Ed Lackner enjoys volunteering

By Joan Janzen

Ed Lackner is a familiar face around Kindersley and an active member of the community. He was born in Humboldt, Sask. in 1937, the youngest brother of three older sisters.

His father came to Canada from Germany and worked for a farmer before becoming a custodian for the school unit.

Ed attended a Catholic school from grades 1 to 8 and then a public school from grades 9 to 11. “I went to work after finishing Grade 11,” he said. But the truth is, Ed had been working since he was twelve.

“I started working part-time stocking shelves at a grocery store when I was twelve years old. It was something to do. I used to deliver groceries on special bikes they provided,” he explained.

At sixteen, Ed began working at a glass shop. “At that time, we made side windows for older trucks and cut out windshields. They had patterns for all the windows,” he explained. The glass was cut with a glass cutter and then shaped.

For about six months, Ed worked for a construction company that helped build the Humboldt Hospital in 1954. He also worked at a service station for a couple of years. But when his friend Chuck Neumeier, who played for the Kindersley Klippers, suggested he move to Kindersley, Ed thought it was a good idea.

“I moved to Kindersley on July 30, 1957 and started working at Tisdale’s on August 1,” he said. At that time he did oil changes before moving to the mechanical shop.

Ed and his first wife had two daughters: Brenda and Rhonda. Now he has one grandson, one granddaughter, and one great-grandson.

Ed earned his journeymen’s and inter-provincial papers at SIACS in Saskatoon and Moose Jaw and worked as a mechanic until 1963, when he moved to the parts department. After a few years, he became the parts manager.

“I had three of the best bosses you can ever have,” he boasted. Those employers included Norm Tisdale, John Boquist, and Roger McKenzie.

Ed remarried in 1970. He and Marie escaped to Arizona during three Saskatchewan winters and enjoyed four more winters in California. Ed could be found on the golf course while Marie pursued her love of sewing quilts.

“I was her chaperone, taking her to Saskatoon to get all her supplies. She made something like 124 quilts and donated 28 to Ronald McDonald House,” he proudly stated. He and Marie enjoyed fifty-plus years together before she passed away in 2023.

Ed retired from Tisdale’s on August 1, 1999 after forty-two years of faithful service, but he continued keeping busy, occasionally helping deliver parts.

He has always helped out in his community in various ways. In the past, you would have found him volunteering at the golf course and he was also a member of the Lions Club.

Since 2001, he has continued to volunteer with the Citizens on Patrol Program. “I’ve done about 485 patrols,” he said. “Now I go out about once a month, but before that, I would go out anywhere from three to four times a month.” According to Ed, volunteering helps give you a long life.

You might also find him having coffee with the crew at Tisdale’s in the afternoon. When asked if he drives a Ford, he broke out in a wide smile before replying, “Yes, I do.”

Ed may be approaching his 87th birthday, but that doesn’t stop him from volunteering!