Mother’s Day is the 28th anniversary of my column in Rural Roots. I began writing this weekly column as part of my duties as Editor of Rural Roots, however when I retired in 2010 I continued to write this column from home.
Rural Roots was created by Prince Albert Daily Herald in 1990 and distributed free throughout North Central Saskatchewan. It’s an area that I know well, having grown up in Tisdale.
I moved to Prince Albert as a bride in 1969 and worked for a year in the medical laboratory at Victoria Union Hospital, before returning to classes in Saskatoon to finish a Bachelor of Science degree. I interned at the Prince Albert hospital and became a Registered Laboratory Technologist. My first job was in the lab at Prince Albert Medical Clinic. In 1975 I left behind my science career to become a stay-at-home parent.
I started work in 1981 at the Daily Herald as the Women’s Editor. I thought it would be for just a year or two, but I ended up working 29 years for the Herald. I moved to being Assistant City Editor, then City Editor and finally Rural Roots Editor in 1997 and began to write this weekly column.
After my husband died in 2006, I became a certified fitness instructor. My first regular class was with seniors at the Heritage Centre. It’s an age group with whom I feel a special bond. I continue to lead two fitness class for older adults.
I began having serious issues with my eyes in 2001 but am thankful every day that our health-care system provides treatments that have allowed me to continue to do most of the things that I love, including writing this column. My progressive eye disease, macular degeneration, has been slowed by regular injections of a drug that didn’t exist before the 21st century. How fortunate I am to have been born into the booming economy of the peaceful post-war years when we created medicare.
You can see that the continuous thread through the last 28 years has been writing this column. I get so much positive feedback that this column feels like I am chatting with friends. Writing this column has been a special privilege. With the help of adaptive technology, I hope to be able to continue writing to you for years to come.
