After completing high school in St. Albert, Glenn overlapped his time attending Lethbridge Community College, with a previous commitment in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve – Maritime Command Pacific. Many exciting weekends and summer months were spent as a signalman aboard small training vessels, the McKenzie Class Destroyer Escort HMCS Saskatchewan and the Tribal Class anti-submarine Destroyer HMCS Algonquin. Glenn spent so many hours flying between Alberta and CFB Esquimalt in Hercules aircraft that he started to think that he was in the Air Force rather than the Navy. After attending classes in Renewable Resources Management – Enforcement for a year, he knew his true calling and the relationship with the Navy ended.
The next summer Glenn tried for a Seasonal Park Ranger position but was turned down due his incomplete Diploma (that’s what they told him anyways). However he found a terrific summer job as a Fishing Guide on Great Bear Lake.
Glenn graduated from college January 1980 and started work for Alberta Parks at Moose Lake Provincial Park, April 1980. As a Seasonal Park Ranger he was immediately challenged as there was no supervisory Park Ranger on site. Oh, the things you learn over the telephone! “First you need to hire booth and maintenance staff – all the forms are there somewhere. After you’ve done that order in the fuel, go to town for supplies, make sure that you schedule the staff so that they have the park cleaned and repaired and ready for the May Long Weekend. The booth staff needs to learn how to do the camping permits and deposits and how to direct visitors to park facilities. You’ll need to code and process all the bills for payment and don’t waste time getting them into the mail – the post office key is in a drawer or hanging on a nail with all the other keys that you’ll need. There’s a DPO book in the booth somewhere and a gas voucher book in your truck glove box. If you need tickets they are in the brief case. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks and by the way the fire hazard is extreme so there is a fire ban on and you had better get the fire equipment out and ready. Good luck!”
A week later things were progressing in the administration and maintenance end of things, and Glenn had hired a whole bunch of people from Bonnyville! Oh, and the park was on fire! You learn fast in Albert Parks.
So it went for the next few years: moving between Sir Winston Churchill, Long Lake, Cold Lake and then back to Moose Lake and Garner Lake. During those times full-time year-round work was available for wage staff and there were some challenging projects to get involved in.
In 1986, Glenn married one of the girls that he had hired to work at the booth in 1980. Glenn and his new bride set up house-keeping in all the glory and splendour of the “Permanent Ranger’s Residence” at Moose Lake. After a few days of living there it was not difficult to understand why Parks could not attract a permanent Ranger to this beautiful park. The mice and squirrels had invaded the mobile home years prior and left their mark. The trailer had no insulation left in its walls or floors since the squirrels had taken it all for their nests. In summer the temperature inside regularly passed 100 degrees and at the slightest hint of frost in the fall, the water and sewer lines froze. The squirrels had been kind enough to replace all the fibreglass insulation with dried mushrooms but they obviously didn’t have the correct R-value. The mice wore army boots and their marching back and forth to the kitchen kept Glenn up at night devising cleverer and more efficient killing machines. Despite a huge trap-line they continued to thrive. The bears were at the doors and the red ants attacked the residence in the millions.
In 1987 Glenn was asked to take on Garner Lake and all its PRA’s. The Permanent Ranger’s Residence there was nearly a dream house compared to the Moose Lake trailer. The cozy 742 sq. ft. bungalow had Roxanne sold on the move instantly since it came with a lawn, a vegetable garden and a garage, and the wildlife inside the house was minimal.
Finally, in 1990 through the long awaited competition, Glenn was hired on as a permanent Park Ranger III. Glenn and Roxanne stayed at Garner Lake and raised a family there until 1996 when they moved to a home outside of Parks. At this time the operations of Garner Lake by the Government was suspended and Glenn moved to an office in the Provincial Building in St. Paul.
There was no work in Parks for Glenn, so he worked with Fish & Wildlife for a couple of years until the official reorganization came about and formed the Natural Resource Service. He became a Conservation Officer and stayed in St. Paul and since the subsequent reorganization back to Parks, has stayed on as a CO with the Cold Lake District.
The majority of Glenn’s spare time is spent as a Scout Leader. He has enjoyed leading his Troops on all of the hikes and canoe trips and Jamborees over the past 25 years and plans on carrying on for another 25.
The next summer Glenn tried for a Seasonal Park Ranger position but was turned down due his incomplete Diploma (that’s what they told him anyways). However he found a terrific summer job as a Fishing Guide on Great Bear Lake.
Glenn graduated from college January 1980 and started work for Alberta Parks at Moose Lake Provincial Park, April 1980. As a Seasonal Park Ranger he was immediately challenged as there was no supervisory Park Ranger on site. Oh, the things you learn over the telephone! “First you need to hire booth and maintenance staff – all the forms are there somewhere. After you’ve done that order in the fuel, go to town for supplies, make sure that you schedule the staff so that they have the park cleaned and repaired and ready for the May Long Weekend. The booth staff needs to learn how to do the camping permits and deposits and how to direct visitors to park facilities. You’ll need to code and process all the bills for payment and don’t waste time getting them into the mail – the post office key is in a drawer or hanging on a nail with all the other keys that you’ll need. There’s a DPO book in the booth somewhere and a gas voucher book in your truck glove box. If you need tickets they are in the brief case. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks and by the way the fire hazard is extreme so there is a fire ban on and you had better get the fire equipment out and ready. Good luck!”
A week later things were progressing in the administration and maintenance end of things, and Glenn had hired a whole bunch of people from Bonnyville! Oh, and the park was on fire! You learn fast in Albert Parks.
So it went for the next few years: moving between Sir Winston Churchill, Long Lake, Cold Lake and then back to Moose Lake and Garner Lake. During those times full-time year-round work was available for wage staff and there were some challenging projects to get involved in.
In 1986, Glenn married one of the girls that he had hired to work at the booth in 1980. Glenn and his new bride set up house-keeping in all the glory and splendour of the “Permanent Ranger’s Residence” at Moose Lake. After a few days of living there it was not difficult to understand why Parks could not attract a permanent Ranger to this beautiful park. The mice and squirrels had invaded the mobile home years prior and left their mark. The trailer had no insulation left in its walls or floors since the squirrels had taken it all for their nests. In summer the temperature inside regularly passed 100 degrees and at the slightest hint of frost in the fall, the water and sewer lines froze. The squirrels had been kind enough to replace all the fibreglass insulation with dried mushrooms but they obviously didn’t have the correct R-value. The mice wore army boots and their marching back and forth to the kitchen kept Glenn up at night devising cleverer and more efficient killing machines. Despite a huge trap-line they continued to thrive. The bears were at the doors and the red ants attacked the residence in the millions.
In 1987 Glenn was asked to take on Garner Lake and all its PRA’s. The Permanent Ranger’s Residence there was nearly a dream house compared to the Moose Lake trailer. The cozy 742 sq. ft. bungalow had Roxanne sold on the move instantly since it came with a lawn, a vegetable garden and a garage, and the wildlife inside the house was minimal.
Finally, in 1990 through the long awaited competition, Glenn was hired on as a permanent Park Ranger III. Glenn and Roxanne stayed at Garner Lake and raised a family there until 1996 when they moved to a home outside of Parks. At this time the operations of Garner Lake by the Government was suspended and Glenn moved to an office in the Provincial Building in St. Paul.
There was no work in Parks for Glenn, so he worked with Fish & Wildlife for a couple of years until the official reorganization came about and formed the Natural Resource Service. He became a Conservation Officer and stayed in St. Paul and since the subsequent reorganization back to Parks, has stayed on as a CO with the Cold Lake District.
The majority of Glenn’s spare time is spent as a Scout Leader. He has enjoyed leading his Troops on all of the hikes and canoe trips and Jamborees over the past 25 years and plans on carrying on for another 25.
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