Philis (Bambrick) Welch was born in Kamloops in 1938 and raised on the Bambrick ranch, about 75 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake in the historical ranching community of Big Creek.
There were 12 ranchers in the area with each ranch being approximately two miles apart. Each of these 12 ranchers have a history all of their own and there have been books written about almost all of them including the Bambrick ranch.
A bit of history about the grandparents of Philis Welch. Her grandfather Charlie John Bambrick was born in 1869 in Sackville, Nova Scotia; he married her grandmother, Lillian Hanes, a.k.a. Haines, a full-blood First Nations woman, who was born in 1877 in Empire Valley. They married in Big Creek in 1916 and had 12 children.
Her father Walter Bambrick, born in 1899, was the eldest son of these 12 children, he married Beulah Birdsell in 1932 and they had six children. Philis was the eldest of these six children. She said, "The two youngest children were fraternal twins which seemed to be a rarity at the time. The arrival of my twin sisters was a happy event and both my mother and my father were just as surprised as the rest of us."
In 1938, her father bought the historic Bambrick ranch from his mother and he ranched at Big Creek until 1962 when he retired. He passed away in 1966.
Philis said, "I was raised in Big Creek and because there was no school in the area my parents sent me to boarding school in Williams Lake where I took Grade 1. It wasn't long and neighbours Dick and Percy Church built a small log cabin school on their ranch. I returned to Big Creek and finished Grades 2 to 8 at the school. At the age of 16, I went back to the school dormitory in Williams Lake for the next three years."
Philis reflected back and said, "Our families paid $25 per month for us to stay at the dormitory while we went to school. In many cases this was a lot of money even though it covered everything. In order to keep the rates low, the students had their duties in the kitchen, the dining room and various other chores which included all the janitorial work at the dormitory.
"We had a recreation room for activities and of course we were expected to stay at the dormitory and not go downtown. The girls occupied the second floor and the boys occupied the first floor. The Grade 12 girls supervised and patrolled the hallways for the girls and the Grade 12 boys did the same on the first floor.
"The curfew was 9 p.m. and tardiness was not allowed and certainly not tolerated. The doors were locked promptly at 9 p.m. so going to the movies downtown was nearly impossible because they ended at 9 p.m. If anyone wanted to go to the movie they had to get preauthorization and, if approved, their curfew was extended to 9:15 p.m. Time went by and Wednesday became movie night and the curfew, for Wednesdays only, became 9:15 p.m."
Philis said, "There is a Williams Lake Dormitory reunion taking place
April 28, 29 and 30 in Williams Lake with the expectation of over 500 people from the states and all over Canada due to attend. This is a reunion of the people who lived in the school dormitories from 1954 to 1969. It is certain to be a wonderful event."
"In 1956 I quit school when I was in Grade 11 and went to work at the Bank of Commerce for the next three years as a proof teller," said Philis.
"In 1959 I married into the Welch clan from Willow River. We moved to Willow River in 1962, then back to Williams Lake for a short while and then we moved to -- continued on page 5 continued from page 4 -- the North Nechako area in 1972. We separated in 1978 and divorced shortly after."
Philis started her career at the Scotiabank in 1975 and retired 25 years later. Retirement was not enough excitement for her so she went to work at Superstore where she worked in security for 11 years and then the deli until she retired again in 2014.
She has lived in the South Fort George area for the past 25 years and now enjoys retirement and says she is busy all the time.
Philis raised four children Sharlane (Clarence), Allan (Donna), Gail (Morry) and Adele (Elliott) who in turn gave her six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She loves the fact that she had the privilege of watching her first great-grandson being born into this world.
She reflected back and said, "My children were always involved in skiing out at Tabor Mountain in the winter and baseball in the summer. In fact I have to sadly admit that I never got to see one of my daughters play ball in any of her games because I was always dropping off and picking up kids at their various events which included Brownies and Girl Guides."
Philis has always taken the time to give back to her community. She said, "I was a 39 year member of the Royal Canadian Legion Ladies Auxiliary until it closed in December of 2016. We used to be busy all the time catering for funerals and weddings and many other fundraisers. Due to a lack of new members and no younger members to carry the torch - it was a sad day when we closed. We always had fun and we worked together like a family. When we got done working downstairs we would go upstairs to take in some dancing at the Legion.
"I have always participated in the annual Poppy sale campaign in honour of my cousin Bernie Paxton who was a Second World War veteran."
She is currently a Member of the Women of the Moose and the Red Hat Society.
Philis said, "Years ago my good friend Ethel Rhodes talked me into joining the Lady Bugs, a local chapter of the Red Hat Society. What do the Lady Bugs do? Well, we enjoy going for lunch once a month - we eat and talk and catch up on the news about one another and have some fun going to events together."
Philis concluded by saying, "I love Prince George. I have a great family and lots of good friends. I can go where I want and when I want. In the winter I just enjoy watching the snow come down and when it is really cold I don't mind it one little bit because I just stay at home with my little best friend Marci. We have four beautiful seasons to enjoy and I enjoy every day of every one of them."
The Forever Young Chorus at the Elder Citizens Recreation Centre, at 1692 Tenth Ave., proudly presents their musical production of songs from the fabulous '50s under the direction of Janice Taylor. You can "Bop" to the music of the 1950s - the "rock 'n roll" era - the era that our parents said was the start of the teenage rebellion. Really?
An era when teenagers started dancing in the aisles when they heard the song Rock Around the Clock, the opening music for the movie Blackboard Jungle, a story about a high school teacher's confrontation with juvenile delinquents.
The era when the popular TV show American Bandstand hosted by Dick Clark went national.
Remember when we swooned over our teen idols like Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson, Paul Anka, Bobby Rydell, Neil Sedaka and many others that were topping the charts.
Join in the fun, bring back some high school memories and attend the concert: the dates and times are Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Admission, with all proceeds going to the senior centre operations, is just $10 per person for a great two-hour show. Tickets will be available at the door. Hope to see you there.
