Allan Chanin relies on rain barrels, a wooden wagon and some ingenuity as he keeps his garden alive through Calgary’s water crisis
For many years a near 100-year-old Calgary man has been collecting rain water, which has become more crucial than ever for his garden in light of the city’s ongoing water crisis.
Calling the northwest community of Varsity home for over 50 years, 98-year-old Allan Chanin is a “passionate gardener,” said his daughter Michelle Dulmadge.
“(He) has always had rain barrels, is happy to do his part to conserve during the water restrictions,” said Dulmadge. “His greatest joy is being out in his garden and so you worry with water restrictions that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the garden or tend to it.”
Chanin adds, “I’ve been growing stuff all my life.”
Being forced to hang up the hose, he now chooses to use water from his two rain barrels — which he favoured even before restrictions.
Chanin encourages others to get their own barrel: “I’ve been catching water and using it on the plants; plants all seem to do better with rainwater.”
He had been carrying full watering cans from the rain barrels to his garden — causing worry for Dulmadge that her dad might injure himself.
“I’ve been able to carry the water in the watering cans … but I guess the years are catching up to me now,” said Chanin. “Everybody would have given me ‘what for?’, saying, ‘Do you know how old you are?’ and I said, Well I don’t really keep much track of that.’”
Armed with his green thumb and agriculture degree — not to mention plain old ingenuity — Chanin loaded up an old wooden children’s wagon with all three of his watering cans.
“(He) drags the wagon around the garden to water his flowers and vegetables,” said Dulmadge. “I don’t know how often he does it; he does it quite frequently. He’s fiercely independent.”
The deteriorating wagon made for a good partner in crime, saving Chanin the “wear and tear”.
“It’s getting a little worse-for-wear, but still works … I’m getting a little worse-for-wear myself, shouldn’t criticize the wagon too much,” Chanin chuckled.
Chanin was part of the Canadian Navy in the Second World War, on a “submarine chaser” in the North Atlantic Ocean.
“I’ve been in Calgary since (the) early 1960s, in the same house here. It was one of the first houses in Varsity, this one and the neighbour, and the rest were all just wheat fields,” Chanin said.
Dulmadge added, “Him dragging a wagon full of watering cans was not surprising to any of us, ever.
He’s a handful and he’s quite industrious.”