Marengo couple wins Home Lottery
By Joan Janzen
Everybody loves receiving good news. Bev Schmalzbauer from Marengo recently received some very good news from the Saskatoon Home Lottery.
I was at home doing my Christmas crafts when I got the call, Bev explained. Her husband Melvin was busy taking care of their cows, but he was connected in the call as well. “They asked if I was sitting down, and I said I was,” Bev said. That’s when she and her husband received the news that they had won the $1.3 million grand prize show home in Saskatoon plus $50,000 cash!
“It was pretty darn exciting!” Bev said. “Normally, we are not so lucky people, so this was a surprise. We didn’t believe it. We had to stop and process it for a minute. It was good news when we hear lots of not-so-good news.”
Good news spreads quickly, and soon their phone lit up with in-coming calls congratulating them on their big win. One of the calls was from their good friends in Marengo, who were the Home Lottery winners last fall. “They won last year, and we won this year. We’ve known them for years,” Bev said. It won’t be surprising if everyone in Marengo begins buying Home Lottery tickets to see if the string of good luck continues.
“We buy a ticket every year. This spring, when we bought this ticket, I said to Melvin, I’m not putting it in your name because you never win. So this time, I’m going to try mine and see if we can win it,” Bev explained her successful winning strategy.
“We were pretty excited going up to see the house,” Bev said. “It’s beautiful! It’s got new everything! There was so much to take in; it was kind of overwhelming! It’s about 3500 square feet and has three floors. It’s completely furnished - all modern furniture, nothing like the farm furniture we’re used to.”
“I can’t believe how big the car garage is! Melvin was pretty excited about that! If it weren’t for Covid, we could have a real nice party in there!” After viewing the house, they talked about all the features of the house that they had seen on their drive back home.
The house is located on a third of an acre corner lot in Greenbryre Estates, situated on the Greenbryre Golf & Country Club. The yard is beautifully landscaped, although Bev and Melvin won’t fully appreciate that until the snow melts.
“If you were a golfer, you’d be in heaven,” Bev said. “But we’re not golfers. We’re farmers. Melvin is very talented and can do a lot of things, but golfing isn’t one of them.”
The Schmaulzbauers have been too busy farming to have time for golf. “We retired and sold most of our farm, but we still own our home quarter and have cows,” Bev explained. “Melvin likes his farm but has been trying very hard to retire. This will definitely help out.”
This fall, Bev and Melvin moved to Kindersley, but they didn’t anticipate anything like this happening in their future. “We will eventually sell it, but it’s all still pretty new right now. We intend on staying there for a few days and enjoying it. Well, maybe more than a few days,” Bev concluded.
Bev and Melvin Schmalzbauer sit in their new $1.3 million dollar home that they won in the Saskatoon Home Lottery. The couple intends to eventually sell it, but will enjoy it in the meantime.
PHOTO COURTESY SASKATOON HOME LOTTERY