Last week I was talking to a fellow senior and she told me about the days when she worked for BC Rail as a teletype and key punch operator.
Today there is no longer a job description for a teletype or a key punch operator similar to the type of work she did back in the sixties simply because of the new technology that phased out those jobs. A similar type of job description using today's technology is referred to as data entry operator.
Taking this one step further, there is no longer a company called BC Rail. I Googled BC Rail and I found the following description of BC Rail in the 1940s very interesting. Taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "BC Rail was chartered in 1912, the railway was acquired by the provincial government in 1918 after running into financial difficulties; a railway that ran 'from nowhere, to nowhere' for over 30 years, neither passing through any major city nor interchanging with any other railway, its southern terminus was at Squamish and its northern terminus at Quesnel during that period."
Yes, time marches on and things change and along with change come bigger and better things however that all depends on how we adapt to change.
I won't go into great detail but many changes are still on the horizon. I will start with our land line telephone service which is quickly being replaced by cell phones which are slowly replacing simple conversation, computers, newspapers, books, text books, monthly billing statements, the post office, hand written cheques, board games and family time together just to name a few that matter to me.
The cell phone is our new home and by that I mean we are always home 24 -7 to answer a call, to check out the Facebook news or to send a text no matter if we are at our physical home or not. If you work out of town you can call the kids and kiss them good night via Skype or some other live media software.
CDs and DVDs are no longer needed to download music and movies and no one keeps photo albums any more because everything now resides in "the cloud." Please don't ask me to explain that one.
As seniors we all try to keep up with all of this and some of us are doing OK. In the meantime we have our memories of how things used to be and we need to write these things down.
We all have a story and we have our memories of how we got to where we are today so as we near the close of another year in our lives I encourage everyone to write things down.
On a lighter side another reason to write down our memories is to get it recorded before we lose it to Alzheimer's.
December birthdays that I know about: Dirce Pandolfo, Bill Bosnich, Elaine Swaykoski, Anka Vukovic, Denise Baldock, Erika Harders, Judy Schlesier, Ivy Whitfield, Roy Whitfield, Phil Staniland, Marie Horbach, Lucy Buchanan, Paul Duperron, Marg McLachlan, Carlos Green, Wilfred Vogt, Margaret Keibel, Terry Burgess, Shirley Byman, Alcide Gauthier, Erika Gregson, Elaine Sokolowski, Belen Pankonin, Lucy Young, John Warner, Faye Sibley, Joan Watt, Donalda Carson, Simone Kwast, Shirley Michaud, Bob Michaud, Joyce Shaw, Mary McNeil, Deb Wood, Marlene Wenschlag, Louise Wiebe, Jim Doucette, Trish Barnes, Anita MacDonald, Catherine Halladay, Arthur Cardinal, Fred Bagg, Albert Gendron, Shirley Sevigny, Neila Ollinger, Connie Graham and Duncan Gouchie
December anniversaries: 66 years for Ivor and Joan Buchi (nee Perry), 62 years for Eldie and Georgina Ward, 61 years for Jack and Avis Cook, 60 years for Alcide and Margaret Gauthier, 58 years for Aimee and Lena Dumoulin, 54 years for Malcolm and Elaine Lamb, 54 years for John and Eva Werlberger, 53 years for Roy and Shirley Green, 52 years for Bill and Donna Bosnich, 50 years for Mario and Emma Mauro, 50 years for Manuel and Luisa Botelho and 33 years for Armand and Gert LeFebvre
The Ninth Annual Seniors Christmas Celebration takes place Tuesday, Dec. 6th from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Civic Centre; MLA Shirley Bond hosts the annual celebration that includes snacks, entertainment and door prizes. This is a free event supported by many community sponsors; to register call 250-612-4181.
Coming events at the Hart Pioneer Centre, 6986 Hart Hwy. that you won't want to miss.
Sunday, Dec. 4, a pancake breakfast 9 to 10:30 am.
Thursday, Dec. 8, Christmas turkey dinner at 6 p.m., tickets at the office: $12.00 per member $15 per non-member.
Saturday, Dec. 10, 8 p.m. to midnight dance to the music of John Goodwin, tickets available at the door.
Sunday, Dec. 18, crib tournament 1 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 31, New Years Eve dance and buffet, it all starts at 8 p.m., dance to the music of Country Calibre; Tickets are $40 each - get your tickets in advance at the office.
For more information call 250-962-6712.
