The very speedy sheep shearer from Saskatchewan
CBC Archives | Posted: June 10, 2020 12:30 PM | Last Updated: June 10, 2021
In 1985, Cliff Metheral showed CBC's Midday the technique he used to shear 20,000 sheep each year
Cliff Metheral could give a sheep a haircut while blindfolded.
Or he could shave 10 such sheep blindfolded, as he once did in a half-hour period.
"That was for kicks," reporter Dave Jacobson told viewers, as he introduced them to Metheral's regular work and more straightforward shearing of barnyard animals.
Metheral showed off his skills for the CBC reporter as he was working on some sheep in Balmoral, Man., in the spring of 1985.
A busy first half of each year
"Metheral shears 20,000 sheep each year," Jacobson told viewers, in a report that aired on Midday on June 10 of that year.
"The season runs from January to July."
As Jacobson explained, Metheral's speedy technique allowed him to work efficiently.
And it involved keeping the sheep in a comfortable position while he worked.
'I do it ... because I enjoy it'
Metheral seemed to be a perfect fit for the job.
"I really feel sorry for somebody who has to work at a job that they don't enjoy," said Metheral, who had competed in the World Shearing Championships.
"My job, I do it only because I enjoy it and I've built it into a business that I can make it my full-time living."