Skip to content

Former Canora barber reaches 100th birthday milestone

Fred Krukoff will celebrate his 100th birthday on December 25 after spending the majority of his life living and working in or near Canora
Fred Krukoff 100_result
Fred Krukoff, a long-time barber in Canora, will turn 100 years of age on Christmas Day. Here he is holding great-granddaughter Hazel Mae Frazer, born May 31, 2021. / Lydia Frazer

CANORA — Fred Krukoff will celebrate his 100th birthday on December 25 after spending the majority of his life living and working in or near Canora, including owning Fred’s Barber Shop for about 25 years.

Fred Krukoff was born in 1921 on a farm near Devil’s Lake, in the Good Spirit Lake vicinity, to Fred Sr. and Martha Krukoff. The family farmed for many years.

“I enjoyed growing up on the farm,” recalled Krukoff. “We got lots of fresh air, the hard work gave us plenty of exercise. I remember in the early years we didn’t have a tractor, we only worked the land with horses. When I was about 12 I remember harrowing with a team of two horses, and I walked behind the horses. Whenever I got thirsty I would just stop at the slough on the field for a drink.”

Krukoff and his wife Mariann were married in 1950 and recently celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary.

“We went to dances in Canora, there was a barn dance almost every Saturday night, that’s where we first met. The first time we spoke was when Mariann and her friend asked for a ride in my ’46 Chev. Since then we’ve always enjoyed dancing and singing together.”

They have three children: Floyd (Calgary), Teresa (Edmonton), and Lydia (Maryfield,) and five grandchildren- Leslie, Janelle, Adrienne, Daniel and Erica; who have blessed them with nine great-grandchildren, ranging in age from infancy up to nine.

Mariann is presently in long term care in Wawota.

After their marriage, Krukoff farmed and did construction carpentry. The couple moved to Canora in 1966 when Mariann got a job in the post office, and her husband opened “Fred’s Barber Shop” in Glenn Haskewich’s pool hall. He was always ready for a pool game and a few small bets made the game more exciting.

“There were three other barbers in town, when I opened,” shared Krukoff. “Around the same time long hair was coming in. Slowly I got all the high school boys coming to me because I didn’t cut all their hair off like their parents wanted.”

At that time hair cuts typically cost approximately 75 cents, going all the way up to $2.50 if the customer wanted a bit of styling.

“When I was a barber I really enjoyed meeting the people,” he said. “They would tell me everything that was on their minds, because it never went any further. I was good at keeping secrets. I retired from the Barber Shop in 1991.

“I really enjoyed my time in Canora. I remember being very friendly with Walter Mysak, who was mayor for many years. We would often talk back and forth in Ukrainian.”

Fred and Mariann moved to the Maryfield Sunrise Villa, a level 2 care home in 2016.  They spent five years at the Villa together until recently when Mariann moved to level 5. Fred had some health issues and is convalescing at the Carlyle Moose Mountain Lodge, but he will be returning to the Villa in time for his birthday and plans to spend some quality time with his wife.

Fred became an expert gardener over the years, and as recently as last summer, grew garlic, beans, onions and beets. He enjoys walking the halls at the Villa and playing bingo. With his extensive life experiences, Fred has come up with some thoughts on what it takes to have a long and full life.

“It takes love and understanding, plus lots of hard work, good exercise and healthy eating to make it to 100,” he explained. “I like to eat a lot of garlic and Cayenne Pepper.”