Dale Sommerville trades the grader for a fishing rod 

Times Photo Courtesy of MD of Taber Facebook. HAPPY RETIREMENT: Sommerville (centre) recognized for service to MD of Taber.

By Nerissa McNaughton
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In 1997, Dale Sommerville was in his forties and thinking about his future. He had friends working with the M.D. of Taber, which lead to him becoming aware of a Grader District Operator posting.

“I was interested in their benefits and retirement package,” says Sommerville. “It was at that time I was starting to think about planning for retirement.”

Now, in August 2025, his long-range vision has paid off. After completing 28 years with the M.D. of Taber, Sommerville has retired. He looks back on his time in service with pride.

“It was fun!” he recalls. “I really liked being in public service. It was my calling.”

“It was also definitely challenging sometimes,” he adds with a laugh.

One of the challenges was the flood of 2013, which triggered Canada’s first State of Provincial Emergency declaration. Another challenge was the years of excessive snowfalls, leading to the grader operators working around the clock to keep ahead of the weather and (hopefully) ahead of residents calling, asking when their roads would be ploughed.

“Most days we could get our work done during business hours, but other times – you really had to go harder,” he says. “The goal was always to get the work done on time, but sometimes you are on the third or fourth day straight of ploughing, and the calls start to come in.”

One memorable day was the time a grassfire occurred near the old Taber highway.

“That was pretty intense!” says Sommerville. “That was one of the most adrenaline filled days for me! Then, there was a canal burst one day, which was another flood; you just deal with it.”

He continues, “I was the lead grader operator, so I would get called first. Usually, from floods to fires to blizzards, I was right in the middle of the action. Anything that had to be done with a grader, I was there. It was a fun job. I liked going to work every day, because you just never knew what was going to happen.”

 Now that he has retired, what is Sommerville up to now?

“I am a professional fisherman now! I am enjoying my retirement. I moved to Milk River. I have two granddaughters there. I am enjoying life and I’m getting ready for hunting season.”

Sommerville is very grateful to, “the M.D. of Taber who supplied me with the opportunity to retire like this, and to everyone. I am a very social person. When I was in the district, I got to know the people I worked with and for. It all just worked out really well.”

If you are by the river and see Sommerville reeling in a huge pike, take a moment to say hello and thank him for his service of nearly three decades in the M.D. of Taber.