Word travels fast in Water Valley, and when residents in the community heard that I was doing a story on one of their own, anticipation and excite started to grow.
Jack Eby was born in Hood River, Oregon, Oct. 30, 1926, and has been a long-time resident of Water Valley.
His family moved to the area when he was only five years old. Jack attended the Water Valley School for the first eight years, receiving the R.B. Bennett award for top student in Grade 7 and 8. He then continued his education in Carstairs.
“I met Jean somewhere along the way,” Jack said with a smile. “There were ball games, dances, skating parties, horseback rides – it was sometime when we were kids. Jean and I were married in Carstairs on Nov. 26, 1949. We had our Calgary weekend honeymoon in the rain.”
This man will be 89 years old at the end of the month and his memory is as sharp as a tack – Jack remembers dates, people and places better than a 30 year old. I asked him what the secret is to a long life, and he replied, “I’m fortunate to have good health, I still drive and get out.”
Jack and Jean had seven children: Beverly lives in Pouce Coupe, B.C.; Sheree in Crossfield; Barbara in Olds; Nadine in Calgary; and Natalie in Carstairs. Sadly their two oldest sons have passed away; Melvin in 1970 and Roger in 2012.
Jack worked for the County of Mountain View for several years as an equipment operator, building and maintaining roads and trails. This involved long hours, often 12 hours a day.
He missed some valuable time with his family, so he decided to start his own business. He finally got a timber berth (permit) in the 1960s, thereby starting his own sawmill operating under the name of ‘Eby Sawmill.’ His main function was private sales, usually to new homes being built in the area.
There were some commercial clients like Tynan Furniture, whereby he supplied most of their wood for furniture making.
Jack finally retired in 2007 at the age of 80. Now, there’s a man who loved his work.
Jean drove the school bus from the Water Valley and surrounding area to the Cremona School for over 30 years and received a plaque from Chinook’s Edge School Division for her many years of continuous service. She was known as “a great bus driver by the kids.” After 53.5 years of marriage to Jack, Jean Eby passed away June 6, 2003.
Jack has had more than his share of grief and sadness, but as he put it, “Life must go on” and he continued with all the community work he did in the past.
In 1953, Jack helped to start the Water Valley Rodeo, and he was there the day after Jean died to accept a bronze trophy for the 50-year celebration of the event. He served on the board as secretary/treasurer for many years.
He helped build the north half of the school between 1946-48 and several additions to the community hall. Jack was also president of the Water Valley Community Association for years.
Jack joined the Cremona Legion in 1968 and became bar steward in 1977. He has a healthy display of gold medals for Legion bingo and crib.
Jack said, “I had to travel all around the country for provincial playoffs to get these.”
Jack was also president and director of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks in Sundre. He is an active member of the Gold and Silver Club in Cremona, maintaining the social status he is known for. He will always have a humorous story to tell.
To honour this long-time Water Valley resident, a road was recently named after him – the ‘Jack Eby Trail’, which runs from Hwy 579 (at Range Road 53) to Winchell Lake.
Why did he receive this honor? Because he was and still is a cornerstone of the community.
