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Helen Stetsko, Fin Lineham, Carrie Lineham, and Maurice Cook at the Discovery Derrick in Redwater.
Circa 1992
Redwater, Alberta, Canada

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My mother was widowed when my Dad passed away in February of 1951. She later married Matt Stetsko, the Manager of Redwater Utilities. Because the office was downstairs in our duplex, we also had a telephone extension upstairs in our house. The entire family had the duty of answering the phone if none of the employees were in the office. I answered calls from people wanting their furnace checked, problems with the smell of gas, and everything else the utility did. We all took messages and if there was an emergency, we would get on our bikes or run around town to find Matt so he could take care of the problem. At an early age, we learned about Customer Service, since no request for service was ever turned down and we were told we had to be polite to every caller.

Matt also owned the only lawn roller in Redwater. With the number of new houses being built in Redwater, we continually received phone calls from people who wanted to borrow the lawn roller. We were always trying to figure out if the last person who borrowed it returned it when the next call came in. Not only did Matt lend the roller out free of charge, he would often go and help with preparation of the lawn.

Our parents worked very hard but always made time to have fun with family and friends. As the town grew, almost everyone I knew volunteered for any organization in town that needed assistance - the golf course, the concessions in the curling rink and at ball tournaments, pancake breakfasts, school and church activities and many other functions. Although the boom probably caused a lot of the usual infrastructure problems faced by a fast-growing town, I remember the "oil boom" years as a very happy and exciting time.