COMMUNITY LEADER AWARDS: Crew led by example in Birtle

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/09/2019 (2444 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Frank Crew was named volunteer of the year at this year’s Community Leader Awards.

In making a list of Frank Crew’s accomplishments volunteering in his home community of Birtle, it would probably easier to list the few things he didn’t volunteer for.

He technically lived in Wattsview, which was part of the old RM of Birtle, but he was an active member of both communities.

Until the 77-year old moved away a few years ago, Crew met the textbook definition of “pillar of the community.” He probably still does.

Even though he has since relocated to Brandon, he and his partner May Culbertson still keep tabs on the small town he called home for more than seven decades.

“It will always be home,” Crew said. “It’s where I was born and raised.”

He was a member of the Birtle Lions Club for decades and even though he now attends the Wheat City Lions Club since moving, the organization awarded him a lifetime membership in honour of his service.

The longtime grain farmer retired from that life in 2000 and slowly sold off pieces of the homestead that his family owned for more than a century, divesting of the last portion in May 2018.

Other than just farming, Crew’s land was a frequent location for Legion and Lions Club social events and the occasional family reunion.

As he started to transition from living in Birtle to living in Brandon, Crew said that many of the townspeople made sure his land was well taken care of while he was away.

Not having kids of his own to pass it on to, Crew ended up selling the final plot of land to a young family that he felt would make good use of the space.

“We just got some texts this morning from the young couple that bought Frank’s farm,” Culbertson said. “(They) sent us pictures this morning of different scenes from the farm and that is so nice to see.”

Another part of his land was sold to the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation for use as a wildlife refuge.

Crew was the self-taught handyman who helped keep several organizations running. “Just learned it as you went,” he said.

He performed maintenance on the machines used by the local fire department, even bringing his own farm’s water truck to help put out blazes on more than one occasion.

Before it closed, the Birtle Baptist Church was the beneficiary of his skills. Frank helped maintain the grounds and build an addition that added a washroom and entrance foyer.

His skills weren’t just limited to fixing, though. Some wood and metal picnic tables he built are still in use at a park in Birtle.

“When we downsized the farm and had to clean it out, we donated a pile of stuff to neighbours and friends,” Crew said. “Feels good when you phone these people and they say they’ve used a certain thing they got from you.”

Three centennial celebrations in Birtle were assisted by Crew’s skills: the Canadian centennial in 1967, Manitoba’s centennial in 1970 and Birtle’s centennial in 1984.

But Frank did more than just help put on events — he also helped document and broadcast them through doing camera work for the local public access television station.

Some of the events he helped record include concerts, hockey games, and even grain threshing.

His contribution to the historical record also includes a history book he worked on and his father financed titled “Wandering Through Wattsview,” which chronicled the history of the community from 1879-1967.

“People contributed their stories and another neighbour and I were to type it all out,” Crew said.

The neighbour eventually moved away after being accepted into nursing school. “I kinda got stuck with it all,” Crew said.

After a slow start sales-wise, Crew said universities came to appreciate the book and he eventually sold out. “They’re a scarce commodity right now,” he said.

These are just some of the things that Frank Crew did for his community. A short list of his other work includes helping organize the annual Lions Journey for Sight snowmobile fundraiser, giving rides to people who need kidney dialysis and serving on the board of the local Co-op.

What he did seems to have been appreciated.

Earlier this year, Frank was the recipient of a Premier’s Volunteer Service Award, where he got to attend a gala and meet the premier.

He was also named a Melvin Jones Fellow, the highest award that Lions Club International bestows on its members.

When Crew’s wife Olive Perreault was dying of cancer, he had to back out of a lot of his volunteer commitments. He recalls being asked around that time how he’d gotten involved with all these projects and organizations.

He said his parents Ken and Ella set an example by being heavily involved in the community.

“If you don’t keep up this repair work and help out, organize things, the community just dies,” Crew said. “I always say it was a labour of love.”

“He loves that community still, to this day,” Culbertson said.

By following in his parents’ footsteps, Frank Crew might just have inspired others to do the same.

“I think they’re doing a pretty great job,” Crew said about those who have taken the reins from him.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @ColinSlark