Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Couple built business, grew family in Prince George

Bob and Marvina Nikkel moved from Vancouver to Prince George in 1965 and established NR Motors Ltd. in 1967.
EXTRAcol-nadalin.18_1021201.jpg
Bob and Marvina Nikkel, local business owners, have lived in Prince George since 1965.

Bob and Marvina Nikkel moved from Vancouver to Prince George in 1965 and established NR Motors Ltd. in 1967. NR Motors is now Prince George's oldest recreational vehicle dealer serving the recreational needs of Prince George and the surrounding region for the past 52 years.

Here is their story in a nutshell.

Bob was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1932. His father worked seven days a week and 10 hours a day in a foundry in Winnipeg during the war years. Bob said, "It was a time during the war when you could not quit a job even if you wanted to. There was no ventilation in the building where my father worked and he suffered many stomach ailments due to the acid released by the flux that they used at the time in his daily work. Eventually his health condition deteriorated to the point that our family doctor wrote an official note ordering him to leave the province and seek better working conditions.

"We moved to Chilliwack and my father landed a job running a dairy farm of 100 milk cows; the farm was owned by a dentist.

"I was only 10 years old when we moved but I remember that first winter in Chilliwack. We had the biggest snow storm ever; no one was able to get out of their properties and the roads were closed. We had to continue to milk those cows and since we could not ship the milk we had to dump it.

"I went to school until I was 14 and at the age of 15 I went to sea for the next six years. I worked on the SS Catala; a Canadian coastal passenger and cargo steamship built for service with the Union Steamship Company of British Columbia. The ship was licensed to carry 267 passengers and carried 300 tons of cargo. I worked as a steward serving in the officer's mess at a private table for one year until I was bumped off the job.

"I joined their union and from 1949-1953 I was dispatched on a deep-sea freighter and several other deep-sea ships on the fleet of the Western Canada Steamship Company.

"In 1953 I went looking for a job and got hired through a machinist union as a millwright helper and eventually became a journeyman millwright. Over the next six years I worked at the Waneta Dam in Trail and the Kemano Phase I project near Kitimat. I worked on hydroelectric turbines and other various projects too numerous to mention. That was the beginning of my machinery and millwright work experience.

"In 1958 I went to work for Kenworth building trucks in Burnaby until 1964. I was what they called a swing-man and I was able to cover every aspect of the job which was very interesting work."

Bob met Marvina Senft in 1953 through people connected with his relatives at their church in Chilliwack. They started out with a long-distance relationship and married in 1955.

Marvina was born in Hodgeville, Sask. in 1933 and was raised on a farm. Her mother suffered from hay fever so the family left the farm and moved to Vancouver in 1946 where her father found work in a sawmill. Eventually they moved to Chilliwack and bought a dairy farm.

After high school Marvina moved back to Vancouver and worked in retail stores for both Woolworth and Sears.

The young couple moved to Prince George in 1965. Bob was hired as a millwright and worked on the construction of the Northwood Pulp mill. He said, "I worked 12 hours a day and seven days a week for nine months during the construction of the pulp mill.

"When we finished the project, I got laid off. Our family was growing and I wanted a good future for them so I worked for Kenworth at Parker Pacific that winter and in the spring we started our own business.

"We came to Prince George with the intention of staying for the long term and ended up going into business for ourselves.

"We took over the old Pacific 66 Truck stop at 1877 First Ave. complete with the restaurant and started NR Motors. We operated there for the next 13 years right across the road from where the old Kelly Douglas Warehouse used to be. We operated a service shop and did fleet contract service work for big companies with BC Hydro being our main contract.

"In 1986 we moved to our current location which used to be the old highways department building situated on four acres at 805 First Ave.

"Over the years we added the recreational vehicle and marine divisions, Suzuki motorcycles and ATVs, John Deere products and the sport and ski shop and made all around recreation as our business.

"We deal in dreams and sold everything that people did not need. In this part of B.C. where there's no shortage of lakes and provincial parks; camping, boating and related activities are number one on many customer's lists. We changed to a total recreational facility and a full service and parts department to support their dreams and we can look after most recreational needs.

"We worked hard over the years and we owe the success of our company to good management, great customers and our loyal staff."

Bob and Marvina have a family of three chosen children; Alan (Mary Lou) a chaplin with the army in Ontario, Greg (Sharon) manager of NR Motors and Donna Hansen the parts department manager at NR Motors. They have seven grandchildren.

Marvina concluded by saying, "Our company NR Motors is pretty much a family concern with Bob, our daughter Donna and our son Greg all actively involved in the daily operation of the business. At the age of 86 Bob is still involved in the business and has no intention of retiring.

"I worked for the company right from the start and raised our family at the same time. I recently had to retire due to health issues. I wish I could still be at the office because I loved the work and the interaction with the staff and the customers. We met many great people through our business and they became good friends. It has been tough over these past 52 years to see many of them grow old and pass away. We had many years of great history with these people and it has been sad to see them go.

"All in all, the Lord has been good to us."