1. CALEB MANAGEMENT LTD
1732102
2.00x87
D001732102.G.3.11.
10 January 2016 EDMONTON SENIOR
Typically, a 50-old-worker in Canada will work 16 more years until
retirement but Wayne and Susan Hazelden have bucked the trend among
their peers. “We wanted to enjoy life more and get away from the daily
grind of 9 to 5 hours and shift work,” said Susan Hazelden, who together
with her husband decided to semi-retire by age 50. The couple had
worked at Canada Post as inside workers after high school, inadvertently
following in Susan’s parent’s footsteps, who also worked at Canada Post
for more than 30 years.
Early retirement is often a risky option for some people over 50 in
Canada due to an unpredictable economy. Many people have not saved
enough money to retire early or semi-retire. A recent Statistics Canada
survey showed that more and more people will work longer past the age
of retirement than in the past. One day in 2007, Susan Hazelden found a
RV campground for sale in Magrath on the Internet and after looking at
its operation, she brought it to the attention of her husband.
Susan, who grew up in Edmonton’s northeast Belvedere district and
went to high school at M.E. Lazerte, says luck helped both of them
become business people but it was a topic they had not previously dis-
cussed in any real depth. “When I was growing up, I always wanted my
own store. I never told anybody. I guess he always wanted his own busi-
ness too but never told anybody,” she said.
The Hazeldens:
A Portrait in
Semi-Retirement
By Gary Gee
The facilities at Covered Wagon RV Park in Magrath, Alberta.
Wayne and Susan Hazelden
PHOTOS: Wayne & Susan Hazelden - www.coveredwagon.ca
Wayne Hazelden, 60, says they made an offer for the business near Lethbridge and were suc-
cessful, signing the deal just before the North American economy crashed in the spring of 2008.
Otherwise, he said, it would have been more difficult getting a mortgage for the property. For the
last eight years, the couple have successfully run Covered Wagon RV Park in Magrath just off of
Highway 4. The campground boasts 60 full service recreational vehicle sites, 3 bed and breakfast
rooms and 3 cabins. It also has fire rings, picnic tables, restrooms with flush toilets, coin-operated
showers, a laundromat, playground and horseshoe pits, free wagon rides for kids, an antique and
horse drawn equipment display, a large hall for rental parties that can seat 120 and it’s close to
golf courses, hiking trails, fishing and boating. About the only drawback is wake-up calls by 5 a.m.
to get breakfast ready for their American hunters are on their way to hunt birds, antelope, deer
and caribou. The campground also caters to people from overseas. Their goal was to run it for 10
years, says Wayne Hazelden. “We’ll get out by the time we become grumpy owners,” says his wife.
Both say they believe semi-retirement was the right choice. The work during the busy season and
then take five months off to relax with their children and grandchildren in Edmonton. They also
travel to the U.S. as snowbirds to Arizona and San Diego, and go on cruises every two years. “It’s
been very good to us, We’re happy where we are,” he says.
All-InclusIve RentAls
Monthly Rent Includes:
• 3 Meals Each Day Plus
a 24 Hour Snack Bar
• Weekly Housekeeping
and Linen Service
• Emergency Response Pendant
• A Wide Variety of Fun Activities
• 24 Hour Staffing
• Complimentary Transportation to
Medical Appointments
Affordable Supportive Living
Call 780-497-7737
For More Information
www.calebgroup.ca
We Are LoCAted At:
6411 - 199 Street edmonton
WEST EDMONTON
RETIREMENT COMMUNITY