Never let fear stop you from pursuing your dreams!

A man of many trades and talents, Sam Kublick, led an adventurous life, never allowing fear to get in his way of pursuing new business adventures. An inventor, councilman, mayor, entrepreneur, talented construction tradesman, auctioneer, and more, Sam did everything with his whole heart invested.

Sam is one of six children and was born on the family farm in Minitonas, Manitoba, on February 8, 1934.

His parents, Helen and Edward Kublick, arrived in Manitoba from Poland in 1930, just as the Great Depression swept through. Although money was scarce, they were able to find themselves some farmland on highway 366. The property held a number of small rundown buildings, one of which was used as a granary in the years prior. The farmland itself consisted of a lot of slough and low land, which wasn’t drained and not very much open land. Helen and Edward would work very hard, including scrubbing out the big trees, cutting the roots on one side and waiting for a strong wind to blow them over. They would then burn it over the next 3-4 years in order to eliminate the large fallen wood. In 1940 a steel-wheeled tractor and breaking plough were purchased and wisely used to earn an income. Sam recalls his dad charging out at $2.00-3.00 per acre! His father wanted to build a family home, and at that time, the municipality allowed households to collect 3000 feet of timber per year. Edward harvested the timber and built the family home out of 4” by 4” timbers on end, which was very rare but kept the home warm and secure!

Due to no road maintenance during the winter months and with growing children, the Kublick family chose to move into the town of Minintonas. Sam learned a lot from his father growing up; however, as he gained work experience and through trial and error, Sam seemed to exceed in his ability to farm, build, or do whatever job was in front of him.

He recalls his first job working on someone else’s farm and bringing home only $4.00 per day! Along the way, Sam experienced a terrible accident, nearly losing his arm in a threshing machine. After nearly bleeding to death, he received care in a five-bed hospital and was on his feet within four days of the accident. With his limitations, he hopped into his dad’s 1938 2-ton truck and hauled grain until he healed up.

That winter, National Mills was cutting pulp, and so at 16 years of age, Sam learned to fall logs. This would open the door to many more work experiences to come, including, but not limited to, painting grain elevators (with no safety harness) and running heavy-duty equipment. In 1951, Sam started working in a garage, thinking he would be a mechanic; however, that only lasted one month due to another opportunity to work in the bush in BC. “It’s interesting how our life path can change, and we often wonder why, yet, we do see the bigger picture in the end”, says Carrie. Sam endured and experienced a variety of jobs along the way. In 1952 Sam went to work at Pioneer Gold Mines located in the community of Bralorne, and a year later, he had his shortest work experience ever where he joined three other fellas from Creston and worked for Natural Resources in Radium Hot Springs. Sam chuckles as he shares that when the guys got to the job site, they found themselves with no tools, no outhouse, NO NOTHING!! Off to the next job, they would go! Moving on, in 1954 Drayton Valley would welcome Sam! Here he would work on a survey crew, run heavy equipment and work on the oil rigs. Because of the booming oil industry, there were few accommodations in the area. This resulted in six strangers coming together and sleeping in a local barn where they had no running water or plumbing, so the river nearby was the ‘bathtub’! In 1955, the Hudson Bay Company in Winnipeg hired Sam. It was here that he was connected to an elderly man named Al Kelly, who taught him more than he could have ever wished for in the carpentry industry. They were building all the displays for the store, which kept them quite busy. In the fall, Sam heard that they were hiring on the DEW line and that the wage was far greater than what he was currently making. So, at $2.87 per hour, Sam thought, why not! Off to the Artic, he went, where he would be involved in building copper line modules that would not be detected on radar. Fascinated and inspired, Sam was intrigued and went on to build his very own gyrocopter while he was residing in the Arctic!

There would be other opportunities for Sam while living in the north, such as grader operator, heavy equipment foreman and carpenter foreman. Overall, Sam gained much valuable work experience, and as well, he was able to participate in some cultural events, playing his harmonica for the locals and watching as they danced.

There would be other stops along the way; however, in 1957, Sam landed in Fox Creek, Alberta, where he would once again run the equipment. This would be a short stopover before going to northern Manitoba in 1958. It turns out that Sam would be recognized as a hard, wise worker and asked to join a team on a coffer dam. Not knowing exactly what a coffer dam was at that time, his colleague would show him the way. Sam soon became the man in charge on this dam, and he claims this to be the most challenging and exciting work he has ever done! But a challenge was always an invitation for Sam, so, he gladly leaned into this opportunity! “We would build these coffer dams and sink them in 96 feet of water! It was unbelievable; you almost have to live it to believe it”, says Sam! The coffer dam was built on 9 feet of ice which was no easy task, but he was offered a $4000.00 bonus if he could complete the coffer dam before the ice went out! Needless to say, it was a success!

In 1959, Sam went to work for a construction company, where he was sent many miles away to a community called Snow Lake. He was sent there to build a service station and found himself, one more time challenged as he had to improvise many things, such as the scaffolding which was made of ‘timber’ from the bush!

Life has a funny way of preparing us for the next chapter. Each job that Sam took on gave him the skills and experience he needed for the next job and the next, until finally, the development of his very own company - Kublick Construction. Sam joined a partnership with a fella from Winnipeg and together, they formed a company called K & S Construction. The business built as many as 17 homes in only one year! The company grew, and Sam was able to make a decent living up to the early seventies. During this time, Sam was also farming and acquiring more land. The decision needed to be made, ‘do I want to stay in construction, or do I want to farm’? Farming pulled on his heartstrings, and the decision was made.

Backing up, let us not forget to mention one of the most important dates of Sam’s life – his wedding day! It’s funny how things unfold without us even knowing it! Sam first noticed Mina at a young people’s meeting, but, his pursuing her did not happen right away. At that time, Mina was working as a telephone operator, and Sam had his eye on another gal whom he would try to call on the phone. “Every time I would ring this girl’s number, Mina would tell me the line is busy”, says Sam with a chuckle. I guess God had another plan for Sam! Before they really began to get to know each other, Sam had to go up to Cambridge Bay in the Yukon for work. While he was away, he began to write letters to Mina. The mail system was extremely slow at that time, and several months had passed. Sam did not receive any letters back and so he thought she must be interested in someone else. But, much to his delight, upon his return to Swan River in Manitoba, he received a large bag of mail. Mina had written two letters every single week, but they failed to reach him in the Arctic. Her quietness and the sound of her voice is what stirred within Sam’s heart, and after a short courtship, Sam and Mina would get married on April 3, 1961, and begin their life together! They went on to have three children, Kandase Joy, Lonna Jane, and Glen Samson.

In 1962, Sam built their first family home in Swan River from the ground up, where the family would reside for a short few years. In the fall of 1967, they moved out to the farm that adjoined the homestead that Sam grew up on. Initially, they would purchase a quarter of land near the family farm in Minitonas RM for $7000.00, which was a bit more expensive than the going rate because it was wide open land, but the next quarter they purchased was $6400.00. Many, many hours were spent operating and maintaining the farmland, and yet, Sam managed to find time in 1969 to become the acting councillor for the local Rural Municipality. He served on council and many boards, including but not limited to bringing in the ambulance service. Sam devoted the next 14 years of his life to this position. Life became very busy between travelling around Alberta to the auctioneer, farming, building and serving on the council. Sam realized it was time to let something go, so he resigned from serving on the council and carried on with his passion for farming. This only lasted for a short time; Sam would run for Reeve of Minnitonas and win! He served for nine more years as acting Reeve and enjoyed every minute of it.... except public speaking! Sam was never a fella to not have his hand in many pots, which explains why he was always on the lookout for prime land to rent and farm. Sam did things a little differently than most farmers; he would pay upfront rather than wait on the crop to come in. Sam’s reputation in the farming community was held with much respect due to his passion and diligence in how he farmed. “I was very particular in how I seeded and harvested my crops”, says Sam. Sam went on to say with a chuckle, “every row was just so”!

It was a very busy time for the Kublick family, with Sam busy multi-tasking with different jobs and Mina raising the children and keeping the home. Despite the busyness, however, the family values remained intact with spending quality time together, and this generally occurred during the Christmas holidays and in the summer when the kids were younger, they would go camping at Madge Lake.

Let’s talk about Texas!! Sam got to know some people while he was auctioneering, and there happened to be a gentleman with the last name of Gallagher. Well, this fella happened to be travelling through Texas and on his way through, he happened to come across a property for a real good price in a place called Canyon Lake. Soon after, he purchased a bunch of lands, sublet it, and sold it off. One of Sam’s friends who were connected to Gallaher told Sam about this land that was for sale. So, as mentioned earlier, Sam Kublick could not sit still for too long and was not afraid to take a risk. Off he went to Texas to view these properties! A phone call to Mina, and it was done! Sam bought 23 acres of land and a five-bedroom home in Texas. “Our first year in that house, we only had one weekend to ourselves”, laughs Sam. People were coming out of the woodwork, wanting to come to Texas and tour the Alamo. Sam and Mina lived down there in the winter months and rented it out in the summer months. The Kublick’s were hardworking people who liked to give people a hand when they could. The home would eventually sell for a profit, but not before Sam and Mina helped the purchase along by carrying the buyer.

Eventually, the Texas land was sold off and so was the farmland in Manitoba. While they were living in Texas, they had their home built in West Kelowna overlooking Okanagan Lake just above the Kelowna Marina. With the kids now grown and out on their own, Sam and Mina would make out on their next adventure – moving out to West Kelowna! Retirement would be an odd thing for Sam as he was always so busy, but his retirement did not involve sitting in a recliner chair and enjoying tea and cookies! Oh no, Sam Kublick would soon get busy advertising his carpentry skills and being hired out on an hourly rate to build basements – 4 in total! When that was completed, he went to work for the Ericksons. “We almost bought the golf course”, says Sam, but after gathering more information, he chose to not go down that path. Instead, Quails Gate would hire Sam on for the next 7 years doing everything under the sun with maintenance and upkeep! Whatever they wanted, Sam made for them and made it with great pride. Life never got boring for Sam as he always found ways to stay busy. There is a quote that goes, “wholehearted people cultivate creativity and meaningful work”! And this describes Sam very well. He is a man of integrity and honesty. He creates and builds things that bring joy to himself and others. His work ethic and value system have served him and his family well! “Sam is just one of those guys that you will never forget, he has a way about him that draws people in”, says Carrie O’Neill. Mina too; she is a gem! Just a solid, true, caring and compassionate woman! A man of his word, Sam shares a few beliefs he lives by: “the most important thing that business people can do is be honest. Be a team player in your marriage, and be kind”!

And so the story goes on, and Sam and Mina would find themselves faced with some health challenges, which contributed to their next move to Armstrong, BC. It was decided that they would move into Heaton Place Retirement Residence, which is a short distance from their daughter Lonna’s home. Sight unseen, the couple arrived at Heaton Place on December 18, 2020, and settled into a lovely one-bedroom suite. It took some time, but Sam would eventually set himself up a little shop where he could spend his days puttering, creating, and building with wood, all of which filled his heart up again! “He even created special wooden bowls for me to take to a retreat that changes lives”, says Carrie. It was such a labor of love, and we are so very grateful for Sam and his handiwork.

Sam and Mina have been such a beautiful addition to our home here in Armstrong; however, we are now faced with saying farewell. The couple has made a decision to return to West Kelowna to be closer to friends from way back and also to have peace of mind knowing that should their ability to drive be affected, they would be within walking distance of the amenities they need and desire.

We will miss them so much, but as the saying goes, everything in life is temporary! We were given the gift of their presence for a short while, and now God is leading them to bless another home.

We will send them off with gratitude in our hearts for having the privilege of being of service to them in their first experience living in a Retirement Community!

To conclude, I asked Sam if he had any advice that he would like to leave you all with and here are his words: “Follow your dreams! There is nothing in this world that is too big or too challenging that you cannot accomplish if you believe in yourself!

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Sam! Farewell to you and your beloved Mina.