I interviewed Bill and Gil Risling at the Co-op Café in January. It was a long interview – at least three hours. There was much to tell. This article will have a sequel –Gil’s story in a future issue.
Bill Risling was born on March 20, 1942, to Rocus Risling and Barbara Risling (nee Schneider) (Mrs. Risling was 107 years old March 3.) Bill took his Grades 1 to 8 at Uzelman School (He spoke German at home but had to learn English at school). And that was it. There was no time for education. He had to work. Bill’s dad pulled him out of school at age 12. Bill’s dad was strong-minded and Bill tried his best to please him. He acquired the knowledge and operation of a mixed farm – cows, chickens, pigs and horses (Bill had a special place in his heart for horses).
Bill loved work. It was what he wanted to do. He worked with his dad until the age of 26.
Bill got married on June 7, 1968. They have three children – Corey who is a sales manager with Saskatoon Motor Products (28 years), Jos who is a K-12 school principal at Wawota, and Roxanne who is a library technician in Wilkie.
At age 28, Bill moved to his own farm north of Scott. He farmed up until 2015 at which time he rented out his land. He kept the farmyard so he’s still on the farm.
In addition to his great love for music, Bill had a great interest in horses. He didn’t drive chuckwagons but he bought racehorses and also built a chuckwagon. Bill was held in high regard by the chuckwagon racing community. Bill was on stage at Calgary when Kelly Sutherland (from Grand Prairie) retired from racing. Kelly was a 12-time Canadian and world champion (he won all of his awards at the Calgary Stampede) and he was the Range Land Derby champion 12 times as well. Bill hasn’t missed a Stampede in 25 years. He positions close to the chutes for six or seven days a year. He follows the world chuckwagon championships (including North Battleford). In his quest to attend as many community stampedes as possible, Bill has taken in North Battleford, Saskatoon, High River, Ponoka, Rocky Mountain House, Meadow Lake and Lloydminster and many more
Bill has gone to all of the tarp sales for 24 years where sponsors’ top horses are auctioned off for as much as $300,000. Bill also attends the annual banquet and awards night in Calgary and has for 25 years. And also, each spring for 25 years, Bill spends time at Mark Sutherland’s ranch (Kelly’s son) where they break horses. He also attends Wayne’s Night near St. Walburg. It was lots of fun. Bill liked to see what a horse could do.
How to break a horse? Chuckwagon racers who wanted to break horses came from Texas, Vancouver, Estevan, and Eastern Canada to buy top track racehorses. To break horses, you corral the horses and let them run free for a while. Hook them up and hope for the best. Prices were down somewhat from the tarp sales but thoroughbreds commanded prices in the $92,000 range and peaked at $245,000. Four average horses could be bought for $30,000. Thoroughbreds were expected to win.
Bill raised quarter horses for 15 years from 1980 to 1995.
Despite that Bill has the enthusiasm, energy and work ethic of a much younger man, he still finds time for hobbies. Bill hunts geese, deer, moose and elk (including Bill, there are six brothers in the Risling family and they all hunted) every fall. In 2013, Bill won a trophy for best rack on a whitetail deer. And, he plays fastball in the summer. Bill also played hockey in his younger years. It was folly to underestimate him when he was on the ice. Bill also raced snow machines (340 tx 40 Polaris which he then sold and bought a tx Yamaha). Bill is a competitor; he wants to win. He puts a lot of work into his machines and his racing. He’s won 60 trophies – a testimony to Bill’s prowess as a mechanic and a racer.
On another front, Bill has been a spare school bus driver for 25 years. He also owned a limousine service (Risling’s Limo Service) for four years (drove a 1978 Cadillac stretch limousine). Cousin Larry Risling drove CP workers from Saskatoon to Wilkie, and then to Hardisty (west of Provost). Hardisty was known as the Little Fort McMurray – an oil town characterized by tanks and oil refining. Larry owned eight cadillacs. Bill drove a lot up to 2014. Part of his business involved driving chuckwagon drivers to the television station and the airport. Bill also drove to other communities including Spiritwood, St. Denis, Provost, Lloydminster and Kindersley (30 miles south of Unity).
Bill emphasized that, next to his family, farming was number one in his life for 52 years. From the time he was a young boy, Bill loved the farm. As part of the farm enterprise, Bill created machines out of other machines. He was incredibly handy with a welder and cutting torch. For example, he once took a 16-foot wagon and made it into a 25-foot wagon – no small feat. If there was a machine needed on the farm, Bill would make it in his shop. Another example: Bill made a 25-foot cultivator out of two 12-foot cultivators,
Bill also bought and sold vehicles from 1990 to 1998. The farm wasn’t paying the bills.
Bill has lived a full life. But despite farming, his many business ventures, and his hobbies, his greatest satisfaction came from his family. Above all, Bill is a family man. Bill’s family consists of his wife Valerie, children, their spouses and his grandchildren. Bill’s oldest son, Cory and his wife Melinda, have one child, Chelsea. Chelsea runs her own clothing store in Calgary. She goes with Bill to the chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede. Bill’s second son, Jos, and his wife, Meagan, have two boys, Cruze (age two) and Cooper (age three). One can imagine it’s a full time job raising these two. Roxanne and her husband, Ryan, have two girls, Meryn (age seven) and Ashyn (age 12). Ashyn attends Unity High School in Unity. Meryn attends St. Peter Elementary School in Unity. Both girls are excellent students. Ashyn plays fastball. She is a pitcher, and word has it that she can pitch like an adult. Her mother drives her and three other girls every week into Saskatoon for training. Ashyn also plays basketball and curls. Meryn dances and periodically goes to Saskatoon with her mother to train and to compete. She has won a number of trophies. In addition, she is in gymnastics, a sport that she dearly loves.
During the winter months, the girls can’t wait to come to the farm because they can go tubing. How is this accomplished? An inflated rubber tube is attached to a golf cart with chains on the tires. The golf cart is driven in a short radius in a 360 degree circle while the tube follows a long radius in a 360 degree circle. Tube speeds approach 25 miles per hour. Bill has as much fun driving the golf cart and watching the girls laugh and hang on for dear life.
Bill is focused on his grandchildren, but he also coached hockey for years and found time to help children and youth in the surrounding communities.
Bill’s musical career
From the time he was a young boy, music has always been a big part of his life. He and his brother, Gil, won many talent shows.
Bill started playing guitar at age 15. He noted that his brother Gil was a fast learner and he wasn’t. But once Bill got it, he had it. They were called on to play for dances in the Revenue and Tramping Lake area. Bill and Gil’s talent was really something. The shows were sponsored by A.C.T. For example, Bill and Gill won the primary talent contest in Kerrobert. Next they moved on to Saskatoon for the semi-finals and won that, too. Finally they competed in the provincial finals in Waskesieu. The hall was packed and there were four judges. And, you guessed it, they won the provincial competition, too. It was 1967. After the show was over, one of the judges came over to the boys and told them, “Get yourself an agent and a producer and go to Nashville.” They were young, talented and provincial winners Bill and Gil rather quickly acquired a reputation as great young musicians. So it was no surprise that they were asked to play for dances in the Revenue-Tramping Lake area, as mentioned. Bill played with many bands over the years. The most notable was Kellion Kopp’s band, The Playmen. Bill and Gil still play for dances. The most recent was at Poplar Court in Wilkie. And, of course, Bill and Gil and their friends get together for jam sessions. In addition to playing guitar, Bill sings – a rich baritone voice. Bill’s main venue is good country music.
Not only is Bill a talented musician, he is also a talented worker in wood. In fact he built his own guitar (note the picture) in 1959 – solid body, electric. Bill traced the guitar from Ronald Schab’s guitar. It’s black with a single pick up and, interestingly, he incorporated a file in the neck to prevent it from bending. Bill also acquired a hollow body acoustic in 1948 – sunburst finish with one pick up. At least five Risling children learned to play on this guitar.
Bill has sang in five church choirs: Revenue (1968-1969), tramping Lake (1970-1971), Scott Choir (1972), Wilkie Church Choir (two years) Landis Church Choir (seven years to present). Venues include the Parkridge Centre in Unity and Poplar Court in Wilke.
Bill and Gil also play at seniors’ homes. They are appreciated and well received.
To conclude, it has been a privilege to write Bill’s life story and musical career. He is one of the more talented and successful men that I have met. His friendly and gregarious nature is infectious. I only met Bill a few months ago and I now count him as a good
