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OUR SILVER THREADS MEMOIRS - BY CAROL GREEN
I was born two weeks before Christmas on December 11th, 1936 the second of nine children in Dorchester, in a small village in South Eastern New Brunswick. I grew up surrounded by loving grandparents and our relatives which included many cousins our ages. I had many friends and although we are spread out over the Country we keep those childhood bonds together by keeping in close touch.
When I was seven years old our baby died at 4 months of age. Gregory was our 7th child and he developed the whooping cough we all had that summer. My dad was in the Air Force
When I was seven years old our baby died at 4 months of age. Gregory was our 7th child and he developed the whooping cough we all had that summer. My dad was in the Air Force
and was granted special leave which fortunately got him home in time to say his goodbyes. Our Grandma lived with us and we had a silent companion a German Shepherd, named Brownie.
I enjoyed school and beginning in grade two was already involved in school plays which I continued to enjoy throughout the years. I enjoyed writing from the time I first held a pen in my hand. I was often encouraged to pursue journalism but I was too young to really know the direction I should take for a career.
My Dad was a school teacher and my Mom a social worker. Our house was always full of other kids. Some were there to play with us while others were there so that my dad could help them with their studies.
Activities I enjoyed as a child were cooking with my mom, roller skating, skiing, bicycling, reading and writing, skating ( It was a mile long walk each way to the outdoor rink), Play acting and being with both my grand parents and my friends.
During my teen years 14-17, I worked in a general store until graduating from Regional Memorial High School in Port Elgin, NB. An honour student I was not but one who enjoyed every day in the classroom and the extra curricular activities that went with it. Then it was off to the big city and Business College where upon completing the course I was faced with telling my parents I was not going to spend my life behind a typewriter. I realized I had always had my heart set on something in the science/medical field. I applied for an on the job training position as a laboratory technician with the Federal Department of Fisheries in Shediac, NB. I got the job to my great delight and for the next two years learned much about the wonder of "Bacteria." I applied for a lab tech position with the Federal Department of Health, Virus Laboratories, in Ottawa. Here began a wondrous career for me and the opportunity of a lifetime where I could learn about "viruses". During my 8 1/2 years in virology I rose from tech 1 to a 5 and when the time came retired with total satisfaction that I had achieved all that I had dreamed of. This said, there is nothing more important than a good teacher, and that I had with my boss, mentor and friend Dr. John Furesz, Chief Virologist, Virus Laboratories, Canada. We worked in teams testing all vaccines distributed for use in this Country…..primarily the polio vaccines tested for both safety and potency. As his assistant I was given recognition in several published medical research papers. I was also part of the Canadian team who worked for the World Health Organization. Each project involved three virus labs working in tandem and selected from W.H.O. pool. We did this during the evenings on work days and on the weekends and were paid $2.00 an hour. The honour of being part of the team was the real payment.
In summary I believe I was an extremely fortunate person to have worked in this exciting and challenging environment and to have realized my dream.
In 1958 I met my husband Phil and on Sept. 3. 1960 we were married in Ottawa. We moved to Toronto where our two boys were born. Married almost six years the role I was born to fill became a reality….Don was born and 27 months later our Rick. I had after all enjoyed a wonderful career and was now ready for motherhood so I chose that I would stay at home and raise the children. I enjoyed all the activities our boys were involved i.e. Boy Scouts, hockey, band, parent/teacher association, school trips, camps and classroom helper as well as cultural afternoons where I did crafts with the students. I firmly believe that the most important thing I have done with my life has been, and continues to be, is being there for my children and being as good a Mother as I know how to be.
I have experienced the death of many people close to me. besides losing five grand parents while quite young and more recently both parents. When I was 19 a two year old child was killed by a truck right in front of the vehicle in which I was a passenger. One month after our marriage my childhood best friend died of fast moving multiple sclerosis. Ten years ago my youngest brother's little girl Mary-Anne was killed in a terrible traffic accident. Mary Anne (9 years old) had a beautiful soprano voice already and two weeks before her death sang a solo at the Christmas Eve service at their church. Two years ago Mary Anne would have graduated from school. I, with the approval of my brother and his wife, sent out graduation invitations 'to participate in The Mary -Anne Memorial Bursary'. We received responses from all 46 people who received the invitation. It was a wonderful bursary for graduation night when all of her class and teachers wore a purple ribbon (her favorite color) of remembrance. There are indeed always ways to show those we love that we care.
Once Phil retired and we took our retirement trip we finally settled on the Sunshine Coast where I took the Hospice training course. During my nine years with Hospice on the coast, I was active in every facet of the organization except the Board of Directors.
In June of 2006 Phil & I moved back to the mainland where I immediately became involved with the tri-cities of Port Moody, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam, Crossroads Hospice Society. The in-house
activity I was involved in was the Art Care program in the ten bed hospice. This entailed belonging to the B.C. Artists in Healthcare Society . In 2007 I received the Award of Excellence from this Society for my work at Crossroads.
The purpose of this program is to offer an opportunity to share a creative experience as we shift the experience of illness and end of life concerns into the background in a Hospice or Cancer Care setting Since returning to the beautiful Sunshine Coast three months ago I have made a presentation of this wonderful program to the Sunshine Coast Hospice and now having it accepted here I will be implementing Art Care into our facility here about the middle of May.
Of course once back on the Coast Phil and I have re-joined the senior's Centre where Phil gives Bonnie a hand on Thursday mornings with the computer class and I am once again active with the Thursday morning craft group.
Thank you Carol for sharing your story with us and we welcome you both back to the Centre. Your story is one which I think all the grand children should read - a lot of positive advice can be gleaned about fulfilling one's dreams.
I enjoyed school and beginning in grade two was already involved in school plays which I continued to enjoy throughout the years. I enjoyed writing from the time I first held a pen in my hand. I was often encouraged to pursue journalism but I was too young to really know the direction I should take for a career.
My Dad was a school teacher and my Mom a social worker. Our house was always full of other kids. Some were there to play with us while others were there so that my dad could help them with their studies.
Activities I enjoyed as a child were cooking with my mom, roller skating, skiing, bicycling, reading and writing, skating ( It was a mile long walk each way to the outdoor rink), Play acting and being with both my grand parents and my friends.
During my teen years 14-17, I worked in a general store until graduating from Regional Memorial High School in Port Elgin, NB. An honour student I was not but one who enjoyed every day in the classroom and the extra curricular activities that went with it. Then it was off to the big city and Business College where upon completing the course I was faced with telling my parents I was not going to spend my life behind a typewriter. I realized I had always had my heart set on something in the science/medical field. I applied for an on the job training position as a laboratory technician with the Federal Department of Fisheries in Shediac, NB. I got the job to my great delight and for the next two years learned much about the wonder of "Bacteria." I applied for a lab tech position with the Federal Department of Health, Virus Laboratories, in Ottawa. Here began a wondrous career for me and the opportunity of a lifetime where I could learn about "viruses". During my 8 1/2 years in virology I rose from tech 1 to a 5 and when the time came retired with total satisfaction that I had achieved all that I had dreamed of. This said, there is nothing more important than a good teacher, and that I had with my boss, mentor and friend Dr. John Furesz, Chief Virologist, Virus Laboratories, Canada. We worked in teams testing all vaccines distributed for use in this Country…..primarily the polio vaccines tested for both safety and potency. As his assistant I was given recognition in several published medical research papers. I was also part of the Canadian team who worked for the World Health Organization. Each project involved three virus labs working in tandem and selected from W.H.O. pool. We did this during the evenings on work days and on the weekends and were paid $2.00 an hour. The honour of being part of the team was the real payment.
In summary I believe I was an extremely fortunate person to have worked in this exciting and challenging environment and to have realized my dream.
In 1958 I met my husband Phil and on Sept. 3. 1960 we were married in Ottawa. We moved to Toronto where our two boys were born. Married almost six years the role I was born to fill became a reality….Don was born and 27 months later our Rick. I had after all enjoyed a wonderful career and was now ready for motherhood so I chose that I would stay at home and raise the children. I enjoyed all the activities our boys were involved i.e. Boy Scouts, hockey, band, parent/teacher association, school trips, camps and classroom helper as well as cultural afternoons where I did crafts with the students. I firmly believe that the most important thing I have done with my life has been, and continues to be, is being there for my children and being as good a Mother as I know how to be.
I have experienced the death of many people close to me. besides losing five grand parents while quite young and more recently both parents. When I was 19 a two year old child was killed by a truck right in front of the vehicle in which I was a passenger. One month after our marriage my childhood best friend died of fast moving multiple sclerosis. Ten years ago my youngest brother's little girl Mary-Anne was killed in a terrible traffic accident. Mary Anne (9 years old) had a beautiful soprano voice already and two weeks before her death sang a solo at the Christmas Eve service at their church. Two years ago Mary Anne would have graduated from school. I, with the approval of my brother and his wife, sent out graduation invitations 'to participate in The Mary -Anne Memorial Bursary'. We received responses from all 46 people who received the invitation. It was a wonderful bursary for graduation night when all of her class and teachers wore a purple ribbon (her favorite color) of remembrance. There are indeed always ways to show those we love that we care.
Once Phil retired and we took our retirement trip we finally settled on the Sunshine Coast where I took the Hospice training course. During my nine years with Hospice on the coast, I was active in every facet of the organization except the Board of Directors.
In June of 2006 Phil & I moved back to the mainland where I immediately became involved with the tri-cities of Port Moody, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam, Crossroads Hospice Society. The in-house
activity I was involved in was the Art Care program in the ten bed hospice. This entailed belonging to the B.C. Artists in Healthcare Society . In 2007 I received the Award of Excellence from this Society for my work at Crossroads.
The purpose of this program is to offer an opportunity to share a creative experience as we shift the experience of illness and end of life concerns into the background in a Hospice or Cancer Care setting Since returning to the beautiful Sunshine Coast three months ago I have made a presentation of this wonderful program to the Sunshine Coast Hospice and now having it accepted here I will be implementing Art Care into our facility here about the middle of May.
Of course once back on the Coast Phil and I have re-joined the senior's Centre where Phil gives Bonnie a hand on Thursday mornings with the computer class and I am once again active with the Thursday morning craft group.
Thank you Carol for sharing your story with us and we welcome you both back to the Centre. Your story is one which I think all the grand children should read - a lot of positive advice can be gleaned about fulfilling one's dreams.
