The Pickering family has been in Prince George as far back as the early 1900s. I spoke with Donald Pickering and he said, "My mother's family is of Dutch descent; I was born in 1943 in Hilversum, in the province of North Holland, Netherlands.
"I was the only kid in my school that went to his parents wedding; this is how it all came about. My parents were divorced shortly after I was born. In 1945 my mother Maria Wingalaar met Cecil Benjamin Pickering a Canadian soldier from Prince George who was stationed in Holland. He was the eldest of the 12 children of Arden and Eddi Pickering of Prince George. My mother dated Cecil until his tour of duty was up and then he was sent back to Canada. Nearly two years later he wrote my mother a letter of proposal and asked her to come to Canada to marry him. He also mentioned that she should bring her child, which was me, along with her.
"My mom and I arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia in April of 1947. We could not speak English when we arrived but we learned quickly. My mom and Cecil were married the following month at the Knox United Church and I attended the ceremony."
Don lived on a farm in the Mudd River area for two years where his father had a sawmill operation. He started school in 1949 and attended Connaught Elementary which was located on Queensway. When he was in Grade 3 the school burned to the ground the day after Halloween. He then attended school in shifts at King George V Elementary school for two years until his return to the new Connaught Elementary school which is now Ron Brent Elementary.
He attended Grades 7,8 and 9 at the Connaught Junior High School which is now gone and then attended high school at Prince George Senior Secondary which was at the time located on McBride Crescent.
After high school he attended Prince George Vocational Training School and apprenticed as an auto mechanic at Belcourt Motors for two years.
Don said, "I started working for Prince George Motors in 1965 and in 1972 I started my own mechanics shop. I was ambitious, organized and motivated and my personal goal was to always do an honest day's work for honest pay from my customers. I worked hard and made a fairly good living."
Don married Sandra Bradley in 1964; they separated in 1982. They had three children: Donald Jr and twin girls Carmen and Tracy.
In 1997 he went into trucking and started Frontier Contracting with a fleet of five trucks. He contracted for the BC Forest Service mainly hauling fire fighting equipment. Don said, "It was a job where we worked all day and every day, including weekends during the forest fire season. I retired from it all in 2011.
"I have seen all four corners of the province working for the Forest Service. We used to do prescription burning which was ended by environmentalist in the 90s because of the smoke. I believe that after the prescription burning of a logging block, which removed the willows, the burning enabled the seedlings to grow faster and better."
Don married Jo-Ann Spiers Pawlachuck in 1983. Jo-Ann was born in Winnipeg, Man. in 1942 and came to Prince George in the early 80s. She started working for the Insurance Corporation of B.C. in 1982 as a switchboard operator and later worked for Dick Harris in his constituency office until her retirement in 2005.
Don said, "We traveled when we were younger and we are glad we traveled when we did. One special trip that we took was when we took the train all the way to Halifax and stayed there for a month. We rented a car and went to the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. It was amazing because the museum occupies part of Pier 21, the former ocean liner terminal and immigration shed that operated from 1928 to 1971.
"I reunited with my birth father in 2000; I had not seen him since 1960. It was very interesting for both of us to see how our lives had changed."
Jo-Ann wanted to give back to her community in her retirement so she volunteered for Habitat for Humanity Canada, a national non-profit organization that endeavors to work towards a world where everyone has an opportunity for a safe and decent place to live. Years later she started the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
During her many years of volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity Jo-Ann was involved in the start and the completion of seven homes which included the landscaping and the occupancy of the new families.
Don joined Jo-Ann at the store and they worked together for two years sorting out donations and organizing the store for their customers.
When the store closed Jo-Ann retired and now they are enjoying their retirement living at River Bend where Don is the president of the strata council.
Jo-Ann said, "We are enjoying our retirement and our new friends at River Bend."
"Don and I have been together for the past 35 years and he can still make me laugh. We are happy to have the opportunity to grow older together.
"I had three children in a previous marriage; Kari, Cristal and Danny. We have a blended family of six children, 12 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. To make a long story short, life is great."
***
September birthdays that I know about: Christine Hinzmann, Alberto Sultano, Clarence Wigmore, Claude Bussieres, Eva Werlberger, John Werlberger, Roberta Barnes, Rae McIntyre, Jeannette Rogers, Ernesteen McNeil, Colin Blair, Vi Merritt, Alan Thorp, Joellen Burgess, Velma Wortman, Karin Burke, Mike Bundock, Len Shankel, Jason Shankel, Ernie Myers, Vern Wright, Bill Palmer, Mike Padalec, May Campbell, Ray Lougheed, Anita Robertson, Bill MacIver, Roberta Johansen, Gerda Korolek, Marie Moore, Marie Trew, Dee Neukomm, Linton Walker, Russell Padalec, Kelly Ashton, Betty Anne Brittons, Marcella Dunbar, Howard Orser, Ken Royston, Dr. Judy Gavin (from Lumby), Brian Kelly, Winnie Mikolayczyk, Eldie Ward, Marie Sumners, Barb Jensen, Kate Ormiston, David Milne, Bea Stanley, Diane Bock, Celestina Johnson, Esko Karlson, Dan Clay, Benita Karlson, Larry Anderson, Dale Ziegler, Tony Mulder, Susan Fowler, Emilia Cote, 99 years for Eva St. Pierre and 100 years for Dorothy Hillhouse.
Anniversaries for September that I know about: 64 years for Jack and Louise Little, 63 years for George and Hilda Lippke, 63 years for Bob and Marvina Nikkel, 59 years for Arnold and Leona (Buchi) Nyberg, 53 years for Dave and Doreen Erickson, 52 years for Roland and Barbara Chartrand, 52 years for Wilfred and Rosel Vogt, 45 years for Denis and Shirley Dunkley and 42 years for Brian and Bev Kelly.
