During the holidays Lino and I attended the Canfor Coffee Group annual Christmas luncheon. The Canfor Coffee Group (CCG) is made up of the retirees from the Prince George and Intercon Pulp Mills. Their special guest at the luncheon was Peter Bentley, the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of the Canfor Corporation and the son of L.L.G. "Poldi" Bentley, one of the founding families of Canfor. Mr. Bentley delivered a great speech about the 75 year history of the company and the fact that very few companies ever reach this milestone. It was a great speech because of his personal touch with stories about how the company came into being. I could have listened to him talk for hours. His pride in the 75-year-old company and the company employees came through in everything he said. He thanked the Canfor retirees for their many years of dedicated service to the company and spoke about the part that they played in the success of the company.
The company traces its roots to the late 1930s, when brothers-in-law John G. Prentice and L.L.G. "Poldi" Bentley and their families left their native Austria for Canada. It was just before the outbreak of World War II. They settled in Vancouver and built a small mill and that was the beginning of the 75-year-old company. A company that was to become one of Canada's major forest products companies and a company that provides good paying jobs: A company that put Prince George on the map.
For more information about the 75 year history of Canfor go to: http://www.canfor.com/our-company/75th-anniversary
The CCG is well know for their regular social coffee meetings, their news letter, the annual children's Christmas party and Santa's workshop toy makers. The Canfor coffee group toy makers have been making wooden toys for children since 1995 in the basement of the Hart Pioneer Centre at 6986 Hart Hwy. Once the annual project is completed approximately 800 painted toys are delivered to charities across the region. Some of the many items they make are race cars, monster trucks, pull toys, table and chair sets and rocking horses.
All materials needed to make the toys are donated by various businesses in Prince George, with Canfor being their biggest provider. Work in Santa's workshop starts in full swing each September and ends in November.
roup organizer Skip Cleave presented Peter Bentley with one of the original toy trucks that they made back in 1995.
Some of the Canfor retirees that I know about are Skip Cleave, Darwyn Eikum, Len Shankel, Lino Nadalin, Ed Gladwin, Stu Hayne, Barry Russell, Ray Kondratuk, Bill Graham, Dave Mazurak, Ted Girling, Andy Horwath, Larry Young, Dave Johnson, Warren Wilson, Stewart Law, Dale Stauffer, Lothar Hirt, Joe Allen, Robert Birston, Vern Glass, Bob Quesnel, Carlos Santos, Joe Clemson, C. Hawkins, Dick Johnson, Peter Hohn, Harvey Clark, Don McLaughlin, Mike Wood, Mario Mauro, Cliff McDonald, Keith Sullivan, Tass Goussis, Dick Lenko, Jim O'Brien, Don Wasnik, Ann McLeod, Don Hollis, George Rallison, Bob Dods, Colin Arthurs, Albert Senner, Rick Lewis, Bill McKenzie, Jason Korolek, Terry Carter, Lorne Paulson, Albert Senner, John Miller, Anna Turnquist and Mike Bundock. A few of the out of town retirees are Henry Kasprow, Sonny Norbert, Joe Lang, Dwaine Etty, Dan Idorn and Mary Jo Mackie.
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