By Jonathan Hamelin
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| The Empress Hotel in Mossbank Photo by Jonathan Hamelin |
When it comes to Mossbank, Carl Weiss is hoping entrepreneurs won’t mind their own business.
The mayor is hopeful that more business will emerge in Mossbank, a town of just under 500 in south-central Saskatchewan
Mossbank is already home to a number of businesses, including four business and farm equipment providers, two grocery stores, one hotel, a gas station, a heating and plumbing service, a bank, a restaurant, an accounting firm, a children’s clothing store and a post office.
But with Mossbank situated less than an hour’s drive away from larger centres such as Moose Jaw
“We don’t have a place to repair cars or a mechanic shop. The Co-op does a bit of it, but they don’t really want to get that involved in it. They’ve had a few mechanics come in there and start, but they can’t seem to make any good connections with them,” Weiss explained.
“We have a small doctor’s clinic here and a lot of people use the clinic. But doctors are so scarce that we only have a doctor a few days a week. So of course, some of the people go to Gravelbourg, Assiniboia and Moose Jaw
Weiss knows all about leaving Mossbank. As a journeyman carpenter, he did his apprenticeship in Calgary Saskatoon Edmonton
Weiss retired and moved back to Mossbank about 10 years ago. Like many retired individuals, he thought he would just take it easy. But this changed when he witnessed the attitude held by some in the town.
“We were the new family on the block, and of course everybody was tired of doing things. When I came here, things looked very grim,” Weiss said. “There was talk of shutting (the town) down and walking away. I thought, ‘No, that’s not going to happen as long as I’m here.’”
To help revitalize the community so more youngsters wouldn’t leave Mossbank like he did, Weiss got involved in the town council soon after he returned and became mayor a few years later. As mayor, Weiss began hiring people to help the town set up different committees.
Weiss said one of these committees’ big accomplishments was setting up the Dare to Dream Lottery, which sells tickets and has helped Mossbank raise money for upgrades. One example of the lottery’s benefits can be seen in the development Old Wives Lake
“(The lottery) seems to have picked everybody up in town,” Weiss said. “They see that there is something happening. It’s been a real asset and started bringing people in here. In fact, we have just slowly grown up here until about a year ago, which slowed down a little bit.”
Weiss hasn’t been the only one working to turn the state of business in Mossbank around. Jennifer Krauss and her parents recently bought the Empress Hotel in Mossbank. Already the owners of a hotel in Ardill, the family decided to run a business in the community they lived in.
“We all kinda knew what the cliental is and what to offer,” Krauss, 26, said. “Right now, we’re slowly getting into everything. We’re bringing in good drink specials and things like that, and we’ve talked to the community to see what they want to do – bringing in certain bands and starting up a pool league again.”
The Empress Hotel has six rooms that the new owners plan to renovate during the winter before opening to the public. The business currently employs only local residents. Krauss said it is important for her family to support Mossbank with the business.
“It’s a good community – there’s good people in it,” she said. “There’s very little crime, basically nil. There’s lots of room for expansion and basically anything. There’s really no competition for anything.”
Unfortunately, no competition means a lack of businesses in Mossbank. Like Weiss, Krauss admitted more services are needed in Mossbank. She stressed the need for a full-time doctor’s clinic, adding that a daycare and gym would be beneficial. But according to Krauss, Mossbank’s age demographic may be hindering this progress.
“One thing out here is people are very skeptical about new things,” she said. “In Mossbank we have our seniors, who basically take up 50 per cent, and the young, young group, which takes up 50 per cent. There are very few in-betweens. It’s basically the battle of the ages. The seniors don’t want as much change and the younger people back down from the seniors.”
But perhaps the seniors’ cautiousness comes from experience. Leon Wuschke is one of the seniors in Mossbank. Over 20 years ago, after he couldn’t make things work on his farm, Wuschke moved into town and bought the LAW General Store. Wuschke does his best to help the community, staying open late and employing local workers, but he seems to be cautious when it comes to adding more businesses.
“It’s costly to run a business and you have to have the people to support you,” he said. “For a business itself, it has to be interesting for people to support it.
“It’s too easy now to drive to Moose Jaw
While many in Mossbank realize the difficulty of running a business in a small town, people still recognize more services are needed to keep the community thriving.
One thing that would help in this regard is an economic developmental officer, tasked with attracting and promoting business. But Mossbank has been without an officer for the last several months. Weiss noted cost has been an issue – an officer’s salary is $60,000 to $70,000 a year, though grants cover some of the cost.
“We are probably going to try and find another one to come in here,” Weiss said. “I think there’s a real need for that.”
“When I came here, things looked very grim. There was talk of shutting (the town) down and walking away. I thought, ‘No, that’s not going to happen as long as I’m here.’”
- Carl Weiss
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