Men’s Sheds take first steps in Hardy, McNeill
By Kathy O'Reilly, North Island Eagle, January 31 2025
First steps have been taken to introduce Men’s Sheds to both Port Hardy and Port McNeill.
Meetings, organized by Better at Home, were held in both communities Jan. 23, where Mike Jennings, secretary of BC Men’s Sheds, gave presentations about the organization and what is involved in starting one.
In both towns, plans for a second meeting the following week were made.
A Men’s Shed is a group of men who get together in their community to develop new skills, discover new interests, and make new friends.
In Australia, where the organization began, there are about 1,300 Men’s Sheds. There are about 3,300 world-wide, of which 130 are in Canada, and half of those are here in BC.
The nearest Men’s Shed is in Comox in the basement of a church.
“The purpose of a Men’s Shed is the advancement of health and well-being of men. That includes mental health. Mental health might be the most important aspect of it,” Jennings said at the Port Hardy gathering.
“What we’re trying to do is make a place where we feel that we belong,” he said.
“Hopefully, we do stuff that is purposeful for ourselves and for the community. That is kind of a side benefit,” he explained.
While Men’s Sheds are all about men’s health and well-being, community building projects are a natural outcome of an established Men’s Shed.
“Some people get the idea that it is a free construction company. No, that’s not the case. It’s about the men’s health and well-being.”
While it is seniors who form the backbone of nearly all Men’s Sheds, it is open to all men.
“Often, I have observed it is the younger guys that need the shed more than I did.”
One of the first steps, he explained is meeting the mayor and council.
“We tell them what our needs are, what are problems are, we ask them to be our allies. We don’t ask them for money, and we don’t ask them for space, but if they do have resources, they will let you know,” said Jennings.
The secret to success is to find a home for the Men’s Shed at little or no cost.
“Most sheds start of very modestly.”
Some have been in church basements, empty buildings, a container or a member’s garage.
Eventually, some chose to earn money fabricating items to pay rent.
“Whatever you do is up to the interests of the members and the resources” available.
There are two requirements for a Men’s Shed: one is dues; the other is respect.
“If you can’t be respectful, probably a Men’s Shed is not the right place for you.”
Being a not-for profit society allows the group to set up a bank account and it also affords protection for the board and directors.
“If we go about this right, money will not be an issue,” he said adding there are funding avenues available.
“I would encourage you to right away apply to Men’s Sheds Canada for a $1,000 start-up grant. It’s easy to apply for, easy to get. You can have it in two or three weeks,” Jennings said. “What we don’t want is for a Men’s Shed not to start for want of a few dollars.”
Other sources of funds include New Horizons grants, gaming grants, and grants-in-aid offered through municipalities.
Port Hardy Lion John Tidbury offered the use of the Lions Room for a second meeting.
For more on Men’s Sheds visit mensshedscanada.ca or call Ashlee Wall at 250-230-0757.
Photo — Kathy O'Reilly
Mike Jennings, secretary of BC Men’s Sheds, gave presentations in both Port Hardy and Port McNeill about the organization. Both groups agreed to have a second meeting.
Teen hailed a hero during house fire
By Kathy O'Reilly, North Island Eagle, January 31 2025
Port Hardy’s Lucas Walker, 14, is being hailed a hero by friends and family.
On Jan. 21 at roughly 7 p.m., Walker’s family experienced a horrific house fire.
“He was home playing video games, and the fire alarm went off,” said mom Felicia Walker.
Lucas walked out of his room and peeked into his sister’s, that was across from his, and saw a fire.
Felicia called Lucas, because she had received a notification on her phone and told him to shut his sister’s door and go upstairs and get outside.
“He shut her bedroom door, he shut every door on his way out, he got all four of our dogs outside and then he called 9-1-1,” Felicia said.
“I know I would have panicked, and he did so good and was so calm through the whole thing,” she said.
“The fire department said that had he not closed all the doors, our whole house would have probably burned to the ground,” she said.
Lucas’ parents were down island on a work trip when the fire occurred and were able to watch the terrifying event unfold on their phone.
“As soon as we got the notification, we tapped into our cameras to check out our house and we couldn’t see anything at first, but we (saw) Lucas go across to his sister’s room and then he jumped back and shut the door,” Felicia said.
“We watched him get out of the house and within two to three minutes the cameras went black. We couldn’t see anything because there was so much smoke in the entire house,” she explained.
There were three cameras in the home - two inside, and one outside.
“We kept checking the cameras to see if we could see anything, but it was already up in flames.”
Out for dinner in Vancouver when the fire broke out, Felicia and her fiancé grabbed their twin boys and left immediately.
“We ended up stopping in Nanaimo and spending the night because you shouldn’t be driving under that stress, that late at night, on the Port Hardy highway,” she said.
Three of the children had bedrooms in the basement which were destroyed, and the upstairs is smoke damaged.
“It looks like it is going to be a complete gut. Everything is just so damaged. You can see all the nails in the walls, the walls are there, but they are see-through.”
Unfortunately, two cats were lost in the fire.
Photo — Submitted
Port Hardy’s Lucas Walker, 14, is being hailed a hero by friends and family after his quick-thinking actions during a house fire Jan. 21.