Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Danny Lohse has spent 50 years with Jerry Mainil Ltd. in Weyburn, most of it running heavy equipment of all types. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
WEYBURN – Fifty years ago, Danny Lohse needed a job. Having grown up on a farm near Ratcliffe, Saskatchewan, six miles from the U.S. border, farming was not it, nor was work in the booming metropolis of Ratcliffe.
“Population: 2,” he said.
“There wasn’t enough farmland for my dad, my brother and myself, so I said, ‘Okay, I’ll go to work.”
That was the late fall of 1975.
“I started at 18, four days away from my 19th birthday,” Lohse said.
He was hired on by Jerry Mainil, proprietor of Jerry Mainil Ltd.
On Oct. 29, Jerry Mainil Ltd. held a 50 Year Anniversary party for Lohse, celebrating his 50 years with the company.
“I was a labourer. I held the end of a piece of pipe while the welders welded the other end. That was my job,” he said.
That position lasted just a couple weeks, as he soon found himself jumping around from one job to the next on the pipeline crew. “I ran steamers through the winter, and got onto a crew truck in the spring with a guy that kind of liked me.”
He did that for about a year and a half. “Then they asked me to start on the equipment,” he said.
He started working on a 580 backhoe, initially filling in when others were on days off or on weekends. Most of the work was in the Weyburn Unit, around Goodwater.
By 1980 he started running dozer. “I kind of swung on everything; the Cats and the backhoe, and then got on the trackhoes, and then into a grader, and then got into the buggy. And it was ’90, I guess, when I really started getting into the Cats again.”
Since then, his focus has largely been on dozers, but he’s run everything as needed.
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And through all that time, he’s seen numerous booms and busts. Asked how he survived the busts, adaptability proved to be key. “That’s why I run everything,” he said with a laugh.
“I can run everything.
“I looked at it this way: when they started asking me, well, the more I run means the busier I can be. Maybe they’ll keep me around.
“They call it being versatile. You run everything, they can send you out on any job, and I’ve worked on pickers and bed trucks and everything.”
Lohse said he’s got great kids. His son is Devin, and Devin’s wife is Danka. His daughter is Paige, and her husband is Brady Popil. He’s also got a stepdaughter, Ashley, and her significant other is Shayne. Between them all there’s several grandchildren.
Did any of them follow him into the patch? “I won’t let ‘em,” he said. “I told my son when he was about four years old, ‘I’ll break your fingers if I catch you wanting to run.’”
Asked why, he said, “It’s hard on your body.” Lohse knuckles are notably in rough shape from arthritis.
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Outlasted them all
Lohse said he’s been treated very well by the company and owners. In the early 1990s, Jerry stepped back and his two sons, Dennis and Dale, and son-in-law Calvin Tracey took over ownership and operation of the company. Thirty years later, they, too, stepped back and handed over day-to-day operation to CEO Darcy McCormick. Lohse outlasted them all – but Jerry did make it to the retirement party at age 90. Lohse and Jerry were all smiles and laughs when they saw each other.
Jerry Mainil, left and Danny Lohse on Oct. 29. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
As one of the owners who worked closely with Lohse over the years, Tracey said, “I started in May of 1990, so Danny outlasted me.”
“Danny was one of those guys that went hard every day. He still goes hard. We could always count on Danny.
“Danny wanted to do the job right, but he wanted to do it efficiently. We have been very lucky to have Danny for all these years.”
Tracey continued, “Jerry hired Danny and Jerry’s has always had a knack of hiring good quality people, And not just that, but the ability to keep those people. He’s had a lot of long-term employees here over the years. We’ve got another guy here. He’s been here over 40 years as well, and a few more well into 30+ years.
“Jerry’s hired good men over the years, and Danny’s no exception. He’s one of those good men. And it’s hard to find good people and keep them, and we’ve been very fortunate we’ve been able to do that over the years.”
Several employees have hit 40 years with the company, but Lohse is the first to hit 50 with the 64 year-old company.
“I want to thank Danny. I want to thank him and let him know that it meant something to us too,” Tracey said.
“You think about the oil industry and the hours that they work, it’s not a nine-to-five job. It isn’t eight hours a day. These guys work a lot of overtime. So a 50-year career in the oil industry, there’s a lot of hours there. Danny’s just been a great employee for Jerry Mainil Limited.”
As for plans, Lohse answer is a simple, “rest and relaxation.” He shoots pool in a league over the winter and golfs in the summer.
“I’ve really enjoyed working here. The guys I worked with in the back are extra special – all of them. A lot have become really good friends.”
He’s going to miss those guys, but he won’t miss shoveling tracks, long days and short nights.
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