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The Life and Times of Bob and Eddy Hayes - Part 6
We never looked back. We named our company Wescan Perforators Ltd. and to say we worked night and day would be an understatement. Many a night we worked until one A.M. and Bob was back by 4 A.M. to get the trucks and men lined up to leave at 6 A.M. We worked as a family - Bob and I and our four children. We all went to the shop at night and loaded guns, especially Bob and the boys, Bardy and Kirby. Our phone was our life line and we gave 24-hour service. I didn’t leave home during the day unless one of the children were home and they were well disciplined over the necessity of being within earshot. Even when their friends were outside playing, Bardy and Kirby sat on the steps waiting for the phone to ring. I think it was 1966 when Ken King came to work for us. We bought a second truck in 1969 or 1970. We had it built in Fort Worth by Gearhart Owen. With another truck of course there were more employees. One stands out as exceptional. Les Gartner was truly a loyal employee — always eager to do his share and more.
I think Bob took his flying lessons in 1967. I remember that Karen was expecting her child Rob at the time. We bought a share in a Beechcraft Bonanza airplane (CF-UNJ) in 1970. This was a real help — allowing Bob to fly to Calgary and make business calls and return the same day. These were busy days. Jim Born came to work for us in the early 1970’s. He was a great help as by this time we were swamped with work. There was always either too many men or too many trucks and not enough men! I think we got the third truck in 1974. In 1975, I thought that if I was going to see Bob at all I’d better get him away from work — telephones and all. I booked a trip to the far East for late March and early April. Jim was in control of Wescan so off we went. Bob wasn’t relaxed but took a lot of slides from the air; some were really great and when we returned he enjoyed showing the slides. Meanwhile, Wescan Perforators was going full blast. The work just came fast and furious. In January of 1977, the stress was really getting to Bob and instead of enjoying Wescan, he dreaded hearing the phone ring. There was so much work and not enough time in the day to handle it all. I booked another trip to the South Seas — this time Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea and Fiji. Bob truly enjoyed this and when we returned he talked to Jim about buying Wescan. The oil business was really booming and Bob was tired. Jim bought Wescan in September of 1977.
If you've read this far, you can probably predict Bob wouldn't stay retired for long. In 1979, Jet Perforators of Edmonton established a branch in Lloydminster. Charlie Graham was the owner and he and Bob had had a very good relationship during the Wescan years, often loaning equipment, supplies and expertise to each other. In January, Bob came out of retirement and was given a position with Jet Perforators doing Sales and Public Relations. This worked very well for both parties during the 1980's. Bob was able to take a long break during the winters and he and Eddy spent much of that time in Arizona. The oilfield continued to have its usual ups and downs so there were many challenges for Bob and his associates at Jet: Mike Boyle and Glen "Otis" Rusling. Bob retired from Jet in 1989. The retirement allowed for more time for some of the hobbies, which had been kept up to an extent even during the busy years. These included, over the years: fastball, bowling, curling, flying, tennis. hang gliding (one painful experience) and busses. However, in two years time, Bob and Eddy were off to St. Albert. From here Bob got back into his old career of bus driving, running occasional charter routes until 1997. In 2001, Bob and Eddy returned to Lloydminster to be with their friends back in the community where they had always felt most at home. There was also the family to enjoy with 7 grand-children and 7 great-grand-children. Bob was very pleased to be called as one of the "Oilfield Veterans" to participate in the reactivation of a well in the Lone Rock area in August 2002. The well records showed that Bob had signed the receipt for perforating the well (while he worked for Dowell Inc.) on February 23, 1954. So the opportunity to meet some of his old colleagues and to work with the modern generation on the reactivation was a real thrill. The experience reminded Bob and others that he had been a part of the oil patch for much of his career, had seen the growth of Lloydminster, and had played an important role in the development of the wireline industry. Hard work, perseverance, adaptability, and innovation are qualities that typify the Lloydminster oil patch and they certainly find full expression in the career of Bob Hayes.
Bob passed away on October 5, 2007 in Lloydminster after a lengthy illness. He
is survived by: his loving wife of 60 years, Eddy; four children: Karen (Smokey)
Ryder of Springford, Ontario; Gail (Harley) Beauregard of St. Albert, Alberta;
Bardy (Renee) Hayes of San Diego, California; Kirby (Mary) Hayes of
Lloydminster; seven grandchildren, ten great grandchildren; one sister Mildred
Hayes; two brothers: Norman Hayes and Jim (Marilyn) Hayes. For more photos relating to this section - click here For more on the 2002 reactivation - click here.
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