Tony and Dodie (Bridden) Bond have been in Prince George since 1976.
Dodie's parents were living in the small village of Masset, on the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) when she was ready to be born into this world.
Since there was no hospital in Masset at the time, she was actually born in Prince Rupert in 1950. She is one of five children. Her father worked as a heavy-duty mechanic in the air force. Dodie said, "I was brought up by my grandparents and I would not be who I am today if not for them.
"After Grade 3 and at the age of nine we first moved to New Westminster, followed my many moves after that.
"I graduated from Esquimalt high school in Victoria in 1968 and went on to hairdressing school. In those days, it took two years of hairdressing school and one year as an apprentice before you wrote the government exam to get a license. I worked as an usher at the Odeon theatre in Victoria to pay for my schooling.
"It was while I was waiting for the city bus to take me home that I first met my future husband Tony Bond at the bus stop in front of Scott's Café in Victoria. We talked for so long that I eventually missed my bus. Tony asked if he could drive me home and I asked him if he was in the navy. The navy fellows in Victoria had a bit of a bad reputation so the good girls always had their guard up. He said he wasn't in the navy so I accepted the ride home. We dated for a month and I wanted to introduce him to my sister. He agreed to meet her but admitted that he needed to make a confession first. He told me that he was indeed in the navy and did not tell me the truth at the beginning because he did not want me to think that he was one of those navy guys with a girl in every port. He also admitted that he had seen me from the café at the bus stop before we met that day.
"Talk about a small world, one Sunday morning I was coming out of church and he was going in. I was surprised and pleased to learn that he was a Catholic - the same as me.
"By this time, I already knew that he was the man I wanted to marry.
"I introduced him to my grandmother and she was thrilled to learn that he was a Catholic.
"We got married two years later at St. Andrew's Cathedral in Victoria in 1970, bought a house and started a family."
Tony, one of five children, was born in Mission in 1949. After high school, he joined the navy, trained and worked as an engineer on a navy ship.
After he got out of the service, he continued to work as an engineer on other ships. After that, he got his heavy-duty mechanic license and worked for Eddie Goodwill, the owner of Goodwill Bottling Coca-Cola in Victoria. He was then offered a company transfer to Prince George to work on their fleet of trucks.
Dodie said, "We moved to Prince George in 1976 for better work opportunities for Tony. It was scary to make the move because we already had a mortgage and I didn't want to start moving around again. I had to move many times while I was growing up and I did not want that for my family.
"We flew to Prince George to look for a house. Our realtor Noel O'Biern found us the right place and we have lived here ever since."
Tony and Dodie had two daughters Julie (deceased in 2007) and Jennifer. They have one grandson and his name is Torsten.
Over time, Tony's knees started to cause him problems so he went to work for Fred Walls as a truck salesman. He worked there until he started his own business Tony Bond Transport.
Tony had an accident and fell in 2000 and seriously broke his leg and he was no longer able to work. He is still having medical issues from that injury.
When they first came to Prince George, Dodie worked for the Cut and Curl hair salon on the Hart and then the Rendezvous Coiffure hair salon for the next 15 years.
Tony was a member of the Rod and Gun Club and served on the Friends of Children board of directors for many years.
He is a longtime member of the Sacred Heart Knights of Columbus 8927. He is a member and serves on the board of the Prince George Knights Society and has participated in their annual RV raffle for many years.
Dodie is a life member of the Sacred Heart Cathedral Catholic Women's League. Over the years she served on the parish, diocesan, provincial and the national councils. She has been a Beta Sigma Phi member for the past 40 years and she leads the music at the 9 a.m. Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Dodie concluded, "Time has gone by very fast and we recently celebrated 49 years of marriage. It hasn't always been easy and together we have gone through many happy times and some sad times. We realize that what will be will be. We keep our faith and we journey on.
"When Tony had his leg injury and was no longer able to work, I started my own hair salon in our home. That was 24 years ago and so far, I have no thoughts of retiring at this point in time. I can relate to mobility issues and many times if my clients can't come to me, I will go to them, on my days off, to do their hair. I have a wonderful family and many great clients. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their loyalty and their willingness to make the trek up and down my stairs all these many years.
"Tony and I feel that when we moved to Prince George we moved to the best community in B.C."
August birthdays that I know about: Rita Svatos, Marion Van Caeseele, Diana Myers, Marilyn Goetjen, Carol Stewart, Helen Dery, Judy Dix, Supi Peter, Jeannette Goossens, Don Grantham, Joyce Unrau, Gord Babcock, Lorraine Knight, Heather Couch, Gary Drake, Ted Haugland, Betty Townsend, Dean Cole, Marlies Greulich, Margaret Johnston, Elaine Lamb, Malcolm Lamb, Barb Claffey, Shafeed Rahman, Alan Idiens, Joy Warner, Sharon Stene, Joy McKeller, Lyn Thibault, Ray Demily, Walt Wessner, Betty Wessner, Eileen Hughes, Victor Lavallee, Shirley McDermid, Lorea Reimer, Fred Buchi, Eva Buchi, Alexa Chykowski, Howard Germain, Leona Gervais, Rosemarie Maack, John Pavich, Elaine Reid, Esther Monroe, Doris Da'Silva, Edna Rouleau, Barbara Iwaskow, Muriel Lank, John Kuharchuk, Donald Jones, Bob Horning, Wolfgang Jechow, Phyllis Anderson, Sandra Simola, James Loughery, Edward Normand, Harold Iverson, Charlene Vankoughne, Connie Gibson, John Walsh and Sonny Swanson
August Anniversaries: 73 years for Fred and Eva Buchi, 70 years for Harold and Doreen Hewlett, 70 years for Clarence and Irene Switzer, 64 years for Bob and Marvina Nikkel, 60 years for Jim and Noreen Rustad, 60 years for Matt and Gerda Korolek, 59 years for Cliff and Sharon Dezell, 56 years for Maurice and Adele Mingay, 55 years for Colin and Judy Dix, 54 years for Dave and Faye Croft, 54 years for Gerry and Mai Dulmage, and 26 years for Larry and Lucy Young.
