Peter McCully: Welcome to The PULSE Community Podcast. I'm Peter McCully. Halloween's almost here. The pumpkins are out, and the candy's at the ready as the nights continue to grow longer.

Dave Graham: And I'm Dave Graham. I had no place to put my pumpkins for a while there. You see, my front porch was getting a little, well, shaky, so I embarked on a home improvement project.

Peter McCully: Uh-oh.

Dave Graham: That's not the supportive response I was hoping for there, Peter. We were talking about the safety of children, after all. I can't have trick-or-treaters on wobbly steps. So I watched a video, bought some tools, bought bags and bags of Halloween candy, bought a couple more tools, and then I got to work.

Peter McCully: I'm almost afraid to ask how it turned out.

Dave Graham: Well, I learned that right-handed hammers are really hard to find. Nobody seems to have them. I was told that's what I needed for the best results. Something else I learned: level is not subjective. And I ate most of the Halloween candy. It started out as a quality control exercise. Got a little out of hand.

Peter McCully: Yeah, but are your steps safe for the kids now?

Dave Graham: Solid as a rock, and level level, not Dave level. I found the best way to build a safe and solid structure, and I want to share that secret with you later, my friend. Oh, and I learned that I never want to see another Kit Kat bar for as long as I live.

Peter McCully: Well, I'll try and remember that. Today's podcast is brought to you in part by Ian Lindsay & Associates, serving the mid-Vancouver Island area.

Dave Graham: You'll find real estate professionals at ianlindsay.ca.

Peter McCully: Bryan and Sarah Baeumler have spent nearly two decades on Canadian and American television, from Disaster DIY and House of Bryan to Renovation Island and their resort in the Bahamas. This summer, the Baeumlers brought HGTV's Home Town Takeover Canada to Port Alberni, the show's first Canadian town.

Bryan Baeumler: People are definitely going to get to see a different perspective and learn a lot from this. We made a lot of changes in Port Alberni and had a huge effect on a lot of people's lives: ourselves, the crew, the construction crew and the people that were there to support it. I don't know where the bigger impact was, whether it was on the town or whether the town had the bigger impact on us.

Dave Graham: The Baeumlers. That is so cool. I'm a big fan. Been watching Bryan since day one, and I'm a big fan. Did I say that already? But Bryan, please, if you're listening, get back to me sometime. I've been calling and calling and calling, and you haven't returned any of my dozens of messages.

Peter McCully: Well, actually, Dave, Bryan asked me to pass along the message that he will see what he can do about a right-handed hammer, but you have to stop calling.

Dave Graham: Yeah, no problem. I'll switch over to email.

Peter McCully: The need at our local community food banks is growing. Parksville firefighter Liam Robinson will be talking about the boot drive for the Salvation Army Food Bank, and we'll hear from the coordinator of a community-based food drive, Penny Rutherford.

Penny Rutherford: Last year, the Salvation Army Mount Arrowsmith Soup Kitchen, Food Bank and Family Services recorded over 20,982 service visits. Food assistance appointments totalled 8,076. Christmas hampers reached 902 households, and community meal programs recorded 16,046 visits. If that doesn't explain a little bit more about what we don't see in a postcard, really, those numbers tell it all.

Dave Graham: And those are big numbers. And numbers can create distance. It isn't numbers that may not eat if they don't get help. These are our neighbours, and there but for the grace of God go I.

Peter McCully: On a future edition of The PULSE Community Podcast, we'll chat with musician Stephen Fearing of Victoria. Stephen has a busy solo career, as well as being a member of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.

Dave Graham: Best-selling Qualicum Beach author Bill Arnott will be familiar to many for his award-winning Gone Viking travelogues. Other credits include A Perfect Day for a Walk and A Season on Vancouver Island. And here's something you don't hear every day: Bill is a member of more than one Royal Geographical Society. Bill is fresh off a Canadian Geographic expedition across central Mexico. He'll be joining us soon.

Peter McCully: Something that Burton Cummings and Tom Cochrane have in common is actually a someone. They have both played tour dates with a musician from Ladysmith by the name of Ryan McMahon. This award-winning singer-songwriter will be bringing new music with him when he joins us on a future edition of The PULSE Community Podcast.

Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX, Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network, since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally, as well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You'll find true real estate professionals at ianlindsay.ca.

Thrifty Foods Parksville: At Thrifty Foods, we love to help nonprofits, charities and schools. Our Thrifty Foods Smile Card bulk program allows organizations to immediately save up to 6% on the purchase of Smile Cards in bulk, allowing you to keep more money in your organization's pockets. Ask for details at Thrifty Foods in Parksville.

Peter McCully: Congratulations to Deborah Tenerelli of Mill Bay and Renee Northey of Qualicum Beach. They were winners in our Piano Men ticket giveaway.

Dave Graham: We also had tickets to award to The Great Canadian Road Trip on their swing through BC with Michelle Wright, Jason McCoy and Doc Walker. The winners were Pam Mesic from Port Alberni and Pat McCotter of Courtenay.

Peter McCully: Congratulations to all of our winners, and keep an eye on our website, newsletter and social pages for more contests coming this fall.

Dave Graham: I'd like to enter a contest for a free carpenter.

Peter McCully: Our next guests are making sure families in this area have enough food this fall and winter. Here's Marilyn.

Marilyn: The need at our local community food banks is growing. Here to talk about the Salvation Army Food Bank in District 69 and how you can help is Liam Robinson of the Parksville Volunteer Fire Department, who will be holding a boot drive, and Penny Rutherford, who coordinates the fall food drive in her community of Craig Bay, which was started to support the PVFD Fill the Boot fundraiser. Penny is a dedicated advocate for the Salvation Army and its vital work helping families, seniors and individuals navigating hard times, hard luck and hard choices.

Dave Graham: So Liam, do tell: what exactly happens during a Fill the Boot weekend, for the uninitiated? Where are the firefighters going to be? Set the scene. What will we see?

Liam Robinson: This year we are grateful to have quite a few locations. We'll be located at Tim Hortons, Thrifty Foods and Quality Foods, and then three locations at Wembley Mall: the BC Liquor Store, Canadian Tire and Save-On-Foods on the Saturday. On Saturday, we'll be out from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and on the Sunday it will be 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. What you will see is a bunch of good-looking firefighters standing in front of stores with our boots out, just looking for simple cash donations or toys. We'll also take toy donations, which we forward to the SOS for their toy drive.

Dave Graham: The firefighters, this is a volunteer force?

Liam Robinson: Yes. It's a very loose term now. We are volunteer. We are also paid on call, but we're still volunteer.

Dave Graham: The training and the dedication, it seems endless.

Liam Robinson: Yes, it is very endless. To give some perspective on what the membership does in a year, the membership does about 10,000 training hours each year, and on top of that, we do about 4,000 to 6,000 person hours annually. That is just operations, so that is just us providing a service to the community. Everything else, the charitable scene like what we're talking about today, public education and any other events, that is all extra time that the members are willing to put in to support this community.

Dave Graham: Tell me in your own words just what that means in terms of the dedication, and what it says about the personnel that the firefighting service attracts.

Liam Robinson: Our membership is extraordinary. I know some people like to say that firefighters are just ordinary people doing extraordinary things, but this membership is extraordinary. The amount of time that they're willing to put in towards causes like the one we're talking about here today, it is always about giving back to the community, and the membership has a really good idea centred around that.

Dave Graham: Let's go back a step or two and find the connection here. Why firefighters and food drives? How did that come to be?

Liam Robinson: Looking through our history, the food drive started in 1998. That was our very first year, and credit to three members, I'll mention their first names: Scott, Dave and John were the main organizers back in 1998. It seems like the overwhelming idea was just to give back to the community, to do something extra, something more than what we normally do. And I know a lot of firefighters and a lot of members who come to our department, that's exactly what they want to do. They want to give more. The first year we raised 5,000 pounds of food, our inaugural year, and ever since then those numbers continued to climb. Initially we collected food by the pound. We used to go door to door, drive our fire trucks through neighbourhoods with lights and sirens, let everybody know we're there, and ask for non-perishable food items. Those numbers grew quite significantly, and it's made a big difference in this community. So it's a really rich history. And then, of course, we hit 2020. I won't mention what happened in that year. We had to change direction. We couldn't go door to door at that time, so we adjusted and decided we were going to collect cash. We were going to go to storefronts, where it's a little easier controlled. And then we realized that this works very well for us and the food bank, because, as we like to tell everybody, the money goes much farther compared to non-perishable food items. When you ask for non-perishable food items, you'll also get items that the food bank can't use, or that are outdated, which happens often as well. So the cash allows them to control what they buy, and they can buy what they need instead of potentially getting the same item over and over again. It has worked out extremely well. When we get into the numbers, I'll tell you some more about that.

Dave Graham: That's where I want to go next, so yeah, throw out some numbers. What are we looking at?

Liam Robinson: Since we started the food drive, we have raised a total of roughly 430,000 pounds of food since 1998. But let's talk about money. We are sitting at around $660,000 raised since 1998, and a significant amount of that has come within the last 10 years. I broke down the last 10 years, since I joined the department: we're sitting at $626,000. It has grown and exploded, which is just fantastic to see. This community is so giving, so supportive of everybody in the community. If we talk best weekend, 2020 was our best weekend. The firefighters raised roughly $35,000 in just one weekend. And our best day ever, a Saturday in 2021, we raised $23,000 in one day. One day. That just goes to show what an extraordinary community we live in, with people willing to drop $5, $2, whatever they have in their wallet, and we come up with huge numbers like that to support the people who are in need. It's wonderful to see.

Dave Graham: Penny, it says before me here that Craig Bay residents have donated over $334,000 and 22,400 pounds of grocery items over the past 11 or so years, which itself is phenomenal. I'm wondering if you can shed some light on how that comes to be.

Penny Rutherford: I belong to a very awesome community, the community of Craig Bay, which has 427 homes. Craig Bay is a very generous and giving community, although, like everybody, they need a reason to give. They want to know why they're giving, and they want to know how their money can help. This food drive was inspired by the Parksville Volunteer Fire Department's Fill the Boot drive. When I bought in Craig Bay 16 years ago, the first time the fire department came roaring through the streets with the sirens going, I remember running out with a can of soup and maybe a $10 bill. But I don't keep much in the pantry, so there wasn't a lot, and the same for many of the others. A few years later, a few of us decided, "I think we can do this a little better." It started slowly, with just one person gathering up donations and putting a call out to friends and neighbours: "We're collecting some money for the food drive. Do you think you could drop some things off?" And then we started asking a little sooner, and a little sooner. About 12 years ago, we started doing an organized food drive that now takes six weeks to gather everybody and bring along the food and cash donations, and we have a lot of fun doing it. We know that we are helping so many in our community who don't have the same advantages that we have had. So I really enjoy helping raise money for this drive. I'm so grateful to the fire department for inspiring us to do it, and I'm hoping it will continue for a very long time to help those who are in need.

Dave Graham: People sometimes picture a food bank client as someone different. I'm wondering what your thoughts are on that.

Penny Rutherford: Yes, that's true, Dave. I'm sure the average senior home renter never expected food prices to be so high. They never expected that their pension or wage would not be enough. They never expected that world events would escalate so quickly that gas and food would be so expensive. Yet it is these people who are applying for food aid. It's the seniors on basic government pensions that I find so sad. Perhaps that senior woman was a wife and a mother who did not work because childcare was too expensive, and had a husband who made just enough to get by. But he's gone now, and she's left with only an Old Age Security pension. She cannot afford the rent. She's been evicted from her subsidized housing and has no family. This is the story of too many of our older residents. They have done their best, but now it's not good enough to get them through the month without help. To that, I say thank you, Salvation Army, for providing the space and gathering your army of volunteers to support these average, regular residents in difficult times.

Dave Graham: Is there a moment or an experience or a person you've encountered that crystallizes why you're doing this?

Penny Rutherford: Actually, there are many moments, Dave, that give me pause for reflection. It's the moment I noticed an unhoused person sleeping on the grass in the park, or noticed the many seniors who were shopping ever so carefully. I think a lot about how I wish I could do more to help. Many of these folks are people who have lived, worked and contributed to this community. Dave, the stigma around asking for help needs to fade, because the cost of living has made asking for help unavoidable.

Dave Graham: This area has a reputation as a retirement destination: nice homes, nice beaches. We have life pretty good here. But what does that picture leave out, to you?

Penny Rutherford: It's a postcard image: the beaches, the retirement living, the golf courses and well-kept neighbourhoods. But it hides a much more complex reality. The missing part of the picture is the growing number of residents who are struggling with poverty, food insecurity and unstable housing, even in a place known for comfort and beauty. I'm going to bore you with some numbers. Provincial data shows that food insecurity in BC is strongly tied to low income, disability, limited education and other structural inequities. Parksville Qualicum has many seniors on fixed incomes, renters facing rising costs and families living paycheque to paycheque. All these groups are at high risk for food insecurity. Last year, the Salvation Army Mount Arrowsmith Soup Kitchen, Food Bank and Family Services recorded over 20,982 service visits. Food assistance appointments totalled 8,076. Christmas hampers reached 902 households, and community meal programs recorded 16,046 visits. If that doesn't explain a little bit more about what we don't see in a postcard, really, those numbers tell it all.

Dave Graham: The soup kitchen and the food bank are two different things. I'm wondering, what does a hot meal and a seat at a table give someone that a food hamper cannot?

Penny Rutherford: The Salvation Army soup kitchen provides not only hot meals, but also some hope, some dignity and community. It's open every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. It's a welcoming space that provides hot lunches to anyone who walks through its doors. A meal consists of a hearty main course, a fresh salad and a sweet dessert. With an average of 125 meals per day, this kitchen delivers over 18,000 meals annually, an extraordinary impact powered by just one full-time staff member and a dedicated team of volunteers. I feel their mission goes beyond nutrition. The kitchen fosters a warm, respectful environment where everyone is treated with compassion and care. It's a place where people find not only sustenance, but also connection and kindness. Much of the food that supports this wonderful facility comes from the shelves of the Salvation Army Food Bank, and all the food on those shelves comes from donations from our local grocery stores, from grants, and from people like you and me. The donations of cash and groceries help fill the shelves at the food bank, the pots at the soup kitchen, and the stomachs of the many who are struggling to feed themselves every day.

Dave Graham: Cash or groceries, what's better?

Penny Rutherford: Dave, let's face it, cash has always been king. So yes, cash will go further in the long term, and as Liam explained, they have more buying power. They can buy what they need rather than rely on people's donations from their pantries. Cash is definitely a wonderful thing. However, a can of protein would certainly be welcome on any of the food bank shelves right now.

Dave Graham: Okay, Penny, do you want to talk a little bit about the food bank? Do explain.

Penny Rutherford: As I mentioned, the food for the soup kitchen comes from the shelves of the food bank. But I want to tell you a little bit more about another thing that the Salvation Army does so well. It is feeding people with dignity and respect. You can't just go to the food bank and be given a hamper or a bag of food. You do need to apply to be a client of the food bank. It may be humbling to realize, "I don't have enough money to make it through. I am going to need help." So yes, that stigma of asking for help must end, because these people cannot afford to live on their wages, and the price of food these days is just too much. But when you come to our Salvation Army food bank, you are greeted warmly. Once your application is approved, you get to shop the aisles of the food bank. You get to choose what you want to have. Everybody is given a number of points based on their household, or how many are in their family, and every food has a point value as well, so you get to pick and choose. You get to shop the aisles. You're not just handed a load of groceries. Shopping wisely and picking food that's going to feed you and your family properly, it is so important to have the help and assistance the food bank volunteers provide, warmly, calmly and intelligently. I admire our food bank management and volunteer staff so much, because they help so many people in our community.

Dave Graham: Okay. Liam, beyond dropping money into the boot, how can businesses, schools, neighbourhood groups, anyone, get involved, whether matching donations, running their own collection, or any other way?

Liam Robinson: I would encourage people in other communities to donate directly to the food bank any time of the year. There's always a need. I would encourage everybody to participate, and I would encourage other groups to take up, for example, what Craig Bay did, and challenge each other to keep pushing the drive forward, because the more we push, the more we gain, and the better it is for the ones who are in need.

Dave Graham: Penny, back to you. You mentioned a can of protein, and now that you've started, what else would the food bank like to see more of on their shelves?

Penny Rutherford: I put a little note out to my community about every week, and I tell them what's needed on the shelf. The number one thing is always protein. So cans of protein: meat, chicken, fish and beans. Those are just so helpful. Another thing that's really helpful is cans of protein that don't need a can opener, for those individuals who may not have a can opener with them. Rice and pasta are very important. Pasta sauces, and cereals like oatmeal, good things that are really going to help sustain you, would be very helpful on the shelf. Every can, every bag of rice, every jar of pasta sauce or package of pasta is so helpful to somebody who really cannot make ends meet.

Dave Graham: Are there any other ways that come to mind in terms of supporting the Salvation Army beyond the food drive?

Penny Rutherford: The other 51 weeks of the year, the Salvation Army needs you. To our listeners, your friends and neighbours: any of you could be the volunteer who helps feed and nourish those struggling because of hard times, hard luck and hard choices, or you could be that person who, more than once a year, drops off a donation of cash or groceries.

Dave Graham: So Liam, if I could impose upon you once more to list again just where and when you will be for the next food drive.

Liam Robinson: Of course. The dates are November 14 and November 15, so that's a Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We will be located at Tim Hortons, Thrifty Foods, Quality Foods and the BC Liquor Store at Wembley Mall, as well as Canadian Tire and Save-On-Foods on Saturday, and we hope to see you all out there.

Dave Graham: Finally, if I might: if you could say one thing to a person who's listening and thinking, "Yeah, I'll get around to this," what could you say to get them off the couch?

Liam Robinson: I would think about immediate family. If your mom or dad or your uncle was struggling, you would get up right away to go help them, and I would encourage everybody to have that same feeling for everybody in the community. The more we build a sense of community here, the more people will want to connect and come together to fix issues, not just the food drive, but many other issues that could come up in the community. It's all about building that sense of community that's so important.

Dave Graham: Penny, if I might ask the same question of you?

Penny Rutherford: If you're thinking about helping, that's a wonderful place to start. A little food or cash donated today can bring comfort to a person or a family that needs it now. I agree with what Liam said. Think about your own family, and how, if you weren't there, you would want them to be cared for, looked after and supported. There are many people out there who don't have anybody. If we can help in any little way, I think it is just great to be able to do so. So I encourage people to please, please support our fire department's drive to Fill the Boot. Oceanside is a generous community, and when we come together, we can change lives. So thank you so much for listening, and thank you for caring.

Peter McCully: Liam Robinson of the Parksville Volunteer Fire Department, and Penny Rutherford on behalf of the Craig Bay Food Drive. Over 20,000 visits last year at the Salvation Army Mount Arrowsmith branch, and the need keeps growing. Whether a donation is in the boot or a bag of groceries, it all stays right here in District 69, and a link to the Salvation Army is in our story notes.

Dave Graham: I have a bag of food ready to go. I've just been adding a can of this or a jar of that each time I go shopping. I think I might also have some mini Kit Kat bars to add. I'm going to have to get some more candy for the kids now. Maybe I'll get Coffee Crisps. They're not my favourite.

Peter McCully: Well, I'm sure the kids appreciate your dedication, Dave. And Halloween is the focus of our next Skookum Kid's Stories episode, with Captain Dave and Larry the Lobster taking the Mellow Submarine to the annual Halloween celebration at the French Creek Marina.

Dave Graham: Our other story series is about Peter and his American Eskimo dog, Gracie. We have new stories coming out weekly, each one with colouring pages free to download.

Peter McCully: The PULSE Community includes Cindy Thompson of Parksville and her remarkable podcast series called A Resilience Project. Listen for the transformational story told by Alicia Van Canal about her time as a new teacher in Nicaragua, Central America.

Dave Graham: And we invite you to enjoy the ride as we combine great stories with your imagination in our Radio Archaeology classic radio series. Tune into Gunsmoke with Marshal Matt Dillon, and Dragnet featuring Sergeant Joe Friday.

Peter McCully: And we're pleased to welcome back Erin Haluschak and Chef Jonathan Frazier of the Comox Valley. It's a new season of F3: Football, Food & Fantasy.

Dave Graham: Check out our website, thepulsecommunity.ca, and you'll find links to all sorts of podcasts from all over the Island. That includes one for film fans, with Olen Vanderleeden and his movie review crew on Too Old or Movie Gold. This week, they discuss a movie that was such a challenge to film that director James Cameron admitted he never wanted to go through anything like that again. We're talking about the 1989 sci-fi action film The Abyss. This movie happens to feature Campbell River's Kirk Krack, who has worked with Cameron training cast and crew for diving on Avatar.

Fireside Books: Fireside Books in Parksville and The Book Worm in Port Alberni offer used books at just $5 or less. Both locations make growing your personal library easier than ever. New and used books and so much more. Order online at firesidebooks.ca and pick up at either location. Details available online. Ask about returning books for a book credit. Two locations, one amazing adventure in browsing.

Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX, Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network, since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally, as well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You'll find true real estate professionals at ianlindsay.ca.

Peter McCully: Our next guests know about renovating, designing and building, and that being level is an objective measurement, Dave.

Dave Graham: I'm already taking notes. I'm really excited about this. Hey, do you think they make house calls? I'm asking for a friend. Marilyn, take it.

Marilyn: Bryan and Sarah Baeumler have spent nearly two decades on Canadian and American television, from Disaster DIY and House of Bryan to Renovation Island and their Bahamian resort, Caerula Mar Club. This summer, the Baeumlers brought HGTV's Home Town Takeover Canada to Port Alberni, the show's first Canadian town.

Peter McCully: Welcome to the podcast today, Bryan and Sarah.

Sarah Baeumler: Well, thanks for having us.

Peter McCully: Thank you. We're going to chat about the Home Town Takeover in Port Alberni, but first I'd like to talk a bit about you two. My wife and I were discussing this recently. The first time we recall watching you two on television together, Bryan brought home this huge excavator to knock down the house that you were living in. And Sarah, I remember you had little kids running around.

Sarah Baeumler: Sounds about right. I think that would have been about 2008, 2009.

Bryan Baeumler: I think we only had two.

Sarah Baeumler: We did. We had Quentin, and Charlotte was maybe 18 months old. She was still in my arms. So you brought home an excavator. Ah, the good old days. Sounds about right.

Peter McCully: And it was all downhill, or uphill, from there?

Bryan Baeumler: It's all gone sideways from there. It just multiplied. More kids, more homes, more countries, more excavators.

Sarah Baeumler: More projects, more travelling, more things to tackle. It's just continued to grow.

Bryan Baeumler: Yeah, these things tend to spiral.

Peter McCully: You two met in high school?

Sarah Baeumler: We did.

Bryan Baeumler: We did. She was a minor niner. There was no canoodling in high school.

Sarah Baeumler: No, I was in grade nine, Bryan was in grade 12.

Bryan Baeumler: Yeah. She's the little sister of a friend's girlfriend. That's how I knew her.

Sarah Baeumler: But now, having kids, JoJo is 13 and Lincoln is 15, and then we have two older ones. Every time they're talking about a boyfriend or a girlfriend, we kind of look at each other like, "Oh, boy." We've known each other since we were their age, so I think it makes me a little bit nervous.

Bryan Baeumler: We bumped into each other 10 years later, in our late 20s.

Sarah Baeumler: Hold on. Late 20s?

Bryan Baeumler: I was 25, you were 23?

Sarah Baeumler: 22.

Bryan Baeumler: Okay. Whatever.

Peter McCully: It'll go by pretty quickly. I don't want to make it any faster for you, but you'll be empty nesters pretty soon.

Bryan Baeumler: Yeah, it's coming. We already have two that have flapped their wings a little bit. It's a weird part of life. We've been talking about this, because we're very lucky that we still have both of our parents as well. One set is in their late 80s, and it's going to be an interesting five years when four kids fly the nest.

Peter McCully: Sarah, how did Bryan propose, and where did you go on your honeymoon?

Sarah Baeumler: We were actually visiting Bryan's family on the East Coast, and I had an inkling that Bryan was going to propose. We went out on this trip, and I was unpacking his stuff because I was being a kind partner, hanging up his clothes, and I accidentally found the ring. But I put it back and pretended I didn't see it. I was just trying to be helpful and put away his clothes. So hide things better, you know.

Bryan Baeumler: Snoopy. We had planned to drive out to the easternmost point in Nova Scotia. We drove out there, and it was so foggy you couldn't even see the water.

Sarah Baeumler: And do you remember that day, there was car trouble?

Bryan Baeumler: Yeah, the car went down. I mean, every sign was there. Everything was yelling, "Just, what are you doing? Stop."

Sarah Baeumler: Still happened. Here we are.

Peter McCully: So you drove out to Canso?

Bryan Baeumler: Yeah.

Peter McCully: I had a newspaper in Guysborough County years ago.

Bryan Baeumler: Well, my mom grew up in Coxheath, in Cape Breton, by Sydney.

Sarah Baeumler: We went out there and saw your grandparents. It was nice.

Peter McCully: And my mom's from Sydney Mines.

Bryan Baeumler: Oh, there you go. There are fewer and fewer people in Cape Breton. You find one anywhere you go.

Peter McCully: Where did you end up going on your honeymoon?

Bryan Baeumler: I had rented a beautiful home in the Florida Keys on A1A. The night of the wedding, we were at the hotel, and Sarah said, "So where are we going?"

Sarah Baeumler: He was keeping it a surprise.

Bryan Baeumler: I turned the TV on, and there's a massive hurricane in Florida. All of these signs, right? Biblical, epic signs. There's a massive hurricane, you see the water coming over the road, and I was like, "We were supposed to go right there." So we got on last-minute vacations, and the only trip we could find was a trip to Vegas.

Sarah Baeumler: To Vegas. Very romantic honeymoon in Vegas.

Bryan Baeumler: Well, and miraculously, after the wedding, there was a baby due five months later. So I got to wait outside every bathroom in every hotel on the Vegas Strip.

Sarah Baeumler: If you're pregnant, you can go in every single casino. They have beautiful bathrooms.

Bryan Baeumler: This could be a book.

Peter McCully: Bryan, you and I have something in common. We both played a wind instrument in school. I played the recorder. You played the flute.

Bryan Baeumler: I did. I played the recorder before that, and then, yes, I was a flutist. I actually went up to grade 10 conservatory on the flute, believe it or not. I also played football, hockey and rugby, so I was a well-rounded young man. The flute was a great way to learn all of the fingering for saxophone and clarinet and everything. It was a great wind instrument to teach you the basics.

Peter McCully: Has the flute ever come out on a job site?

Bryan Baeumler: No, it hasn't. I've been threatened with that a few times, but photos have certainly come out. There was a time that I wanted to be like James Galway, the man with the golden flute.

Sarah Baeumler: The kids have also brought out the flute, and Lincoln has asked you to play saxophone when he was learning as well.

Bryan Baeumler: They have. You know what? I need to take them in, get them serviced, and maybe rip a little Jethro Tull or something.

Sarah Baeumler: Relive your youth.

Bryan Baeumler: Yeah. There was a method to the madness, you know.

Peter McCully: Girls like musicians?

Bryan Baeumler: No. I'll tell you, at the independent schools music festivals we used to go to, all the bands would arrive, and they would say, "Okay, all the guys on the saxophones into that room, all the guys on the drums over there, all the guys with the guitars over there, all the guys on the trumpets over there, and all the girls on the flutes and Bryan over here into this room." There was a method to the madness.

Peter McCully: Sarah, you grew up with a strong creative streak in the arts and dance. Does part of your DNA kick in when you walk into a room and think about the flow and design?

Sarah Baeumler: I think it's the creative process as a whole. I love seeing something. It's that vision you have of what a space could be, and then you can dissect it back and start to create it. It's a combination of colours and textures, all these materials coming to life, but it's also about telling a story in a different way. For me, that's what I've always done. Design has just been an evolution, from our own projects to doing it for other people and for clients, and it's something that really fulfills me. So yes, I love it. I started with Bryan, obviously, when we were working on our own home, simply because it was our own property. I wanted to have some input. It was creating spaces for our family.

Bryan Baeumler: To be honest, I looked way too happy just out there building. I just looked way too relaxed and happy, and Sarah said, "I've got to fix this."

Sarah Baeumler: No, I think a lot of people, if you're doing your own home, you become invested. It's such a huge expense. This is your biggest asset. You want to be part of the process, and for me, doing our first home together, I was no different than any other homeowner. I wanted to be part of the process.

Bryan Baeumler: Let that be a warning to anyone out there. All the builders out there, you've been warned.

Peter McCully: Well, speaking of the process, we all watched you get your plane and learn to fly it on TV, Bryan. A Cessna 172 named Cindy. Where does the name Cindy come from?

Bryan Baeumler: Cinderella. My 172, when I bought it, was a little rough. It had a maroon door and a blue stripe, except for the door, and some corrosion on the wings, and a bad interior. It needed a little bit of work, so I polished her up and got her all ready for the ball. Paint job, new interior, and she taught me to fly.

Peter McCully: And I understand you've also bought an amphibious plane?

Bryan Baeumler: I've got a 1948 Republic Seabee, an RC-3, which is a piece of aviation history and a lot of fun to fly. And my daily driver is the 210 Turbo with retractable gear. That's my bus I drive the kids to school in.

Peter McCully: Be truthful. The first time you took a look at the Alberni Inlet or Sproat Lake, did you just think of it as a great big runway?

Bryan Baeumler: I would be lying if I didn't say I suggested multiple times that our arrival should be on a seaplane. I wish I'd had a chance to see the Mars parked there, but I had the opportunity to meet a couple of the pilots and some of the engineers that worked on it. We went and did a little flying with Kurt Cyr, a local pilot there, in his Jet Ranger, and had a look around. I wanted to get up to the airport and do some soaring with the gliders, but they also wanted me to do some work while I was in town, so I had to leave the toys alone for a minute.

Sarah Baeumler: We had to get him out of the planes and the helicopters.

Bryan Baeumler: I managed to get out on the dirt bike a few times, though.

Peter McCully: Helicopters?

Bryan Baeumler: That too, yeah. We went for a ride with West Coast Helicopters, in the Jet Ranger.

Sarah Baeumler: We toured all around Port Alberni, which was incredible, just to see it from the sky. It was a full morning for us, close to the end of filming, to take in everything and see the progression in town. It was pretty spectacular.

Peter McCully: Pretty much all of Canada watched you two with the massive rental project that you had in the Bahamas. One thing you stressed in the show was the responsibility to the community that you're building in.

Bryan Baeumler: Yeah, 100%. Having the opportunity to film Home Town Takeover in Port Alberni, we felt that responsibility. We're renovating for eight changemakers, renovating part of the town and some commercial properties and shared properties. But as time went on, we felt even more of a responsibility when we got to know the people in town, and had the incredible opportunity to get to know both the elected chiefs and the people of the Tseshaht and Hupacasath nations. We did feel a real responsibility. I think we ended up feeling like part of the community. We made friends there and became part of the fabric. So we certainly felt that responsibility, and I think we did okay.

Sarah Baeumler: I think so too.

Bryan Baeumler: I think we carried it. We'll see what the people think.

Sarah Baeumler: It was a very different process, obviously, because unlike some traditional renovations, when you're going into a small town like this, the town is still operating. People are still running their businesses, people are travelling there, and here we are, trying to find ways to revitalize this town, working with the community. So there are people everywhere, there's production, and it was this wonderful collaboration. I think that was unique for both Bryan and me. We were working collectively, and we're seeing that ripple effect. With a lot of the people we spent time with, and some of the projects we worked on at the residential scale, for us to look at those changemakers and understand how a little thing we could do to give them a leg up had a ripple effect throughout the entire community. We hope that long after we're gone, Port Alberni will continue to thrive and build out this next chapter.

Peter McCully: This past summer, you two were in front of a crowd at Harbour Quay, standing alongside Ben and Erin Napier. For folks who watch HGTV, that's the couple that hosts the Home Town Takeover show. You were announcing Port Alberni as the first Canadian Home Town Takeover. What was going through your minds at that time, and how much did you already know about Port Alberni, or Vancouver Island in general?

Bryan Baeumler: I think the first real concern we had was whether there would be any maple bacon donuts left, because Ben was a huge fan of the maple bacon donut. We welcomed them to Canada with gallons of maple syrup, and bacon and honey, you name it.

Sarah Baeumler: Nanaimo bars. How can we forget the Nanaimo bars?

Bryan Baeumler: Yeah, he loved those.

Sarah Baeumler: Ben was sending us photos from every bakery across Port Alberni and beyond, even when he went back to Laurel. And we would send him photos of homemade Nanaimo bars that people were making. We're like, "Ben, we're going to send you a few."

Bryan Baeumler: And a little-known fact: there is a Napier Street in Port Alberni already.

Sarah Baeumler: Ah, but no Baeumler Street.

Bryan Baeumler: Well, we lobbied heavily for that. It was great. We had the opportunity to spend some time with Ben and Erin on an episode of Home Town Takeover in Sebring, Florida, so we got a taste for it. But it was a handover of giant responsibility. So it was great to have them there, get some feedback, thoughts and ideas from them, and then carry on and really take the bull by the horns and turn this into our own Home Town Takeover Canada. It was great to have them there, show them how beautiful it is up here, and give them a little tour of Western Canada.

Sarah Baeumler: One of the things I think Bryan and I both appreciated was that we'd had the opportunity to participate in the show in the U.S., and we were able to get that firsthand knowledge of the difference this show makes and how you can create positive change within a community. We were just honoured to be able to bring that to Canada as well. There are some incredible small towns all across this country, and to be part of this revitalization and to help share their story was something we both felt very passionate about. You'll see when you watch the show, it is an incredible way to connect with the people, to share their story, and to be part of a larger community of Canada as a whole.

Bryan Baeumler: I've been producing television for over 20 years and building and renovating for over 30 years, and this was a perfect opportunity for us, an incredible opportunity that we cherish, to really dig into a community, do much more, build bigger, build more and wrap more people into this. Great Canadiana, great stories of changemakers in their community, and a community that really gets passed by a lot and has had a rough go, with the tsunami, the closure of the mills, the economy and the forest fires, you name it. To showcase somewhere so beautiful, with so much potential and so much that the rest of Canada can learn from, was a great honour. It's very serendipitous. I think this is a great culmination of a career.

Peter McCully: How did working on Indigenous territory shape the way you approached the various projects?

Bryan Baeumler: For me, one of the greatest experiences we were able to have, and I can't wait to share it with the rest of Canada, is that incredible asset: the beautiful culture, the incredible people, the community and the things we got to experience. We got to know elected chief Ken Watts and Brandy Lauder as well, and spend a lot of time with the Tseshaht and Hupacasath people. Such a beautiful experience. I had so many questions for the elders. Watching their communities, how they work together and how they work with the local government in Port Alberni, it's such an incredible asset to Canada. I think the rest of Canada has a lot to learn from both the First Nations there and the town, and how they're making it work.

Sarah Baeumler: Yeah, to your point, Bryan, it was a really unique opportunity for us. We were in Port Alberni for the summer, and we really connected on a deeper level. This wasn't just going in and filming. We now have friends there, and we spent time, especially with Darrell and Lena and a lot of our changemakers, getting to know them, their families and their extended families. We now feel at home and part of the Port Alberni community, and I think that's something we will cherish. You'll hopefully see that on the screen as well, because it really resonates. There were a lot of very authentic moments that touched both Bryan and me, and those were showcased on camera. I think it's important for people to see and share.

Bryan Baeumler: Yeah, people are definitely going to get to see a different perspective and learn a lot from this, and we talked about this earlier. We made a lot of changes in Port Alberni and had a huge effect on a lot of people's lives: ourselves, the crew, the construction crew and the people that were there to support it. I don't know where the bigger impact was, whether it was on the town or whether the town had the bigger impact on us.

Peter McCully: So you're in town for seven or eight weeks. Was there a moment where you thought you might not make it on the shooting schedule and the construction schedule?

Bryan Baeumler: No.

Sarah Baeumler: You're like, "No."

Bryan Baeumler: I'll tell you what. Between the crews that were there, Mike McKinnon from Built Contracting and his entire team, Sharie Minions, the mayor at the time, and council, everybody in town was so supportive. Port Alberni's got something. Well, Vancouver Island in general, that entire area has something really special. It's nostalgic Canada, where they all put in, they all show up, they all help out. It was incredible to see. I had moments where I thought, "Oh, there's a lot of work left to do." The finish line's getting closer and closer. But I don't think there was ever a time I thought, "This just isn't going to work."

Sarah Baeumler: No, you could tell the people of Port Alberni really wanted this, and they championed it as well. There is such a sense of pride and honour in their community, and in the ability to share their story. I think they're excited for what the future holds. This was maybe a start, a little spark for this next chapter, to put Port Alberni back on the map. We have felt such a connection to the West Coast, and we were excited to be able to share that story with people from all across the country.

Peter McCully: Who surprised you the most in town? Was it a volunteer, a local tradesperson, a business owner?

Bryan Baeumler: It's crazy timing, but I've got to tell you, Sharie Minions was a massive cheerleader and leader for the town. She championed having us there. She was there every minute. Pat Deakin, who is in charge of economic development, was there helping out all the time. Essentially everybody from council and town, and the people themselves. This is a town that, and I haven't seen this in a while, recognizes that the town is theirs. Everybody that was there really championed this.

Sarah Baeumler: It does take a village. This is one of those shows where everyone assists in some way. No matter how big or how small, everyone was showing up for one another. I think that's something you don't normally see in a traditional renovation-style show. That's what makes Home Town Takeover so unique. I don't know how to say it. It's like this is the pinnacle, I think, for Bryan and me, to be able to bring everything together in one show. That really hit home for both of us.

Bryan Baeumler: Yeah, choosing Port Alberni for the first Home Town Takeover Canada was a moonshot that paid off. There's something very special happening in Port Alberni that everybody in Canada who can watch this show should see. There's something to learn.

Peter McCully: Tell us about some of the projects we'll see in the show.

Sarah Baeumler: We were busy. The whole team was busy. We have a combination of residential projects that we took on, some public spaces, some small businesses, commercial. There was a little bit of everything, and some pretty epic...

Bryan Baeumler: You're being pretty cagey.

Sarah Baeumler: Well, I'm trying not to give it away. Some pretty epic developments that we did right down at Harbour Quay. I think we touched a little bit of the entire town, which was wonderful. We sprinkled little projects throughout, from murals to larger scale, like the covered patio that we think is the largest...

Bryan Baeumler: The largest, the most epic gathering space in a covered patio on the West Coast. It's going to be a reason that people travel there. I think what we did is take all the pieces that Port Alberni already had and connect them: to the ocean, the mountains, the people. Port Alberni is one of those places a lot of people know. You pull in, you get gas, you grab a coffee, and you keep driving to Tofino or Ucluelet. I think a lot of people now are going to turn left. That's the trick. Get down there and see what's there. It's an incredible spot. There's donuts, there's tacos, there's people that help. There are bikers that do toy runs that were incredible. A lot of great projects.

Peter McCully: What surprised you most about Port Alberni after spending time in the community?

Bryan Baeumler: I think there's a sense of nostalgia. It's old-school Canada. When you drive through a community, most people, we're very visual. You see a community, you see the types of houses that are there, you look at the cars, and you form an opinion. In Port Alberni, we had the chance to pull over, get out, meet the people who live in the houses, drive the cars and run the businesses, and realize that there is an incredibly affectionate, warm, supportive community of people there who understand that it's their town and they're responsible for it.

Sarah Baeumler: There's a young breath as well. There are young entrepreneurs flocking to Port Alberni who are taking their chance. They're starting new businesses and raising their families there.

Bryan Baeumler: Great food.

Sarah Baeumler: Great food. I think that was exciting to see, and to talk to some young entrepreneurs who said, "We left a different part of Canada. We've relocated here. We fell in love with the natural landscape," and the ability to purchase a home, raise a family and maybe go after their own dream of starting a business. Those connections were really important and significant, and they resonated for Bryan and me as well.

Bryan Baeumler: The fishing is incredible.

Sarah Baeumler: We did eat a lot of salmon.

Bryan Baeumler: I still have two freezers full of salmon and halibut. Incredible.

Peter McCully: I wanted to ask you, Bryan, what's the DIY mistake that you still see over and over again?

Bryan Baeumler: Oh, boy. It's not so much a physical mistake. It's a mistake in understanding the skill it's going to take. I think most people underestimate how long something's going to take and how much it's going to cost. They overestimate their skill. They under-plan. They start things and don't finish them. In this market, where 80% of young Canadians have given up on ever owning a home, we're living in houses that aren't finished, that aren't ready for market, that aren't at their highest value. We're playing with fire. We live in an economy where housing is unaffordable for the next generation, and we're not keeping it in tiptop shape. For most people, this is their retirement plan, and it's the most expensive thing they'll ever own. It's the most valuable thing they could potentially own. The big mistake is not doing something properly and creating more of a liability than an asset. And drywall. They strip drywall a lot.

Dave Graham: Bryan and Sarah Baeumler. I've been watching them from the start, back to Disaster DIY, when Bryan worked to fix homeowners' mistakes and his wife ran a dance studio and had a good eye for design. And how wonderful that the very first town to be featured on Home Town Takeover Canada should turn out to be Port Alberni.

Peter McCully: You'll find a link to the Home Town Takeover program in our story notes, and we encourage you to sign up for our weekly newsletter and know what's coming for guests and contests.

Dave Graham: As for guests, we'd love to hear from you. If you have a story you think we could be looking into, leave a voice message if you wish, or a text. Just click on the contact link at thepulsecommunity.ca. You can also find us on Apple, Amazon, iHeart, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

Peter McCully: So Dave, did you pick up any tips from the Baeumlers?

Dave Graham: Oh yeah. I think the best tip I got is that I need to figure out how to go back in time about 30 years, start my own handyman repair TV show, and then grow the empire from there. But otherwise, Bryan's message has never wavered. The work has to be done well, and the end result has to be safe. And this is where my secret on how to build a safe and solid structure comes in. Hire a pro.

Peter McCully: Now, that's showing some really solid judgment, Dave.

Dave Graham: Well, the judgment thing is a bit hit-and-miss right now. While we've been putting this program together today, I found a stash of Kit Kats. I thought I'd grown to hate them after eating so many recently, but I was wrong. I ate them all. Now I hate them again, I think. Oh, I don't feel well. Hey, wait, is that another bag of chocolate over there?

Rockin' Rhonda & The Uptown Blues Band: Here comes Peter, here comes Dave, oh listen. Bringing stories, making waves, no missing. Spinning tales in the podcast cave, so to speak. Laughs and insights everywhere - what a treat. Peter and Dave, they're on the mics. All right, join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.