Dauphin’s Nicholas Zaharias (ninth) scored short-handed 2:34 into the third period. Other than that, Wayway netminder Mariko Bercier was flawless stopping 45 shots.
Dauphin’s Bryson Yaschyshyn earned the shutout with a 23-save effort.
Wolverines vs. Monarchs
Last Friday’s clash between the Wolverines and the last-place Winnipeg Monarchs will have to happen later in the season as the second of back-to-back blizzards wiped out the entire MJHL schedule that night.
Up next
The Wolverines headed into their Christmas break this week and do not play again until Jan. 6, when they again head to Dauphin to face the Kings.
CLAW MARKS – The Wolverines enter 2026 with a record of 12-18-1-1, good for fourth place in the MJHL’s West Division. They hold a 10-point lead on the Swan Valley Stampeders for fourth place, though the Stamps retain four games in hand … Sebastien Hicksleads the Wolverines in scoring with 39 points – 17 goals and 22 assists … Wayway finishes the month of December with a record of 3-3-0.

Left to right - Gordon Nickel, Aaron Chipelski, Mark Wotton and Brad Zimmer with the generous donation of $50,000 to help fund the reconstruction of the Foxwarren Rink. Richardson Pioneer Ltd and Richardson Pioneer are known for their generous support of initiatives in communities around the world who have helped to make their company what it is today. The Richardson Foundation was established to celebrate the 100th anniversary of James A. Richardson & Sons, Limited. Richardson International contributes over $1 million annually to initiatives where their customers and employees live and work. Since the company was founded in 1857, this commitment to giving has been integral to Richardson International.

CPL. KELLY CLARK  

Summer is in full swing here in Roblin. Let’s remember that kids are out of school, and biking, walking, running all over the place. Please slow down while driving on the residential areas of town and near any parks. You never know when a ball and kid chasing it may pop onto the streets!! Let’s keep our community safe! Prairie Mountain RCMP responded to 35 calls for service in the Roblin area for a total of 153 files in the Prairie Mountain area over the last two weeks.

FROM THE FILES  

July 4
 • 1:58 a.m. – Members were called to assist an elderly person. Person had a hurt arm and couldn’t get up the steps without help. Member attended and assisted.
• 1:52 p.m. – Members were called regarding a fraud. Person had sent $30,000 to $40,000 by E-transfer and Apple gift cards in an attempt to collect a prize of $200,000.
• 7:55 p.m. – Warning given to a person for speeding on Highway 5.
• 8:05 p.m. – Another warning given to a person for speeding on same highway.
• 9:31 p.m. – Members responded to a vehicle fire. No one was injured.

July 5
• 12:28 a.m. – Members responded to a reports of a male smashing things and yelling in a residential area of town. Multiple calls were received. Members attended and arrested him for mischief and causing a disturbance. He was later released with a court date in October.

July 6
 • 5:05 a.m. – Members were called to a report of suspicious people. Person was sleeping in their vehicle when a group of people came and punched his window and then took off. No damage.
• 4:09 p.m. – Members responded to a call of an aggressive dog loose in town. Dog was secured and no one was injured.
• 4:59 p.m. – Members were called to assist EMS with a noncooperative patient who was possibly having a stroke or seizures. Caller indicated the patient was upset that police and ambulance were coming to assist and uttered threats to EMS and RCMP members. Upon attending, members were told he was in the house. He did not answer the door, or come to the windows. Members entered the house to ensure he was okay and located several guns unsafely scattered throughout the house with ammunition scattered throughout the house also. The male was not located and it was believed he went into the bush. It was unknown if he was armed or not. Eventually he came back to the house and was arrested without incident for uttering threats and unsafely storing firearms. In total, 246 firearms were seized from the residence.
• 9:24 p.m. – Members were called regarding a suspicious truck.

 July 8
• 8:44 a.m. – Members responded to a false alarm call.
• 10:20 a.m. – Members were called regarding a theft.
• 11:19 a.m. – Received a call about a breach in a family court order. CFS was involved and no breach had occurred.
• 8:17 p.m. – Roblin ambulance, fire, and police attended to an accident. The driver, who should buy a lottery ticket, got sucked into the ditch while passing a vehicle on a gravel road. The vehicle, which should have rolled, did not and the driver was able to drive out of the steep ditch a short distance later. Other than being very shaken up, no injuries, and no visible damage to the vehicle.

July 9
• 5:39 a.m. – Members were called to a female crying outside and banging on windows. Members attended and no one was located.

July 10
• 11:56 a.m. – Ticket issued for speeding on Highway 5. Person was going 120 km/h in 100 km/h zone. The ticket was worth $312.
• 12:22 p.m. – Ticket issued for speeding on Highway 5. Person was going 126 km/h in 100 zone. The ticket was worth $391.
• 1 p.m. – Another ticket issued for speeding on Highway 5. Same as above, 126 km/h, ticket worth $391.
• 1:30 p.m. – Person was pulled over and their trailer was unregistered, and they were not carrying their driver’s licence. Tickets were issued for both, $298 and $113.
• 2:57 p.m. – Person was pulled over for not having a front licence plate. Driver also did not have his drivers licence with him. Both tickets worth $113.
• 4:08 p.m. – Report of a disturbance. Caller wanted the person causing the disturbance spoken to. Same done. July 11
• 5:54 p.m. – Person given ticket for speeding on Highway 5. Person was going 138 km/h in 100 km/h zone. Thanks for supporting the highway fund in the amount of $548.
• 8:42 p.m. – Members called to a disturbance, which ended up being a consensual fight.
• 10:52 p.m. – Requested to do a wellbeing check on a person. Same was done and all was fine.

July 12
• 12:53 p.m. – Members were called to a bridge that had settled causing a road hazard. Highways department attended. Road closed.

July 13
• 7:53 p.m. – Members received a call of a possible impaired driver. Members made patrols but did not locate the vehicle.

July 14
• 6:51 p.m. – Members were called to a residential false alarm.
• 11:50 p.m. – Suspicious person report. Members attended and located a person sleeping in a tractor. She was given a ride home.

July 16
• 2:51 p.m. – Members were called to a 911 hang up. Members attended. Caller said their meds were missing and they needed a file number to get them replaced.

July 17
 • 6:36 p.m. – Members were called by a resident who found a bag. Looked through the bag identifying the owner and called them for pick up.
• 8:25 p.m. – Called to a report of cows on the highway. Members called owner who then dealt with the cows.

Forty-five golfers, including [L-R] Jayce Legaarden, Braydon Dube and John Perchaluk pictured here on #1, took to the links of the Roblin Golf & Country Club Saturday for the annual Moonshine Daze Men’s Open. Winding up on top of the leaderboard with a score of 71 was Chad Jones, a former champion (inset), with two former champions Chad Facey (72) and Jarrett Newton (72) finishing one point back to place second and third. Ricky Storozynsky (82) won the 2nd Flight over Court Reyda (83) and Brandon Kalchyn (84) while it was George McKay (88), Dean Gaber (89) and Dray Sobkow (89) in the 3rd Flight. The 4th Flight was won by Aaron Yeroschak (96) with Derek Sobkow (97) and Andrew Sorochuk (100) rounding out the top three.

JENNIFER LAVIOLETTE

Many people give the true essence of what it’s like to be part of a small-town community. Most of these people work in public sector jobs where they see people on a regular daily basis. Pat Cross spent 27 years working at the Roblin Post office and officially retired from the job this summer. Cross started her career with Canada Post as a casual position and worked up to full-time. “There was a part-time casual opening that Mavis Ready had brought to my attention,” said Cross. “She told me if I was interested to put in my application, so I did and got the job back in June of 1997, I have Mavis to thank for putting me on the path to this job. “Getting a job with Canada Post was a good career, for it was a government job with benefits. I started with a casual position, but as I progressed in hours, things became more established and permanent. Having a job that offered benefits, pension and regular set hours was crucial back then and still is today.

I got to know a lot of people during my time working at the Roblin Post Office.” Over Cross’ time working at the Roblin Post Office, she saw the change in how people use the postal service. Before technology and email, the post office was the primary source for people to receive correspondence and bills, now it has changed to being a depot for picking up parcels. “Lots has changed over the years,” said Cross. “When I first started, letter mail was a big portion of what we processed and received, not so much parcels. It took a lot longer to sort the mail because of the amount of letters that would come in. People relied on the post office for all their mail because it was where all their correspondence, bills, and important items were sent. “People still wrote letters back and forth, and Christmas cards were another huge thing back then. People don’t send Christmas cards anymore. Then at Christmas time, there maybe were a few more parcels than normal, but nothing like what it is today.  “Back then we received maybe 30 parcels a day and now the majority is parcels,” said Cross. “We are probably looking at 300 parcels a day. Then during Christmastime, it’s almost double to triple that amount. It’s a big part of what the post office does today and sometimes it feels like there is no room to store them all.

“People in rural communities still rely on the mail service for things, it just may have changed in terms of what people are picking up.” Cross enjoyed her time working at the Roblin Post Office. Her biggest enjoyment was getting to meet and talk with people every day. “I enjoyed the camaraderie with the people every day, whether that was my co-workers or the general public that came in to pick up their mail,” said Cross. “A lot of them would casually come up and start a conversation or tell you about their day and then they are off. The people really made the job enjoyable and I had an amazing staff to work with too. “We had lots of laughs as a staff and when Larry Kines worked there, we laughed a lot.

My most memorable moment working at the post office was when the staff came together and organized a fundraising barbeque for our family when Jaycee was going through his kidney transplant and I was his donor. What they did for me on that level, just melted my heart. It was a personal thing we were experiencing and my coworkers went above and beyond to help us. It was very emotional for me and something I will never forget. The way they all came together for that, made them feel like one big family to me. “I will miss seeing the people and getting to know everyone in a sociable atmosphere,” said Cross.

“I will miss having that chance to see people and talk to them every day. This job introduced me to so many new people and I won’t have that same opportunity now that I’m retired. “Over the years, I’ve gotten close with some of the people who have come in to get their mail, and then there would be a day when the funeral home comes to put up a person’s funeral announcement, and I would get saddened by their passing. You feel the loss after seeing them regularly and it’s heartbreaking.” Cross has plans to enjoy her retirement and spend more time with her family. “I’m looking forward to not having to wake up to that alarm clock now that I’m retired,” said Cross. “For me, that’s the best part, especially on those stormy winter days. I plan to spend more time with my family and enjoy my granddaughter as she grows up. It will be nice not to have to plan get-togethers with them around my holidays. “All the years I have worked at the Roblin Post Office have been great and I will miss seeing the people every day.”

CPL. KELLY CLARK
Police are constantly getting reports of Fraud. Often there is little that police can do because it is an international organization. We need to educate people. Police would like to direct people to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre. It can be looked up online. As of May 31st, 2024 there have been $241 million lost to fraud. Please know, nothing in this world is free, and if it seems too good to be true, IT IS!!! Any time you are sending money to anyone, you need to be ok with knowing you may never see that money
again. Family, please watch over the elderly and vulnerable people in your life. They are often targeted by these horrible people. If you have questions or concerns about this, please visit the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre, or call the Roblin RCMP Detachment.
There were 34 files in the Roblin area and a total of 116 in the Prairie Mountain Area over the last two weeks.
FROM THE FILES
June 20th
• 2:15 p.m. – Report of an erratic driver. Members attended and did not locate the vehicle.
June 21st
• 11:32 a.m. – Roblin Fire along with police attended a residential fire.
No one was home at the time of the fire and it was not suspicious.
• 12:36 p.m. – Report of an assault. Adult siblings physically fighting.
• 12:45 p.m. – Report of a neighbourly dispute over crown land.
• 10:06 p.m. – Second hand report of an assault. Person one heard from person
two that person three was fighting. Members attended and learned that never happened.
June 22nd
• 6:42 a.m. – 911 static call. Usually happens when there is a storm or if it is raining hard. Members
learned everything was fine but that number often calls 911 during storms.
• 4:12 p.m. – Person was given a ticket for having a cover over their license plate. Ticket was worth $203.
• 10:00 p.m. – Members received a 911 hangup of a disturbance. While en route, members got updated
that someone had been stabbed. Ambulance was dispatched. Members attended the house where
the call came from. The person there said that the caller had used the phone, was not bleeding or beat
up, but then left. Members attended several other places, learning that no one was bleeding or hurt. No further calls received.
June 23rd
• 12:06 a.m. – Report of a break and enter to a residence. Daughter was away, and parents were monitoring the house and got alerted
from security cameras that someone was in the house. Parents and members attended right away, no one was recognized or located.
• 4:14 p.m. – Third hand complaint of the whereabouts of a person that was wanted by police. Members did not locate the person.
June 24th
• 4:40 p.m. Report of an erratic driver. Members attempted to locate the vehicle but were unable to.
• 9:09 p.m. – 911 hang up with only breathing on the line. Members attended the residence and all was fine.
June 25th
9:46 a.m. 911 hang up. Members attended and two children had been playing with the phone.
June 26th
• 11:45 a.m. – Credit card located on main street and brought to the detachment.
Owner was called and didn’t realize it was missing.
• 10:46 p.m. – Person was given a ticket for driving without a valid licence, vehicle also had no insurance.
June 27th
• 9:59 a.m. – Bike found in water. Was later returned to the owner.
June 28th
• 9:10 a.m. – Report of harassment on Facebook. Person was told to block and ignore, or proceed civilly. Not a police matter.
• 3:10 p.m. – Report of landlord/tenant dispute. Both parties spoken to.
• 6:12 p.m. – Report of fraud. Person had sent money to someone, who
said they would bring her something. But then called saying they needed more
money because the fed ex truck had broken down. Had been communicating with the people on Facebook.
June 29th
• 4:24 a.m. – Report of a mischief. Witnesses did not want to provide statements,
therefore no charges could be laid.
June 30th
• 3:20 p.m. – Report of a theft.
July 1st
• 6:03 p.m. – Report of a family order dispute.
• 6:11 p.m. – Report of Landlord/tenant dispute. Same people as above. Both spoken to again.
July 2nd
• 2:10 p.m. – Request for a wellbeing check.
Same was done and all was fine.
• 3:00 p.m. – Report of a lost wallet.
• 10:51 p.m. – Report of dirt bikes being ridden in town. Members patrolled
and did not locate any dirt bikes.
• 5:54 p.m. – Report of a car driving fast with people
hanging out the windows. Members patrolled and was unable to locate it.
July 3rd
• 7:35 p.m. – Another report of a dispute over a family court order.

JENNIFER LAVIOLETTE

Building a career out of loving what one does will leave a person richer and more successful than any billionaire listed in Forbes magazine. Striving to work towards becoming the best a person can be in their field and loving what they do is the ultimate reward, for the job never feels like work. This is how former San Clara resident and Winnipeg hair salon operator Edward Carriere has framed his passion for hairstyling with running his own business. “I still see myself as being from San Clara and not some fancy guy,” said Carriere. “I still do what I got to do to get things done and that includes the stuff that requires some hard work.” Carriere didn’t always know he wanted to be a hairdresser when he finished high school. He had a profound admiration for the profession, and his path in life eventually led him to fulfill that calling. “When I went to St. Vlad’s College, a student’s parents were hairdressers,” said Carriere. “I saw how successful they had become in that profession and it had me thinking about it. There was no direct connection with them, but I just saw the success they had built for themselves. “Both of this student’s parents were hairdressers and had opened their salon. I wasn’t necessarily inspired by their salon, but rather by the work that went into becoming successful at what a person does for a living. That was my introduction to seeing someone become successful in hairdressing. I never really thought about it again as I finished my education.

“After I finished high school, I went to Thompson and worked in an open pit mine in Pipe Lake,” said Carriere. “It was a wellpaying job, but the lifestyle of being so rough and isolated with very little else to do was not something I wanted for myself in the long term. At the time I was happy to go to work and earn some money. I worked hard to learn everything I had to in order to do the best job I could out there. “Then they laid off the employees for the winter and I went home to San Clara for a few months. It wasn’t long before I felt the urge to get another job. We were told when we wanted to get back on with the mine, we had to go to Winnipeg and get our name back in on the list. When your name got called, you would have the choice of where you wanted to go and what you wanted to do. “I thought I couldn’t sit around and not do anything, so I headed to Winnipeg to put my name on that list and see what happens,” said Carriere. “When I got there, I was about the 200th person on the list, and I figured I wouldn’t get a job with that many people ahead of me. As I was walking back to my friend’s apartment, I went down Portage Avenue and walked by the Scientific Beauty School for hairdressing. “I was impressed and thought I should see what it was about. There was a sign outside saying to apply and become a hairdresser. I went upstairs to the office and saw all these people dressed in white and could smell the perm solution. I stood there and just watched them as they did perms and talked to people. It was a big commotion so to speak, of all hustle and bustle. Someone came to the desk where I was standing and asked if they could help me. I told them I was checking the school out. “The school’s manager came to talk to me and I grew interested,” said Carriere. “I asked when the next class started. She told me a new class started that Monday, and asked if I would like to enroll. That was on a Friday, and on Monday morning, I returned and went upstairs to class. I had no idea what I was in for.” Carriere had a real learning curve to face as he learned the art of hairstyling, for he never styled a person’s hair before. In his experience, haircuts were a necessity and now this shy young man from San Clara had to step outside his comfort zone to learn and grow as a hairstylist, then to find his place in the industry. “The first part of learning consisted of reading a book and learning all the things a hairdresser had to do,” said Carriere. “Then we started learning by example. The instructor showed us how to do a perm and we started learning how to do perms. It was one step at a time. I didn’t even know how to put a roller in someone’s hair never mind doing a perm. I was absolutely stunned and thought to myself, what was I thinking? It was tough because I had never combed a woman’s hair. “As a kid, my dad would cut our hair, but it was never about styling it.

Growing up, we cut our hair short in the summer and that was that. “At that time, I was a slow learner, because I couldn’t get the perm rods in the hair and couldn’t get the hair to stay in the papers,” said Carriere. “The instructor could see I was struggling and she came over to talk to me. She told me I would make a good hairdresser, I just needed to practice more on learning the basics. “That night I went home, called my cousin and asked her to come over so I could practice putting perm rods in her hair. Every night I would go home from school, and I would have cousins or friends come over and I practiced putting perm rods in their hair. Eventually, I put the perm rods in properly and then went on to putting in rollers and cutting hair. “I had to learn and practice everything, every step of the way,” said Carriere. “I didn’t walk in there knowing how to do any of it. There weren’t very many men as hairdressers in the 1970s. There were only two other men at the school in a class ahead of me. I knew it could be done and so I practiced. The more I practiced the better I got. I got into the mentality of doing whatever it took to get good at it and I kept going at it.” It wasn’t long after that, Carriere got his introduction to working in a salon doing shampoos for clients. He learned very quickly from those experiences as to how a client and employees want to be treated when they come to a hair salon, whether it was to work or get their hair done. “Then the school would get calls from other salons in the city for students to come and shampoo hair on the weekends,” said Carriere. “At the school, we had learned how to shampoo people’s hair properly and then would go out to these salons on the weekends to work. My first time going to a salon and shampooing hair was one in the north end. I shampooed hair all day Saturday and they paid me $10. The next weekend I got another call to go to and do shampooing at a different salon. “This time I walked into an Italian salon. There was no one around, so I sat by the front desk. I could hear all this commotion in the background. Women would walk in, head to the back and get their hair set. I was shy and didn’t know where to go or what to do until finally someone came and got me.

“The following weekend, I got another call to go to a different salon again,” said Carriere. “I was set to go to this new salon, but the other one from the week before had called and requested me to come back because they liked what I did. The more I shampooed, the better I got. I committed to going to this other salon already, so I went. “When I arrived, I was welcomed by the owner and it was such a different feeling from the week before where I sat there and they didn’t even know I was there. I walked into this salon and was greeted, shown around and things were explained to me. I instantly became a part of the salon and it was a great feeling. This led to me accepting a job there, where I stayed for seven years after I completed my hairdressing course.” Carriere was fortunate to find a mentor to work under so early out of school. Despite having a fantastic employer and teacher in the business, he continued cutting and styling hair every chance he got, in an effort to perfect his craft. “The owner, Alphonse, was Belgium and he met his wife, Amy, at a hair salon,” said Carriere. “They got married and opened up their salon together on Stafford Street called Coiffure Caprice. They were the nicest people in the world and I felt so good walking in there and talking to them. “I started just doing shampoos, and then eventually Alphonse showed me how to do perms and colours and had me doing those as well. He was my first teacher after school and was really good. He had me cutting his hair and then I was well on my way to doing all sorts of cuts and styles, growing as I went along. “Every night, when I went home from the salon, I would do haircuts and styles for my cousin and her friends,” said Carriere. “They would come over and let me do their hair. So, I would put in a full day at the salon, then come home to my apartment and do more hair in the evenings and weekends. I set it up in my apartment to practice out of and do hair. I bought an old hair dryer in the corner and a kitchen sink with a hose to wash hair. I washed hair, put rollers in, and did some cuts, colours and perms. I built up a whole little business of doing hair at night. “I would take the bus home from the salon and there would be a lineup outside my apartment door,” said Carriere.

“Eventually, I bought a car, and I started booking clients. I hardly charged any money because it wasn’t about making money, it was about getting better at what I was doing as a hairdresser. “I eventually started offering wine and beer to customers while they waited or were getting their hair cut. It built up so much that I was cutting hair for 10 to 15 clients a night in my apartment after my regular shift at the salon and built it up that way. “Alphonse knew I was going home and cutting hair out of my little apartment in the evening for more practice,” said Carriere. “I had asked Alphonse before I started if that would be acceptable with him because I didn’t want him to think I was stealing his clients. I even offered to do it at the salon after hours, but he didn’t want to be open after 6 p.m., so he was fine with that arrangement.” Carriere would always come back home to San Clara and soon began cutting hair for people when he came for visits. This also helped him grow his clientele base. “Then on the weekends, I would come back home to San Clara and cut my mom’s hair,” said Carriere. “She would have a few friends lined up at her house to have their hair done as well. Whoever came to my parent’s house, I wound up cutting or styling their hair. Then some people I knew in Roblin who found out that I was doing this, asked if I could stop by there and cut their hair before I returned to the city. “This led me to build a clientele in San Clara and Roblin. So, every few weeks I drove back and did their hair on Sundays and Mondays when the salon was closed.”

After seven great years of training and working for Alphonse, Carriere built a strong clientele base and was ready to spread his wings. He opened up Edward Carriere Salon in the late 1970s and has been there ever since. “I left in 1978 to open my own business on Broadway Avenue and Spence,” said Carriere. “I had built a clientele base from working with Alphonse and cutting hair for practice out of my apartment. Even after I opened my salon, I continued to drive back on weekends to my parent’s place to cut my mom’s hair and other people’s as well.” During his career in the industry, Carriere became one of the most soughtafter hairstylists in the city. He was known to be the stylist for many television news anchors and even styled the Duchess of York, Sarah Fergusson’s hair when she came to Winnipeg. To Carriere, it didn’t matter what the client’s status was, for his clients were all like family to him and he believed that everyone should look and feel good when they left his salon. He built his business on that basis and went above and beyond for his clients. “I had a client who lived in Killarney and she was a doctor’s wife who came to my salon in Winnipeg,” said Carriere. “She loved what I did and was one of my regular clients. Eventually, she was diagnosed with cancer and couldn’t come to my salon in Winnipeg. During one of my conversations with her, I told her I travelled to San Clara to do my mom’s hair. So, this client asked if I would travel to her house and do her hair in Killarney. “I didn’t know where Killarney was, but I knew it was near Dunrea, which was where Dollard and Marguerite Mailhot lived. Back in the day, my family lived in the San Clara Hotel and my dad worked for Dollard and Marguerite. I agreed to come and do her hair for her in Killarney and she said she would line up some people to cut hair for as well, so I wasn’t just coming that way to do her hair only. “When I went out there on Sundays, they would serve food and had a nice spread, while I cut hair for people,” said Carriere. “They were the nicest people in the world and sadly she passed away. All the time while I was cutting her hair and the people who came to her home, I built up my clientele through that too. Then those clients came to the city to see me at my salon. “I worked hard and did what I had to do to become better at hairstyling. I aimed to do whatever I could to make a client happy. I didn’t have to drive to Killarney to cut hair, but that client loved what I did and she wasn’t able to continue to come to the salon, so I made that effort for her. It wasn’t about the money, I wanted to do that for her and treated all my clients that way. “My clients were always like family to me,” said Carriere. “It’s a great business and a way to be nice to people and feel connected to them.

Your clients will tell you very personal things as you gain their confidence and trust, which forms a special connection with them. It was never about the money. Now the business has grown so much that we do have to focus on earning money to pay for everything from hydro to staff wages, but still, in my heart, I do it because I love it. People leave the salon and feel and look good.” Carriere has established his salon to have the same working atmosphere and disposition that his mentor, Alphonse instilled in him during his early years in the business. “There are staff that have been working at the salon now for 25 to 30 years, and they too are like family,” said Carriere. “They train the new staff coming up. We have new people working at the salon and they love the atmosphere there and have people who are willing to take the time to train them, which is so important to being successful in a career or owning a business. It’s an ongoing good feeling. When it came to working at the salon, people liked what I did because I made it as comfortable as I could, in terms of a place to learn and work. “I’m slowing down now and only working three days a week. I’m hoping someone will come with the same enthusiasm and spirit I have and want to buy my salon. If they wanted me to continue working for them, I would. This is a job I want to continue doing for the rest of my life and as long as I can.”