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| Phil and Angie celebrating their anniversary, a few months after Phil retired in 2010. |
I officially retired from Mabe Canada (formally known as GSW and then Camco) on April 30, 2010 having just turned 60 on the 1st of April that year.
Waking up that following morning and realizing I did not have to go to work actually felt great, and with no regrets about my decision to retire early.
I think it was because I had given my employer six months notice of my intent to retire which made it so much easier to adjust after 42 years of working for the company.
The toughest part of retiring early was making the decision to do so which was very difficult giving up a job you loved so much and had done your whole working career. Once that decision was made, however, there was no turning back or second guessing which made my actual retirement that much easier to enjoy.
As it was now May, 2010, finding something to keep me busy was very easy. Golf, golf and more golf! 
You could almost say that I overdid it but then I quickly realized that there was no such thing as too much golf!!!!
All good things must end though and by November of my first retirement year it was starting to get cooler and a long winter was lying ahead.
Now what I thought? Well let’s renovate the basement; something I had wanted to do since moving into our new home 17 years earlier but had never found the time to do it. As I had zero technical or building skills to do this, I did what I do best, and that was to hire people to do the jobs I didn’t have the skills to do.
My job became the foreman of the project which meant standing over them while they worked to make sure it was done right. (Lol!) Actually, my job was to source all the materials needed for the job of building a fourth huge bedroom complete with fireplace, another full bathroom, and building a hallway leading to the already finished laundry room and the rest of the unfinished part of the basement. I also did all the painting of all three areas. So having worked with my Dad painting when I was a kid came in handy. It was a big job. I gave the work to retired friends who were expert craftsmen and it was completed in February, 2011.
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| Completed new 4th bedroom downstairs. Now, we had four bedrooms and three full bathrooms for just the two of us...lol. Fortunately, we get lots of company so it has really come in handy as has the extra bathroom. |
Angie loves golfing as well so we were able to plan golf trips together either as holidays or on weekends while she continued to work right up until her breast cancer diagnosis in February, 2016. The news of that was devastating; especially the diagnosis which was a Grade three breast cancer with a HER2-positive receptor as well. The news could not have been worse. That being said, she had an amazing attitude for beating it. She immediately proceeded to have a mastectomy, followed by eight rounds of radical chemotherapy, and then 28 rounds of radiation therapy in Kelowna; all this over a period of eight months. A year later she had breast reconstruction surgery and she's been cancer-free for four years.
During Angie's recovery, she retired from KISS-FM where she worked for 36 years. She took on a rigorous exercise regime which she's continued ever since; Zumba, Barre and Yoga up to six times a week plus golfing two to three times a week during the season. I am so proud of her resolve to get and stay well, and she has done it all on her own with moral support from me, of course.
While still recovering from the last of her radiation treatments and catching me at a weak moment, Angie said to me “Phil! I really want to get another dog.“ We had lost the last of our two dogs, Brandy and Kimo in 2009 and we both agreed “no more dogs“ as the pain of losing them a year apart was devastating to us. Well, with the help of our daughter Allison working on my weakness, we drove to Oliver, British Columbia and picked up the newest member of our family “Summer,“ a beautiful Lab/Golden Retriever cross who is now three years old.
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| Welcome to the Culbert family! Summer at just a few months old in 2017. |
Now, keeping on a positive note about my retirement, here are a few pictures of our time on the golf course.
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| Angie Culbert and friends getting ready to tee off and play a round at Royal York Golf Course in Armstrong, British Columbia. Left to right: Sandy Bennett, Angie Culbert, Joan McLellan and Cis Stinson. |
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| This is the view you get on #1 hole at The Rise a testy Par 5. |
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| Another testy Par 5 the #18 hole at The Rise. |
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| Grandson Blake Culbert and I getting ready to tee off on Hole #1 at The Rise. |
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| Getting ready to take my second shot on hole #18 at The Rise. |
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| Looking back at hole #15 from the green on #16. #16 is a tough hole as you have to hit it 165 yards off the t-box to clear the water and keep it straight right onto the green. |
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| Grandson Blake Culbert hitting a beautiful t-shot off #16 Par 3 at The Rise clearing the pond and putting for a birdie. Grandpa Phil landed in the pond on his shot, took a drop on the other side and scored a stellar 5....lol! |
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| Angie and I getting ready to t-off on what was a very smoky day from all the forest fires. |
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| Phil Culbert and good buddies Kerne Bennett, Mac McLellan and Darrel Stinson getting ready to tee off on hole #1 at Royal York Golf Course in Armstrong, BC on Canada Day thus the red and white shirts. |
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| Angie and I getting ready to tee off again over all this fescue on this challenging Par-3 at The Rise. The sky is full of smoke again from the forest fires we endured for two straight summers. |
Animals are a very common sight on most British Columbia golf courses including lots of deer, marmots, and all kinds of different birds such as eagles and many varieties of hawks. If you are lucky, you may also get to see the odd bear, coyote or even a rattlesnake; all indigenous species to our region!!!!
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| Mother deer with her two newborn fawns last spring at The Rise. |
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| This baby fawn was left to sleep by it’s mother as she went off to forage for food. I took this photo last spring at The Rise. Mother deer came back to get her fawn a short time later, according to the Course Marshall when I asked about her well-being later. |
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| One of many bears who live up here that you may get lucky enough to see during your round of golf at The Rise. |
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| This marmot was enjoying a nice feed of fairway grass and soaking up the sun on a very hot Okanagan summer day. |
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| Yes, that is indeed a Northern Pacific rattlesnake which you see more often on the southern Okanagan courses although we do have lots up at The Rise as well. This picture was taken by a friend of ours in Osoyoos, BC; a golf course Angie and I have played many times with our friends who live there. |
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| Left to right: Art Futa from Oliver, BC.; Bill McDonald from Calgary, BC; Phil Culbert from Vernon, BC; and Ron Toyota from Creston, BC. Playing the Coyote Course Golf & Country Club in Sundrie. |
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| Left to right: Judy Toyota, Jean Futa, Coleen McDonald and Angie Culbert. |
"AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT"
Once the golf season ended in 2011 and the renos downstairs had been done I thought to myself “What now?“
Well it didn’t take very long to find a new hobby as my neighbour down the street asked me if I would be interested in curling. I explained to him that I had never curled before except once in my late 20’s when we curled in a company function that was more of a “who could not fall down after so many beers!” type of game.
I never thought much about the sport after that except my interest in watching it on TV periodically. I thought I would give it a shot. So we went down to the VCC (Vernon Curling Club) and I realized very quickly once I got into the hack that balance while sliding on one knee at 61 years of age was not going to work for me.
He suggested I try “stick curling,“ a rather new format of curling to our club. You're playing exactly the same rules except instead of “sliding“ out of the hack on one knee, you remain upright with one foot in the hack, and holding onto a carbon fibre stick with an attachment that hooks onto the rock. Once you have secured the stick to the handle of the rock, you walk out slowly, aiming for the broom at the other end that the skip is holding. Before you get to the hog line, put your turn on the handle and release the rock. It took me a few weeks to master this form of curling and be as competitive as most of the slide curlers were but once I did master it “look out Briar here I come!!!“
I played in the Senior Men’s League for the first two years. By the third year of curling, I decided to form a “Stick League“ that other clubs were already running in various Okanagan cities, the West Coast and Vancouver Island, and right across Canada all the way to the Maritimes including most Provinces along the way. I managed to ice 12 teams the first year and now, seven years later there is a waiting list to play in my 26-team, very competitive league.
A Stick League is comprised of two-person teams with one player at each end competing against another team with two players. Each game is only six ends with six rocks thrown by each player on alternate ends. We play two games back-to-back each Wednesday. Each game only takes one hour to play so it's very quick. Lastly, there's no sweeping between the hog lines so it’s a lot easier on players' backs, knees etc. You are also allowed two one-minute time-outs per game. I was interviewed a few years ago about the popularity of stick curling and how it had caught on at the Vernon Curling Club. It was a full front page section in the local newspaper.
In 2015, I brought the BC Stick Curling Provincial Championship to Vernon, and hosted a total of 32 teams from across the Province. The following year, I secured hosting the Canadian National Stick Curling Championships with 40 teams from across Canada with several teams from Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Maritimes competing. I was the Chairperson of both those events.
Here are a few highlight pictures from my stick curling career after nine years playing this wonderful game.
The biggest event at our club at the end of each season are the Club Championships where the top Men’s, Ladies, Mixed, Seniors and Stick Leagues play for the hardware and title of “Club Champion.“ Having won our playoff round in order to qualify fo the Championship round, I’m pleased to say that my partner and I won it in 2019. We each had VCC club jackets awarded to us at the annual AGM last September.
I was recruited to join the Senior Men’s Board of Directors in only my second year at the club (we have roughly 125 Senior Men’s daytime curlers.) You must be 50+ years of age to qualify playing in our Senior Leagues. The first year I was a Director, the second year Vice-President, and then for the next four years, President. I stepped down after six years due to my commitment to the regular Vernon Curling Club Board of Directors. In 2018, I was presented with the prestigious Sigi Ogasawara Memorial Award for the volunteer work I had done with the men’s league.
Well it didn’t take very long to find a new hobby as my neighbour down the street asked me if I would be interested in curling. I explained to him that I had never curled before except once in my late 20’s when we curled in a company function that was more of a “who could not fall down after so many beers!” type of game.
I never thought much about the sport after that except my interest in watching it on TV periodically. I thought I would give it a shot. So we went down to the VCC (Vernon Curling Club) and I realized very quickly once I got into the hack that balance while sliding on one knee at 61 years of age was not going to work for me.
He suggested I try “stick curling,“ a rather new format of curling to our club. You're playing exactly the same rules except instead of “sliding“ out of the hack on one knee, you remain upright with one foot in the hack, and holding onto a carbon fibre stick with an attachment that hooks onto the rock. Once you have secured the stick to the handle of the rock, you walk out slowly, aiming for the broom at the other end that the skip is holding. Before you get to the hog line, put your turn on the handle and release the rock. It took me a few weeks to master this form of curling and be as competitive as most of the slide curlers were but once I did master it “look out Briar here I come!!!“
I played in the Senior Men’s League for the first two years. By the third year of curling, I decided to form a “Stick League“ that other clubs were already running in various Okanagan cities, the West Coast and Vancouver Island, and right across Canada all the way to the Maritimes including most Provinces along the way. I managed to ice 12 teams the first year and now, seven years later there is a waiting list to play in my 26-team, very competitive league.
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| Phil (right) holding his broom down on the ice, giving his stick partner at the other end of the ice a target to aim for. |
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| Copy of the article in The Vernon Morning Star newspaper about Stick Curling at the Vernon Curling Club. (Click image to enlarge) |
I continue to play in the Senior Men’s League on Tuesday and Thursdays, having being promoted to Skip. Also, I had a four-person team that I skipped in the Mixed League on Fridays until back issues persisted and I had to cut out Fridays after three years. I only curl Wednesdays and Thursdays now. I still play in as many out-of-town bonspiels as I can which is usually seven per year. That includes the bonspiel I host in Vernon, and have won several times with my stick partner, Blaine.
In 2015, I brought the BC Stick Curling Provincial Championship to Vernon, and hosted a total of 32 teams from across the Province. The following year, I secured hosting the Canadian National Stick Curling Championships with 40 teams from across Canada with several teams from Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Maritimes competing. I was the Chairperson of both those events.
Here are a few highlight pictures from my stick curling career after nine years playing this wonderful game.
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| Phil Culbert with his stick partner at the time, Blaine Olson who competed in the first ever National Stick Curling Championship at the VCC with 40 teams from across Canada. Phil was also the Chairman of the event. |
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| Phil Culbert with his new stick curling partner Cliff Bryanton receiving their club jackets at the Vernon Curling Club AGM for winning the 2018/19 Club Championship for stick curling - Sept 2019. |
Besides all the curling I've done since joining the Vernon Curling Club,I also got heavily involved in organizing leagues (stick league since I created it in 2013 and the mixed senior league for 2 years.) I also organize the annual Stick Curling Bonspiel and have chaired and played in both the Provincial and National Stick Curling Championships.
For the past six years, I organize and put on a stick curling clinic every September. I teach new and current curlers how to stick curl, ice safety, rules, delivery of the rock, etc. Each class is usually 15-22 people each season, with many wanting to join the stick league or one of the other Senior Leagues once they've completed training.
For the past six years, I organize and put on a stick curling clinic every September. I teach new and current curlers how to stick curl, ice safety, rules, delivery of the rock, etc. Each class is usually 15-22 people each season, with many wanting to join the stick league or one of the other Senior Leagues once they've completed training.
I was recruited to join the Senior Men’s Board of Directors in only my second year at the club (we have roughly 125 Senior Men’s daytime curlers.) You must be 50+ years of age to qualify playing in our Senior Leagues. The first year I was a Director, the second year Vice-President, and then for the next four years, President. I stepped down after six years due to my commitment to the regular Vernon Curling Club Board of Directors. In 2018, I was presented with the prestigious Sigi Ogasawara Memorial Award for the volunteer work I had done with the men’s league.
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| This is the keeper plaque I was awarded along with my name inscribed on the club trophy that sits in the club trophy case. |
I am currently Vice President of the 650 member Vernon Curling Club. I've held that position for the past four of the six years I’ve been on that board as both Director and VP. In 2019, at the Annual General Meeting I was pleasantly surprised to be awarded with the Vernon Curling Club's “Volunteer Appreciation Award“ in recognition of all the work and volunteering I'd done over the last several years at the club. My name was added to the plaque that sits proudly in the main entrance of the club, and I was given a keeper trophy to take home.
For my 70th birthday this past April 1st, 2020, all my family were planning to fly here from California and Alberta, and drive here from Kelowna to help me celebrate. I was so excited that my three children and their families were going to be here together which is almost impossible to arrange at the best of times. All plans were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is all our hopes that this family reunion can still take place in the fall but only time will tell when it is safe to travel again.
I publicly wish to thank my dear cousin Mary Jane Culbert who created the Culbert Family History Blog. This blog has allowed us all to get to know our distant relatives, John Culbert and Mary Ward who started it all back in 1840 when they first immigrated to Canada from Ireland. We've also been able to read about many of their descendants' stories that Mary Jane has managed to track down and document in this blog. She has done an incredible job managing this site and I’m sure I speak for all my relatives and others when I say “Great job MJ!“
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| Phil Culbert receiving the Vernon Curling Club “Volunteer Appreciation Award“ at the annual AGM in 2019. |
Well, that just about wraps up my busy 10 year retrospective of what I have been doing since I retired in 2010. Besides the golf, curling and renovations, Angie and I have managed to enjoy many trips and visits with family during this time except for when she was sick.
For my 70th birthday this past April 1st, 2020, all my family were planning to fly here from California and Alberta, and drive here from Kelowna to help me celebrate. I was so excited that my three children and their families were going to be here together which is almost impossible to arrange at the best of times. All plans were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is all our hopes that this family reunion can still take place in the fall but only time will tell when it is safe to travel again.
This concludes the fourth and final chapter of my autobiography highlighting the first 70 years of my life. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading it.
I publicly wish to thank my dear cousin Mary Jane Culbert who created the Culbert Family History Blog. This blog has allowed us all to get to know our distant relatives, John Culbert and Mary Ward who started it all back in 1840 when they first immigrated to Canada from Ireland. We've also been able to read about many of their descendants' stories that Mary Jane has managed to track down and document in this blog. She has done an incredible job managing this site and I’m sure I speak for all my relatives and others when I say “Great job MJ!“
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| Me (Phil Culbert) holding an Irish bouquet of flowers complete with Irish flags at the Culbert Family Reunion in Grand Bend, Ontario in 2015. The reunion was hosted by my sister Vicky (Culbert) Schloendorf and her husband Earl Schloendorf at their home. |
Phillip Myron Culbert's Family Tree:
Ancestors:
John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-great-grandparents)
Richard Culbert & Jane Eleanor Fairhall (great-grandparents)
Myron Manford Culbert & Effie Pearl Taylor (grandparents)
Ivan Hector Culbert & Elvira Hutchings (parents)
Descendants (Children):
Bradley Steven Culbert
Tara Christine Culbert
Allison Victoria Culbert
Installments of Phil Culbert's autobiography can be found through these links:
Part 1: The Early Years.
Part 2: Career.
Part 3: Family.
And so we conclude Phil Culbert Month here on the Culbert Familiy History blog. Thank you, Phil!
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