Forget what the title says. In my eyes there are 2 tarpaulin specialists in this province: One is Michel’s Industries, a family owned and run company based in St. Gregor, and who we’ve just done an amazing job for – which I’ll get to later. However, the other tarpaulin specialist lives not too far away. In the sleepy town of Humboldt – I say sleepy but they now have a Timmy’s, a Canadian Tire, a Sobey’s – is my soon to be father-in-law. And HE is the tarpaulin specialist.
It’s a long running joke in the family, and amongst my fiance’s friends, but he really is the best at it.
What is a “tarp”?
When I first met my in-laws and experienced my Canadian first long-weekend at the lake, prior to leaving for the lake I kept hearing this word: tarp. Being a little nervous – we’ve all been there – and not really wanting to saying anything stupid or embarrass myself in front of the family, which ironically I do all the time now, I kept wondering what this “tarp” was? I wanted to ask my fiance, but I knew she’d do that thing where she’d just blurt it out and embarrass me. So I kept quiet and waited for this “tarp” to show itself.
To you I might come across as brain-dead that I didn’t know what a tarp was or that I couldn’t put 2 and 2 together and realize that it’s the shortened word for tarpaulin, but where I’m from tarpaulin or “tarp” just isn’t part of my lexicon. Now that I know what a “tarp” is, it’s obvious. But why is my oh so soon to be father-in-law the best at it?
The best tarp-smith in the Prairies
As most Saskatchewan residents have come accustom to, long weekends at the lake tend to be good for 1 or 2 days, but the majority of the time is spent moaning about the crappy weather – how cold and wet it is – and how it never rains when you’re at work, only on the weekends. But it’s only crappy when you’re not surrounded by a tarp.
Although I’m not a big fan of camping and hanging out at the lake – yeah, yeah, shoot me – I have never once been cold, or got wet thanks to the “tarp”. It truly is mammoth. Well, it has to be. Firstly it has to cover the 30 plus family members that show up, and secondly to keep them 30 plus family members warm, especially G’ma, there needs to be room for at least 3 fire pits, which is what we can fit under there because the tarp is just that big. From a distance it’s probably not too dissimilar to something you’d see in MASH.
However, his tarp skills aren’t solely for this purpose.
Around his hot tub is a very well crafted gazebo – built by him, from scratch. But instead of using wooden panels around the sides, he has used tarps. Individual sheets, set up a bit like curtains that surround the tub. So when you’re in the hot tub, and there’s a wind chill of -25 blowing from the east, you can just slide the tarp across and you’re golden. Brilliant, or what?
Michel’s Industries New Website
Down the road, in the neighboring town of St. Gregor are Michel’s Industries – Saskatchewan’s only other tarp specialists. Whilst my fiance’s dad specializes in keeping his family dry and warm, Michel’s specializes in developing innovative tarp products for the agricultural industry.
The goal for the new Michel’s website was to give it a new look and feel with a contemporary design. Along with new features, the newest component to the website is the additional of an online product catalog, which in itself has a ton of new features. You can print details, download PDF brochures of the product along with installation manuals, and order the product directly from the products page by downloading the order form and sending it to the Michel’s Industries office.
For more information on Michel’s Industries products and services, please contact them via the website. However, for more information on how to properly set-up your tarp for all kinds of weather and locations, leave a message below and I’ll be sure to pass it on to my father-in-law.
