NWT Turns 25. A Love Story.

By Dan Feser

The sun isn’t up yet, there is still frost on the windows. The town is quiet, dark, and there is only a handful of vehicles on the streets. The clock in the truck says 5:30. At North West Terminal Bart Brown already has a half hour of work in. He is in his happy place.

The night crew are still finishing their duties while Bart begins his day with the morning chores, officially two hours before the driveway opens and farmers start dumping their grain. It begs the obvious question: why?

“I can’t wait to get to work,” Bart smiles. “It’s a habit I guess, I have been doing it so long.”

He is not kidding. Bart has been doing this since North West Terminal opened 25 years ago in June. Since day number one. Twenty-five years later, save for a brief retirement in 2008, Bart is still coming to work at 5 am to start the day. He likes the quiet because it’s the ideal time to get the jobs done that become more difficult when the driveway opens. However, the solitude isn’t always, well, solitary.

“It is amazing how many farmers will haul in now,” he laughs.

Bart’s dogged determination and passion for what he does is a glimpse into one of the factors that has made North West Terminal such a success story in its 25 years as an independent inland grain terminal. The people. Bart and his wife Barb, nearly 25 years in settlements, have become the unofficial faces of the terminal. And there is a true, genuine sense of pride when they speak of their second home.

The original board of directors who envisioned what North West Terminal was going to be, knew to achieve their goals they had to have the right people in place. They knew who they wanted as their production manager. A grain buyer well known and well respected in the area. They wanted Bart Brown.

Bart’s career as an elevator agent began in Scott in 1971 with Sask Wheat Pool and his career took him around the trade area, from a small elevator south of Biggar, to Phippen/Cloan, all with SWP. He jumped to Pioneer Grain in Forgin, but the passing of his father in 1974 brought him home to farm. At the same time he worked at Pioneer in Baldwinton.

In 1975 he came back to Rockhaven, closer to the farm, where he worked under father-in-law Bruce Gordon, a man who became integral in making Bart so successful and respected in the agriculture community.

“He took me under his wing and taught me how to buy grain, he was a big influence on me. Taught me to be aggressive when buying grain,” Bart recalled. Bruce also taught him to be above and beyond with customer service. When Bruce died suddenly in 1976 Bart stepped up and ran the Rockhaven facility for 20 years. His success and reputation made him a man in demand. NWT board members Merv Slater and Bob Cumming targeted him as the production manager for the new facility, and Slater was insistent.

“They were on my doorstep every Friday afternoon asking me to come over. We kept going for supper until I finally gave in,” Bart laughed. He paused for a moment before adding “it was the best decision I ever made.”

But this is more than a milestone story. This is a love story.

Bart started before the driveway opened in February of 1996. His high school sweetheart and wife Barb followed him in May. Bart actually hired Barb as his secretary in Rockhaven and they were a package deal to come to North West Terminal. She has been a fixture in settlements since the first load was dumped.

“We came as a couple, whether they wanted me or not,” Barb laughed.

The laugh. Barb’s iconic laugh has been a part of the terminal’s culture since the doors opened. It echos in the walls.

For the better part of 25 years the Browns have worked a few metres away from each other, an ideal situation for them. It’s not cliché, they really are best friends. At work, at home, at the lake, in the fishing boat. Barb comes in to work at 8 am, each day bringing Bart his breakfast. It is a ritual.

“It couldn’t be a better situation for me honestly. What more could I ever want?” Bart asked.

“We put a lot of long days in this place,” Barb added. “Lots of six in the mornings to 11 at nights in the early days so that was nice to be able to do together.”

They were both there when Pat Uzelman took the first load in by horse and buggy and have seen the majority of every truck since. They have witnessed the changes first hand. Bart talked about people telling him the sheer size of the original terminal was asinine. They were crazy, people told him. How would he ever fill it? Well, he filled it alright. He filled it so often and so well North West Terminal doubled in size five years after taking its first truck. He had to pile grain on the ground more than once. He worked through rail expansion to increase the amount of rail cars, the big expansion to double the capacity, the construction of the bio plant. The construction of the marketing department after the Canadian Wheat Board was dissolved. All the while he just kept buying grain. But it wasn’t just North West Terminal that expanded. Bart watched farms and the amount of grain grow too.

“The yields went from 35-40. Then 50 and now 80 and higher with no till, the fertilizer and the genetics. The volumes have gotten so big and the farms have gotten so much bigger,” he explained.

“We started off just buying wheat, canola and barley. Then soft white wheat when we opened the bio plant. Now peas, lentils, flax, corn, rye…”

Barb has noticed that as well. With bigger farms and bigger volumes come bigger cheques she is issuing. That has never affected the level of customer service the Browns pride themselves on.

“I like that we still cater to the smaller farmer, we treat them well and we work with them. We work with the farmer, not against them. I would say 99.9 per cent of the farmers we deal with are happy,” Barb said.

She has seen her share of changes too as North West Terminal remains state of the art through constant upgrades and improvements in computer programs and technology. She said farmers love the fact that a few minutes after they unload, they can have their settlement cheque. The terminal even offers direct deposit.

The sincere passion and fondness of North West Terminal is evident in every conversation with Bart and Barb who take a lot of pride in the growth and successes of a small town, independent grain terminal that is annually listed as one of the top employers in Saskatchewan.

“You’re damn right we are proud of this place, we put a lot of heart and soul into it over 25 years. We’ve worked with so many great people, you feel blessed,” Barb said while stacking cheques.

Bart, pouring over a grain sample several hours earlier, echoed the sentiments.

“I love this place. I really do. I was determined to see it do well,” he said.

In hundreds of visits to farmyards by the field reps, farmers often marvel about the level of service and the relationship they have built with North West Terminal and the Browns. Bart often buys their grain, Barb issues the cheque.

In 2008 the Browns decided they were going to retire together, and they headed to the lake. But a funny thing happened when fishing season ended. They missed work. They say if you love what you do you never work a day in your life. By that logic, Bart and Barb haven’t worked many days in the last 25.

“We got bored. We aren’t people to sit around and do nothing. You have to have a purpose,” Bart explained.

Bart turned the production over to the capable hands of Neil Boser and returned six months after retirement to come back to work. Naturally, Barb followed.

“This is the best retirement. I get to do what I love to do and I get paid to do it. When I want to go fishing, I go fishing,” he laughed.

Brad Heidt was an original shareholder in North West Terminal and has been a strong customer for many years. He said the Browns are synonymous with the facility.

“Bart, I mean it is pretty remarkable that he is in there every day at 5. If I wake up early I can text him at 4:30 or 5 from bed and he answers immediately,” Heidt said with admiration.

So Bart comes in every morning at 5 and he works until noon, unless he wants to work later. He mentors, he loads cars on weekends because, well, its part of the job. He jokes and enjoys the banter and the camaraderie with the production team, he cherishes the relationships he has built with the farmers.

It is the relationships that keep Barb coming back as well. One of her truest rewards of the job.

The relationship is also what keeps Heidt coming back again and again.

“Bart is always good for a joke and the whole front there is pretty entertaining. It is such a good staff with Neil and everyone. No one ever seems in a bad mood, and that spreads throughout the whole office. We enjoy doing business there,” Heidt said.

“Barb is such a treat. She always has all of our stuff bundled up and wrapped like a present with a sucker or some sort of joke. You know, it took me 13 years of trying to figure out what her middle name is. I knew it started with an ‘E’. Finally got it.”

Eileen, Heidt revealed with a laugh.

They work until they go home. They talk about work while Barb reads and Bart watches a ball game on TV. Then they go to bed. Bart has to get up early you see.

So how does this love story end?

It hasn’t been written yet.

“I don’t plan on going anywhere. Why would I? Barb sometimes talks about (retiring) but she’s not going to want to be at home alone,” Bart smiled.

Barb doesn’t appear to have many post NWT plans either.

“I’ll be here until Bart is done,” she laughed. “There is no reason not to be here, as long as they want me.”