The Good Times
Fond memories and anecdotes from those who knew Gwen best
Parenting in the 70's and 80's was different than it is today, and it was a great time to be a kid. But it was especially great if you happened to be my mom's kid (well, except to the bowl cuts, velvet collared shirts and being forced to listen to way too much ABBA). Mum would let Jason and me go explore, go ride our bikes, go play in the bushes across the street, just so long as we were back when she told.
One of the things I'm most thankful for, though, was one of our favorite summer activities - movie watching. We got our first VCR in 1982 and my mom was crazy enough to let me pick the first two movies at the video store (Network Video at what was then the WestLynn Mall). Those two movies? Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and Halloween. Not only did she let me watch a horror movie when I was 8, she would also come to my room in the middle of the night when I'd scream for help because I was certain there was a boogeyman in my closet.
We'd watch a lot more horror movies those summers, and comedies, too. Through these shared experiences, I learned how to overcome my fear - to this day I can watch most horror movies and barely flinch - and I learned what funny was. A world without fear and a world full of laughter are pretty nice gifts to give to your child. Those are gifts that keep on giving. Gifts that my mom gave me. For that I am forever grateful.
- Michael
As kids we enjoyed table hockey, and we had several of them over the years. They would mostly wear out due to aggressive play. What would start out as a friendly game of table hockey between two brothers would sometimes degenerate into an all out brawl as tempers flared. I did say “most” of the games would wear out due to aggressive play.
Well on one occasion after boisterous “game play” my mum knew exactly where the “play” was going. She told us numerous times to settle down. Of course we didn’t. Finally my mum had had enough. She came racing down the stairs – Michael and I ran for cover.
Strangely enough though, mum wasn’t coming for either of us this time. She went straight for Wayne Gretzky’s slap shot hockey. The front door of the house was opened and the game was thrown out into a wintery snow bank. That was the first game that never had the chance to “wear” out. It met a much different fate that day.
She never laid a hand on us but the loss of our beloved slap shot hockey game sent a message that no wooden spoon ever could.
- Jason
My mum always went above and beyond for us to make sure our family was successful. This was particularly true when it came to education. During my time at elementary school, she would wake up super early to get everyone else in the house ready, then would later drive me to school in our grey Dodge Caravan, meet me for lunch, and pick me up at the end of the day. She would always make sure I was getting my homework done and would ask me each day what I’d learned to help reinforce all the concepts. She was also there to proofread every paper and study for every test.
One big challenge that we’ll both always remember was getting me to memorize the multiplication tables in Grade 4. Each day, we would have a big in-class quiz, and once you got 100% you didn’t have to write it anymore. Well, I kept messing up on 6x7, 7x8, and 8x6 and just couldn’t get to that perfect 100% score.
My mum saw I was struggling with it, but she stuck with me in the kitchen quizzing me over and over again until I had everything completely memorized. I was finally able to get everything right and I felt so proud of not only myself but of mum for how hard she worked to help me achieve my goal. Whenever I do multiplication in my head and come up with 42, 56, and 48, I always think of mum and all the time she spent helping me with not only school but everything in my life.
My mum was truly an awesome lady and I will be forever grateful for all that she has given me and my family.
- Mark
This happened years and years ago, but to this day I can still have a good laugh whenever I think about it. Gwen and I had gone to an exercise class at the rec center with an instructor named Pearl. We were most of the way through the class when it was time to lie down on the mats and do some cool down floor exercises. The music went from upbeat and loud to quiet and relaxing. All of a sudden as Gwen and I lay there, someone let one loose. Well, I looked over at Gwen and she looked back at me and we were in hysterics. We couldn’t contain our laughter. The worst part was that whenever I looked back at her, we just laughed even harder. I honestly don’t know how we made it through, but the laughter continued on all the way in the car ride home.
- Jeanne
After marriage, but before kids, there was an out-of-town job at Balfour, near Nelson, rebuilding the Kootenay Lake ferry ‘Anscomb’. Most workers left their home and family and lived at the work camp beside the job site. Gwen would have none of that. She wasn’t living alone so soon after getting married, and as newlyweds we would be staying together. So we packed up the car - including my monster homemade speakers strapped to the roof rack - picked up our dog Angie, and went off for an adventure.
We spent the first few days at a cabin at the fishing lodge where the rest of the workers were living. My brother Jim, who was running the job, helped us find a house to rent from Dianne and Austin, the local gas station owners who Gwen would spend a lot of time with during the days ahead.
One day, Gwen took Angie for a walk on the beach. The water was calm and smooth, and the dog went running off to chase a bird on the water. But Angie did not know what water was. She splashed briefly, then sank before running back to Gwen in a state of shock and terror. When I came home, she could barely tell me what happened without breaking into laughter.
Another time, the other ferry on the lake had a problem and I was working on it by myself very late at night. Gwen, wondering where I was, wandered down to the boat and walked quietly over to where I was working down at the end of a large space under the car deck. She said, “Hey Doug!” and I was so startled, I jumped and screamed. My hollering shocked her, and she fell down. Both our hearts stopped momentarily from that scary experience!
There was not a lot of choice of TV stations in many small towns like Balfour. There was a repeater signal for CBC, and that was all. Gwen soon became a big fan of Coronation Street, and we watched it together at lunch when I walked the two blocks from the ferry dock to the house by the gas station each day. There was one radio station in the day, but more at night, so we listened to a lot of records.
We had Sundays off and drove hundreds of miles in every direction you could go in 12 hours. That was the start of our many travel adventures together.
- Doug
Mum always enjoyed having a chat with our neighbours, whether it was Don and Esther from next door, Sharon, Kenya, Rhonda, Venza, or any other members of their families. They are all the nicest neighbours one could hope for. She was still considered ‘new’ to the area, having only lived on the block for 45 years, but she was very fortunate to have developed many close relationships and was able to see the neighbours’ children (and then their children’s children) grow up.
Mum also enjoyed going out for a coffee with Lynn or her friends from exercise class to catch up on the latest goings on. She loved stopping by her favourite hair dresser Heike in Lynn Valley to get a trim, but more importantly to show off the latest pictures of her granddaughter Natalie and to hear all about Heike and her relatives too.
It always seemed like whenever we would go out with mum, she would run into someone she knew. Whether it was one of the many members of the Barry Clan (who became friends with my mum long before they became family), an old acquaintance from our school days, or a friend from work, there was always someone to stop and say hello, which is a testament to how many connections she made in the community.
- Jason & Mark
