Newsletter - May 2026

MAY 2026 EDITION

Welcome

Gadzooks! I can’t believe how quickly time passes these days – but I’m really ready for spring and summer to charge ahead! Water restrictions are coming in just a day or two – already – but the good news is that we should be seeing some lovely weather in May.

Make sure to get yourselves outside and do stuff!

As always, suggestions and submissions for this newsletter are welcome and encouraged. I would especially like to have some more “Cool Tools” to display!

What has Bowen Island Men’s Shed Done Lately?

Workshop Projects

Unfortunately, the much-needed work party to start the shelving in the sea can never materialized. We’ve got the plywood on hand and all we need is some bodies – let’s try to organize some “doings” in the next couple of weeks to git ‘er done!Newly acquired Tools & Equipment

We have pretty much fleshed out our power tool needs – we’ve acquired a brand-new jointer and planer, and we’ve had a welcome donation of a good-sized air compressor and pneumatic nail gun set! It’s got a framing nailer, a finish nailer, and a brad nailer, so we’re well set up for the zombie apocalypse!

Eagle-eyed members will note that a rather large electric kiln has magically appeared at the north end inside the sea can.  This belongs to IPS and is a replacement for an older one that gave up the ghost.  The hulking great thing showed up somewhat early, and they needed a place to put it temporarily while an outside permanent location is found.  I don’t think it’s too much in the way for the meantime.Workbench Vises

Our very own John H. has finished installing two woodworking vises on the indoor mobile bench and one on an outside bench. They’re all ready for use – so thank you John!IPS Kid’s Workshop Projects (update)

Almost all the IPS students have finished their projects – and I’m really impressed with their creativity and work ethic! Here are some photos:

Sign-Up Sheets

There’s still lots of room on the sign-up sheets for various Shed activities! Make sure to put your name down for axe throwing, fishing, hang-gliding, or whatever else gets your adrenaline pumping! It’s up to you to let everyone know what you’d like to do!

Shop Aprons

Shop aprons ordered by the following members have arrived and are available in the sea can for pickup on Saturday: Park H., Stephan R., Roger L., Basel H., Lance W., and Brian McC. The total cost to me was $220.90, so that works out to $36.81 each. An e-transfer to steve.elves@gmail.com or cash to me would be appreciated!

Rosco, yours should be coming in the next couple of weeks. I’ll let you know when it arrives.

Bowen Island Charitable Foundation Grant

We are delighted to announce that our grant application for paving the area between the Sea Can and IPS school has been approved, and we’ve been awarded $10,000 towards the cost! A HUGE shout-out to Matt R. (our bean-counter extraordinaire) who lined up the bids and put together the grant application. It’s anticipated that the work will be done once school is out for the summer – stay tuned for further announcements. A work party may be required – perhaps more emphasis on the “party” aspect than the “work” component, but everyone is welcome to contribute.

B.I. Men’s Shed Administration

Membership Dues – second reminder!

At our Annual General Meeting this year we passed a resolution to have shed members pay annual dues of $20 per year, starting now.Our official Treasurer and Pincher of Pennies has set up an email link direct to our bank account at First Credit Union – members are urged to e-transfer $20 to membership@bimshed.ca (no passcode needed). The fee covers membership for the calendar year 2026. Thanks to those who’ve already paid!

Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct was circulated last month. We’ve had no official feedback so I’m assuming that everyone is on board. If shedders have any feedback, whether it be questions or suggestions, please talk to any member of the board – we welcome your input!

Safety

Members are reminded to exercise caution when using any of our power tools. If you haven’t used the particular make & model of any of our tools, make sure you get a safety and use briefing from Bogdan, Basel, or (as a last resort) myself. Also, we now have a really good Shop Vac on hand, so there’s no excuse for not getting any sawdust or detritus picked up after you use the shop. Please help keep it clean and safe for everyone! Also, I noticed one day a couple of weeks ago that the blade on the table saw had not been fully retracted after use. Even when the saw’s unplugged the bare blade presents a hazard, so please crank it down until it disappears after you’ve used it.

We’ll need a volunteer to mount the eyewash station somewhere near the door to the shed, where it’s both noticeable and handy should it be needed. Let’s talk about location on Saturday.

Bowen Men’s Shed E-Mail

Thanks to herculean efforts by Scott P. our Shed now has a complete set of email addresses for all the executive board members. Mail can be addressed to us simply by position title (rather than by name) so that there will be continuity of communication even if board members change or retire(!).The mailing list is as follows:

president@bimshed.ca

vicepresident@bimshed.ca

secretary@bimshed.ca

treasurer@bimshed.ca

info@bimshed.ca

Bowen Men’s Shed Board Members (cont.)

Lance Weismuller was born in Port Alberni in the 1940s. His father was a police officer and so the family moved from there to Lulu Island (Richmond) , then to Bowen Island in May 1964. As a teenager Lance helped his dad rebuild and restore Model T Fords. His dad drove the Model T they had restored as the first car to drive through the then brand-new Deas Tunnel.Lance and his wife Barbara were together dating and married for 32 years. Sadly, Barbara passed in the last year.

Lance’s dad was a Canadian Paratrooper, and Lance has been an Associate Member with voting rights of the Royal Canadian Legion Bowen Island for 54 years. Lance has been re-elected and served as Seargent-at-Arms for 48 of those years, and has the awesome distinction of being the longest-serving Associate Member of any in the Bowen Island Legion.

Amongst his interests are steam trains, classic cars and trucks, and collectible model cars and trucks.

Lance and his father decided to establish a logging and sawmill operation on Bowen and worked there for many years. The mill created railroad ties for the CN Rail; those ties from Bowen were used all across Canada. Some logs were used for pilings on the Fraser River.

Lance opened and operated a landscaping business on Bowen for about 5 years, after which he collected recyclables for homes and businesses on island for over 20 years! He still does it for a small number of clients.

Lance says he is happily “semi-retired” and enjoying life!

Upcoming Activities

SATURDAY SOCIAL MEETING

We invite you to our next social meeting!  We’ll have coffee/tea and pastries or cookies; please remember to bring your own reusable cup if possible.  You can donate what you choose towards costs if you like. Date: Saturday, May 2^nd, 2026  Time: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PMLocation: Men’s Shed sea can behind IPS – 671 Carter Road

SAVE THE DATES:Our regular social gatherings are held on the 1st Saturday of each month, so mark your calendars accordingly.

Super Nice Helping Hand Offer:

Aaron Gustafson, the owner of Sitka Property Services, recently posted the following offer on the Bowen Island Everything Else FB page:

“Goodmorning Bowen!

Aaron here, owner of Sitka Property Services. I know that the cost of living here on Bowen is high and the cost of home maintenance services is out of reach for some people. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and it doesn’t sit well with me that someone’s home could be deteriorating due to ol’ Mother Nature and they can’t do anything about it.Whether you’re just physically not able to get on your roof anymore, maybe you’re someone on a fixed income, a single parent or someone just struggling to make ends meet I don’t feel like you should be left out of having your home maintained. We would like to volunteer our services one day per month to someone that needs our help but for whatever reason is unable to pay for our services.

If you or someone you know could use a helping hand please send us an email at hello@sitkapropertyservices.com, tell us a bit about yourself or the person you have in mind and we’ll do our best to help out. Happy Saturday!”

Upcoming Event - SKY:

E-Mail: info@bimshed.caFor suggestions, additions or subtractions, plaudits or complaints regarding this newsletter, feel free to send an email at vicepresident@bimshed.ca or at steve.elves@gmail.com

For more information about the Men’s Shed Association of BC, visit www.bcmensshed.ca

For more information about Men’s Shed Canada, visit www.mensshedcanada.ca