The President of the Men’s Shed Olds says their numbers so far have exceeded their wildest expectations.
Morley Kjargaard notes that they have received more than 40 signed membership forms within their first year of operation.
He says they are now an official non-profit organization and the Men’s Shed is an international movement because when men retire they tend to go home put their feet up, and lose a lot of the social networks they had through work.
Kjargaard explains what kinds of community projects they work on. He says “one of the first ones out of our gate was to build some outdoor patio furniture for Kirsten’s Place. So that’s a project that we kind of started with and it is moving along really well. We’re building I think two picnic tables, four benches, four chairs, and then some end tables. I would say those are all two-thirds to three-quarters done. The wood portion is done and now we are looking to a local metal works company to build some of the hardware to go with those pieces of furniture”
Kjargaard points out that they meet every second Wednesday at the Elks Hall from 7 until 9pm. He was asked why he enjoys being part of the Men’s Shed Olds. Kjargaard says “certainly the camaraderie, and the friendships that have been developed already are a huge part of it. Winters can be long and its an easy way to stay active, and meet new people, make new friends. I’m a bit of a wood worker and you would think at 60 years of age I would have a pretty good knowledge but there’s still always opportunities to learn. So we’ve got a couple members that are very skilled at turning pieces on a lathe. We’re putting on workshops and teaching people different skills that maybe they didn’t have a chance to learn before.”
He adds, they don’t have a website yet but they are working on it. For now the best way to learn more about the Men’s Shed Olds is to contact Morley at 403-507-5238.
Listen to 96.5 The Ranch’s Community Hotline conversation with Morley Kjargaard.
