Hobby Shop right on track
By Catherine Ogloza

The Sunday Herald

When people think about retirement, most dream of taking a trip to exotic lands or settling down in a cozy cottage by the beach. But Vern Gibson and Hilt Friesen's dreams were a bit different.

The two owners of Elmwood Hobby Works at 260 Henderson Hwy. have agreeably "retired into the hobby business," said Friesen.

The shop, which shares space with Hilton House Interiors, has quadrupled in size since its opening in the summer of 1997.

Catering mostly to model railroaders, this hobby shop also carries some "plastic kits of cars, ships, and planes," said Friesen.

"We're bringing in rockets next," added Gibson.

Business at the quaint shop has rapidly exceeded the expectations of its owners, no doubt due to the extensive inventory of books and videos complemented by the friendly atmosphere.

"We started off small and we thought that was the way it was going to be," said Gibson, "but people kept asking, so we kept providing."

The shop is loaded from wall to wall with everything and anything a model railroader could dream of, from the popular HO-scale cars and accessories to even a train phone that whistles when a call comes in!

But you don't have to be a model railroader to be attracted to the shop. As Friesen said jokingly, "You'd be amazed how many girls who love their fathers shop here for Father's Day!"

Both Friesen and Gibson, who met 35 years ago through the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club, have harboured a love of trains for many years.

"I've been in love with trains since I was eight years old," said Gibson. "We're both model railroaders," even though Friesen's first love was airplanes.

"I'm a model builder first, and model railroader second, and a train lover third," said Friesen.

The shop attracts a wide range of people, "right from the three-year-olds to the older boys, the ones with the canes," joked Friesen. "They're still going at it."

Appealing to the younger demographic while competing with technology doesn't seem to be a concern for the shop owners.

"It's slow growing, but it's growing," said Friesen. "Kids have other interests

these days, but we see more adults coming into the, hobby than kids," he says, adding most model railroaders are reliving their childhoods through the hobby.

According to Gibson, there is a wider range of hobbyists. "There's the beginner class that's satisfied with the little things," said Gibson, "and the others who want things just so." Gibson and Friesen both agree that part of the hobby of model railroading is lost due to the latter.

"They want things done for them," said Friesen, adding, "But doing it yourself - that's what the hobby is all about." Some exciting displays to look for in Elmwood Hobby Shop include the up and coming extravagant window display, as well as a G-scale train that travels on a track around the shop, an exhibit that promises to be ready by Christmas.