Prince George grew by leaps and bounds in the 1950s because many people like Mae Campbell simply came to Prince George for work and with the hope of a better life. Many came here with the intention of only staying for a few years. Our city was not that attractive and the winters were extremely cold yet people came here and settled down. They stayed, they worked the land, they worked in the sawmills or they worked downtown just to name a few. They formed lasting relationships and found that Prince George was a great place to raise a family. Soon other family members arrived in Prince George and our city grew and as the years went by enormous changes began happening. First they needed housing followed by schools, churches, health services and shopping centres. Prince George had jobs to offer and still more people came.
One of those newcomers to Prince George was Mae (Jardin) Campbell. She was born in Torch River, Sask. in 1929; the fourth oldest of ten children. Her parents worked the farm and raised a large family. They never went hungry because they raised their food and worked hard together as a family unit.
At the age of 21, Mae took the train from Saskatchewan to Prince George to visit some family members already living here. She didn't intend to stay but she did and she has been here ever since.
One year later in 1951, she met Bob Campbell; they were married in 1952 and started a very long, happy and successful life together and like many others they made lifelong friends, raised a family and chose to stay here in their retirement.
Mae worked for a grocery store for nearly two years and then she went on to work at the hospital as an aid. She retired 20 years later at the age of 60.
Bob worked as a mechanic at Clear Lake Sawmills and retired at the age of 63. Sadly Bob passed away in 2013 as the result of cancer and a brain tumor. He curled and played golf right up to the time he was hospitalized. He remained in the hospital just three weeks short of one year and Mae stayed by his side through it all. She arrived at the hospital at 8:30 a.m. and stayed until 6:30 p.m. on a daily basis. When Bob was resting, she gave special attention to many of the other patients trying to make their day just a little bit better.
Mae proudly said, "We celebrated 61 years of marriage just before Bob passed away. We raised three children Beverly, Wayne and Karin and we now have seven grand children and five great grand children.
"Bob and I were both members and lifetime volunteers of the Prince George and Quesnel Old Time Fiddlers and I am proud to say that we were actively involved for the past 20 years. The Old Time Fiddlers have been around this town for the past 48 years and they have done many good things during that time. They continue to have a large and happy membership with people willing to volunteer and learn new things. I consider the group an extension of my family.
"Bob was a member of the Elks for 18 years and I have been a member of the Royal Purple for the past 15 years and I am still actively involved."
Mae is now 86 years old and she told me that 86 was just a number. She said, "family always came first and our traveling always involved our family. We were both active with the Blue Grass, Country and Gospel Jamborees for the past 20 years. The kids have always been included in all the things we do and we can see a positive influence on their lives as a result."
Mae also volunteered for the blood donor clinic and the fiddle contests. She does a tremendous amount of behind the scenes work and is a member of two senior centres. She loves dancing but she can hardly dance anymore because her knees gave out on her. She concluded by saying, "I have a great family and I love my life. Bob and I have always agreed that people were important and family and friends were always first in our book."
