Preservings 11 (1997) - Plett Foundation

Middle Left: Jacob and Elizabeth on their 45th anniversary,
1954. All photographs for this article are
courtesy of Cliff Regehr, Royston, B.C.
Jacob & Elizabeth (1943) at Renatta, B.C. visiting
Elizabeth’s sister. This community was closed down
and flooded by the construction of the High Arrow
Dam on the Columbia River in 1965.
enthusiastic as ever about the McCormick
and Fordson tractors he was selling, would
tell farmers that the John Deere tractors were
inferior to the Fordson. The John Deere had
a 2-cylinder engine and Jac would scoff at
the strange puff-puffing of the machine. A
few years later when Jac acquired the John
Deere agency for himself the same farmers
would mockingly ask how he liked the puffpuffing
now. He would laughingly reply,
“daut p’u’st nu Jelt enn miene Fup enenn”
(Now it puffs money into my pocket).
Jac’s decision to start his own family enterprise
was brought about when he was laid
off by J. R. Friesen because of lack of business
at the start of the Great Depression in
1930. In addition to the John Deere franchise
he obtained a sub-dealership from
Breen Motors in Winnipeg to sell Chrysler
and Plymouth cars, and a Bulk Dealership
from Imperial Oil Limited. This new venture
faced many difficult years but Jac was
fortunate to have daughter Helen keeping
Preservings
the accounts (she had learned bookkeeping
in California), and son Jacob Paul to manage
the Oil agency which included unloading
railroad tanker cars into huge storage
tanks at Giroux and from there hauling
truckloads to supply numerous service stations
and general stores selling gasoline
throughout the municipality. As well, tractor
fuel was delivered in 45-gallon drums
to farmers. When Helen married Simon
Rieger and had her first child, Simon took
her place as bookkeeper and office manager.
By 1938 the business had outgrown its
premises and a new garage and dealership
were built (almost next door) on the former
P. S. Guenther property (Several photographs
of the garage were published in Ernie
P. Toews, “Main Street Steinbach: Part
Three,” Preservings, No. 9, Dec. 1996, Part
One, page 63.) The company was formally
organized into J. E. Regehr & Sons Ltd. In
1939, in a display of patriotism (and business
acumen) Jac arranged to have the
Chrysler limousine used in the Royal Visit
parade available for a one-day display for
the school children and citizens of Steinbach.
(Access to the rear seat was not allowed.)
The new dealership meant that more
people were hired to work in the service department
and son Bill also joined in, becoming
an efficient parts manager. A few years
later Edwin, having completed High School,
became the Company’s accountant.
Community Activities.
During the Thirties Jac not only worried
about his struggling business but took time
to immerse himself in community affairs. He
was a member of a Board of Trade committee
that worked hard for the improvement
of the main road between Steinbach and
Winnipeg. He served many years on the
School Board and then ran for the Chairmanship
of the Village Council (mayor) for
a 2-year term. His performance was deemed
good enough to win two more terms of office
by acclamation.
His involvement with local politics was a
key factor in his being invited by the Hon.
Edmond Prefontaine, the sitting Member of
the Manitoba Legislature, to accept an appointment
as Returning Officer for the Carillon
constituency. Such an appointment would,
of course, make Jac ineligible to run as a candidate
in Provincial elections (if he had any
such thoughts in mind) and Mr. Prefontaine
astutely recognized Jac as a potential competitor.
Jac accepted the appointment and supervised
the electoral process in Carillon until
his voluntary retirement many years later.
World War Two brought other functions
for Jacob E. Regehr. He was appointed the
local representative of the Wartime Prices
Control Board which was formed to guard
against undue profiteering because of shortages
in consumer goods and services. He
did not enjoy this appointment because he
knew that certain laws were being broken
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by a few individuals and he could not bring
himself to act against the Mennonite tradition
of not involving fellow Mennonites in
legal actions. When asked if this was a dereliction
of his duty he would say, “God
knows what they are doing and He will deal
with it.” And Jac would return to yet another
function as Commissioner for Oaths
and accept 25 cents for certifying someone’s
signature on a legal document, when the
Tariff Schedule for this service permitted a
charge of several dollars.
A small item caught my attention when I
visited the Steinbach Museum some years
ago. (Note: During the pre-1940s the Village
engaged a seasonally paid person who
would collect cows along Main Street every
morning - blowing a bugle as he cycled
slowly - herd them to a communal pasture
on the outskirts of town; and herd them back
around supper time.) In one display case in
the Museum was an open book of the minutes
of a Village Council Meeting, J. E.
Regehr, Chairman. The minutes quote the
Secretary reporting a complaint received
from a Main Street resident about the cowherd
blowing his bugle at the unseemly time
of 6 a.m. The minutes then quote: “Be it
resolved that the cowherd be instructed immediately
to refrain from blowing his bugle
before 7 a.m. and furthermore, if these instructions
are not complied with Constable
Sobering shall be authorized to seize and
impound said bugle forthwith.” In the same
display case just above the Minute Book lay
a rusty old bugle!
Jacob E. Regehr was an active member
of the Brüderthaler Church. He served as
Sunday School superintendent for several
years, and on other boards and committees.
One favourite memory the writer has of his
father was his repeating role as Auctioneer
at the Brüderthaler Women’s Sewing Circle
annual missionary fund-raising sale in the
Church. Everybody present was always impressed
by the amounts bid for articles of
clothing, aprons, embroidery work, and
home cooking specials. The main item, however,
was always the large quilt which the
women had collectively worked on every
Thursday afternoon for the past year. The
quilt was beautifully displayed all evening
and the tension would mount as the “lesser”
articles were being sold off.
Some children attended these events and
were allowed to sit up in the balcony of the
church. To keep us quiet the program called
for the early auctioning of an annual contribution
from Mrs. Tarasenko - a 5-pound bag
of specially roasted Knacksot (“sunflower
seeds”). Most children were given a few
cents for bid money and we pooled these
pennies in order to acquire the treasured
Knacksot. My father would allow the bidding
to start at a penny and when it reached
15 cents he would bring down the hammer
and declare the item “Sold” - to the children
in the balcony!”