Beiseker Motors - Part 2
The conclusion of Shelly's story about a local dealership
The business lasted until 1984. The Schmaltz brothers had agreed it was time to part ways; they were ready to follow their individual tracks. They got along but in truth they had their own ideas and their own working styles. Beiseker Motors had been an important employer in the community. When they sold out, they were the oldest Massey and Ford dealership in Canada. The garage was sold to Carstairs Ford who wanted to acquire the higher end Lincoln brand. “I don’t think I’d change it from what I did, really,” Peter says, “But I always liked farming.”
Once they made the decision to sell the business, Maxine and Peter turned to developing an award-winning herd of Red Angus cattle, and they have exported animals to Denmark, Australia, the United States and South Africa. They both speak proudly of the herd that they built, of the southern Alberta genetics that traveled around the world. They respected the older ways of doing things but were comfortable with new innovations; they were one of the first in the province to use embryos.
What is next for that fifth generation of Schmaltzs? “Farming might not pay that good, we saw the good times. But our grandkids? I’m sort of scared about what will happen there.” They both believe that we need a healthy gas and oil industry to supplement agriculture in Alberta. This interview was recorded before the November 2020 US Election and both Maxine and Peter were hoping that President Trump would get a second term, although they were not confident that he would defeat the Democratic candidate Joe Biden. “But in the States, there’s all those people and they picked THOSE two guys to run??!??” Peter says, shaking his head in disbelief.
Another big topic at the time of this interview was the Covid-19 pandemic. Having lived through the devastating years of polio of the 1950s, Peter and Maxine both knew lots of people who had that illness. “If you’re healthy, it seems like you can handle [Covid] but with polio, it didn’t matter if you were healthy or not,” Maxine recalls. She had scarlet fever as a two year old and had to be quarantined for three weeks so she points out that this is not the first time we have been through times of frightening illness on the prairie. Maxine observed that rural people might not be exposed to others as often as people in cities, so there may be a more relaxed attitude. Peter was quick to reflect on the economic toll being taken on the small businesses in southern Alberta.
In retirement, the couple enjoyed visiting Palm Spring for over ten years but these days they stay closer to home and have a cabin in B. C. “That’s where we have fun with our kids in the Shuswap,” Maxine says fondly. “But we’ve been in the Beiseker and Irricana community all our lives.” She added, “We’ve had our fights but as long as we’re healthy, we’re happy. You’ve got to have company, that’s what makes me happy.”
We would like to thank Pete and Maxine so much for their time and their great stories.
