For 30 years, a group of Shriners have been getting together for coffee. Approximately 30 people have been part of the club over the years.
Some members aren’t attending as regularly as they once were, and about one-third of the members have passed away.
Members of the founding group are Wayne Kobie and Des Gore-Hickman.
“I never thought anyone would ask for how long I’ve being having coffee,” Kobie said with a laugh from his spot at the table during a recent Monday morning.
There were seven people having coffee that day. They are conscious of the no-more-than-10-people rule and were practising social distancing, in case Premier Moe asks.
Also, swapping stories were Steve Sieger, Carl Krause, Dennis Skuce, Don Cousins and Craig Inkster.
a recent Monday. They are from centre to left: Wayne Kobie, Don Cousins,
Dennis Skuce, Craig Inkster, Steve Sieger and Des Gore-Hickman.
(Photo by Cam Hutchinson)
They get together from 10 a.m. to about noon. What they all have in common, and always have, is their dedication to helping children get the medical care they need.
Gore-Hickman, who is approaching his 91st birthday, said it was a shock to his caffeine system when the group hit the pause button in the middle of March as COVID-19 hit the province. It was also a shock to his story-telling system.
When the weather warmed, the group reconvened in the parking lot behind the Shrine Club rooms at the Masonic Temple. They recently moved back indoors to the renovated hall.
Coffee costs $5 a month. Some guys were finishing their third cup when the group broke up, about two hours after the first cup of coffee was poured. That’s a heck of a deal on coffee.
The men tackled a lot of topics and had lots of laughs, as one would expect.
Justin Trudeau isn’t popular here. It would be interesting if he came in and put $5 in the kitty. There is no doubt he would get a rough ride, even if he doled out much more than five bucks.
“He’s spending money faster than it can be printed,” one coffer-goer said. When asked if they are consistent topics, Colbie laughed. “World problems, we solve those quite regularly,” he said.
Sports, especially when it is on, is another topic. The conversation turned into one about Rueben Mayes, a great college and NFL running back from North Battleford. Stampede Wrestling brought back memories of the good guys and bad guys.
Kobie said typically sports, world affairs, politics, humorous emails and the well-being of others are discussed. When the television is on, it is tuned to Al Jazeera.
“It’s a pretty good television station,” Kobie said. “It gives you stories from all around the world that you don’t seem to get from these other TV stations.”
He pointed to the fact there is news from Europe, Asia and Africa. “Not all Trump,” Gore-Hickman added.
Some friendships, like the one between Kobie and Gore-Hickman, go back more than 40 years. Rae Murdock and Rod Burnett were part of a tight group of husbands and wives. Both Murdock and Burnett have passed away.
Kobie said he enjoys the company of the group as a whole. “I enjoy getting together. Every day, breaks a little bit of the day apart,” he said.
(Note: Des Gore-Hickman is my father-in-law.)
-Cam Hutchinson