It took her forever to collect every month but delivering the Prince George Citizen, especially by horseback, was a cinch.
"Everyone wanted me to stop and have coffee - that took forever," laughed Maisie Minchin, 80 years old, who was a newspaper carrier in the early 1980s. "But I did get to know all my neighbours."
Her trusty steed Tash, a knot-headed half Arabian, made things easy because she'd really motor between houses and would help to deliver the newspapers by pushing The Citizen box up with her nose, said Maisie, who has been married to Bruce since 1953.
Maisie and Bruce moved to Prince George in 1961 when Bruce was transferred from Williams Lake by the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), best known now as BC Rail. Bruce was a car man and retired from the company after 41 years.
In 1974 the Minchin family moved from Starlane Drive out to the Blackwater to a quarter section because their children, Robert and Heather, wanted horses. That's when Maisie quit her job after nine years as secretary at Peden Hill elementary. Before that she was a bank teller for 10 years.
As time passed on the farm, Maisie got to know her newspaper carriers, but soon no one wanted to do the route any more.
She went to all her neighbours - there were about 25 on the route and all agreed to pay her an extra bit to deliver the newspaper to their door.
The route was about a 2.5 mile circle that went along Blackwater Road to East Beaverly, around to Highway 16, and back up the Blackwater to Muralt Road.
When it was winter Maisie delivered the newspaper by car.
During her time out on the Blackwater, she and her friend, Sandy Ebert, decided they wanted to start a club in 1976 called the Dusty Trail Riders.
When the club expanded too much to be held at the Ebert farm, they asked a regional district representative to find them a crown land acreage on which to build an arena. The community gathered together donating time, effort, equipment and materials and built a 100 foot by 200 foot arena on leased land.
Not only is the Dusty Trail Riders a gymkhana club for all ages, but they also offered a 50-mile endurance ride where it wasn't just about who did it fastest, but who did it best. The ride took about six hours.
Maisie is proud to say she was never pulled from any ride because of the care and conditioning of her horse and took the title of best-conditioned horse one year, she fondly recalls.
"You rode to the ability of your horse," said Maisie. "It wasn't a case of winning it was more important to complete the race."
She and her friends would usually ride about two hours a day and take one day a week to rest as part of their training for the big event.
"But that was when I was younger and in good shape," Maisie smiled.
During her time in the Blackwater area, where there is a Minchin Road named for her family, Maisie was also a member of the Beaverly Volunteer Fire Department for 13 years as a lieutenant and safety officer.
Bruce and Maisie both enjoyed their membership in the Elder Citizen Recreation Association's Drama Club for many years.
"To make people laugh is just the best," said Maisie. The Minchins have decided to leave the acting for others now as they concentrate on health issues. Maisie is recovering from having her hip replaced, while Bruce is awaiting his replacement.
When they realized life on the farm was a bit much, they moved into Prince George in 2005 to a strata complex where they can still live independently and have a small garden while enjoying a more maintenance-free lifestyle.
Unfortunately, Maisie and Bruce lost their son, Robert, at 55 years old to a brain tumour, while daughter, Heather, still lives in Prince George with her family.
Maisie and Bruce have also been very involved in ice curling where Maisie was a level II instructor and took the junior team to provincials twice and then had her own competitive ladies' seniors' team that went to provincials as well.
They came back with silver medals twice.
Then Bruce and Maisie took to floor curling at the Elder Citizens' Centre for seven years and held funspiels and bonspiels that have attracted many curling teams.
The most recent was held in April, which hosted seven out-of-town teams. Maisie and Bruce's team took second place.
"What a life," said Maisie as she recalled her days as a bank teller, meeting her husband, moving to Prince George, starting her family, becoming school secretary, a farmer, horseback rider, curling instructor, drama club performer, floor curling champion, and volunteer firefighter.
"And I got to talk about it all because I was a Citizen newspaper carrier."
As part of The Citizen's 100th anniversary in February 2016, we're sharing stories of local residents who played a role in the newspaper's success over the years.
If you have a story to tell, we'd love to hear it and share it with our readers. Drop us a line at [email protected].
