181 years of service honoured at CN retirement

By Ken Johnston
Editor

More than 100 people gathered at the Rainy River Community Centre Saturday to honour retirees from Canadian National Railway.
Five retirees were in attendance and two could not make it.
Attending was Peter Grant, Rick Hagarty, David Ivall, Charles (Chuck) Janzen and Bob Jarvis. Sending regrets was John Armstrong and Marvin Angus.
Emcee for the evening, Ralph Armstrong read profiles of each of the retirees in attendance.
Peter Grant
Grant hired on June 20, 1971 as a clerk and worked in Rainy River, Fort Frances and Winnipeg. He retired on Oct. 31, 2007 with 36 years and 4 months service.
Rick Hagarty
Hagarty hired on July 15, 1971 as a Brakeman. He was promoted to Conductor in July of 1974. He worked Thunder Bay East and West, Rainy River, Fort Frances, Winnipeg, Melville, Kamloops and Jasper. He retired June 30, 2008 with 37 years and 15 days of service.
David Ivall
Ivall hired on August 1973 as a Brakeman and then was promoted to Conductor in 1975. He was later promoted to Locomotive Operator. He retired on April 1, 2008 with 37 years and 8 months of service. He worked in Rainy River, Atikokan, Thunder Bay and Winnipeg.
Charles Janzen
Janzen hired on April 15, 1974 as a Sectionman. He was promoted to Foreman in 1982 and retired with 34 years of service on Feb. 22, 2008. He worked in Warroad and Roosevelt. He never had an injured man in the 26 years of his watch.
Bob Jarvis
Jarvis hired on Feb. 23, 1971 as a Brakeman. He was promoted to Conductor on Feb. 23, 1975. He retired in July of 2007 with 36 years and 5 months of service. He worked in Rainy River and Symington.
Emcee Armstrong noted that retiree John Armstrong who started his career in Rainy River spent many years with the upper ranks of the United Transportation Union and sent his regrets for not being there Saturday. He also sent his congratulations to all the retirees and their spouses.
All the retirees received beautiful hand crafted trains by Rick Peterson. This has been a tradition for a number of years and this year two other past retirees that did not receive one before were also presented theirs; Archie Wiersema and John Mykytyn. Gifts from the retirement committee were also presented as were certificates from MP Ken Boshcoff and MPP Howard Hampton. Hampton was there in person to present his and was assisted by John Rafferty. Retirement Committee member Doug Hartnell presented Boshcoff’s.
Well wishes were also received from both union locals, Roger Bonot and O.J. Nault, both who could not attend.
All the retirees were given an opportunity to say a few words. Perhaps the most poignant were those of David Ivall who expressed his gratitude to the forefathers who started the pension plan back in 1957. “I saw guys from DWP working into their 70s because they did not have a pension plan. I am grateful for being us being able to retire at 55.” Ivall also brought a caboose marker from when he started his job and spoke about how much technology has changed. “We did not realize we were on the edge of great changes.”
All the retirees thanked everyone for coming and their spouses for putting up with the life of a rail worker.
After a delicious dinner served by the RR curling Club and Jr. Curlers and the presentations the party continued with a dance featuring a live band.