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Realtor recognized for 30 years in the business

Hans Jeschek, avid volunteer and long-time realtor, recognized this month
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Realtor Hans Jeschek, with the business license of the first location he worked out of on Commission Street. Jeschek was recognized this month for his over 30 years in the real estate business. Emelie Peacock photo.

Well-known for his Christmas rum balls and avid volunteerism, Hans Jeschek may also be the longest-serving real estate agent in Hope.

A realtor at Royal LePage Wheeler Cheam Realty, Jeschek was recognized this month for 30 years as a member of the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB), a realtors’ association serving the region from Chilliwack to Lytton.

In fact, Jeschek has been in the industry so long he has one of the first emails ever created in Hope.

From his first office at 265 Commission St., where the eye doctor now stands, to the present day, he has seen a lot of change in the local real estate industry.

When Jeschek started as a realtor, it was uncommon to see anyone below middle age working in the industry. Most became realtors after serving in the army or other business ventures. Jeschek became a realtor at age 49, after running a drapery business, motel, restaurant and retail establishment since coming to Hope in 1975.

The real estate business in those days was less cooperative than it is now, Jeschek said. Today the competition is friendly between local realtors, he said, which is very uncommon compared to other areas.

He said most of his work with clients has been fun and enjoyable, with some relationships lasting longer than others.

Jeschek remembers one listing he held for 17 years.

“I had a listing at Ruby Creek, private property behind native land. Although there was never any problems with the natives, it was stigmatized. People did not want to buy when they had no legal access,” he said. In all his time as a realtor, Jeschek said he has never had any problems with properties behind Indigenous lands, partly owing to his own diverse background.

“I come from a country, Austria, where my first name is German, my second name is Czechoslovakian, which makes a good Viennese.”

Eventually, the 150-acre plot sold to buyers from Edmonton. Unfortunately, the former owners of the plot didn’t live to see their land sold, they died in a railway accident at Ruby Creek.

Jeschek could not imagine a property sitting for that long in today’s “crazy” real estate market.

Residents might also remember when one of the draws of Brigade Days was the auctioning off of a car.

“Actually I sold the house of a lady that won a car and I handed her the keys,” he said. “Small town.”

Apart from his work selling homes and businesses, Hans has spent a lot of his time volunteering.

He said he is very proud of a commemoration project he worked on to honour the bicentennial of the United States. A ceremony with representatives of the U.S. and B.C. government was held June 1, 1976, and a special postage stamp was issued for the occasion.

“The ceremony will mark the first day of issue of a postage stamp, issued by the Canadian postal authorities, and a special envelope created by the Hope and District Chamber of Commerce, A special cancellation stamp will be available in Hope only,” the May 26, 1976 edition of The Hope Standard read.

Their hard work on the commemoration did not go unnoticed, as a special envoy to the Governor of Washington who attended the June 1 commemoration brought a proclamation along declaring the day a “Citizens of Hope” day in Washington.

Jeschek was also instrumental in dramatically increasing the number of visitors to the Othello Tunnels, as the Hope and District Chamber of Commerce rebuilt the tunnels.

Jeschek has won numerous awards for his volunteer work, including the United Nations Year of the Volunteer for Canada (2001), Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee (2003) and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee (2013). He carried the Olympic torch through Hope in 2010, and is still the only honourary member of the Hope and District Chamber of Commerce.

Although Jeschek’s wife said she would like to see him retire so the two can do some traveling, including to Jeschek’s native Austria, he doesn’t plan to throw in the towel anytime soon. He would like to step back from being a broker, so he can see among other places Hawaii and Alaska.


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emelie.peacock@hopestandard.com

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