I have been trying to catch up with Mike Bundock for nearly a year so that I could do a story about him and his wife Louise.
Mike plays bridge at least three times a week and if it is good weather he is usually out on the golf course or he can be seen heading out the door with neatly folded up cardboard boxes under his arms as he heads to the recycling depot with his collection.
For the past five years Mike has been picking up cardboard and paper for recycling for the senior centres and several other non-profit groups around town. He has a weekly routine and when he walks in for his pickup there will be a huge pile of boxes, usually in a corner, and when he leaves it is all gone and the place is neat and tidy again.
Well, things have changed for Mike in the past month because he had a fall and broke a hip; he is supposed to be slowed down and pretty much confined to just playing bridge. Here is a brief story of long time Prince George volunteers Mike and Louise (McGillivray) Bundock:
Mike was born in Victoria in 1932. At the tender age of seven Mike and his three sisters were moved to an orphanage because his father went to war. It wasn't long until his grandparents rescued them and raised all four of them on a farm in Crofton.
Mike attended high school in Duncan and when he was in Grade 10 he came down with rheumatic fever and polio.
He was determined and went on to complete his chef training at the Vancouver Vocational School.
Mike's first professional job was on a fisheries patrol boat out of Prince Rupert, then a bakery followed by a job at the new Prince Rupert pulp mill. Later he returned to night shift at the bakery as the head bread baker and worked at the Canadian Fisheries cannery during the day.
Mike later moved to Vancouver and worked as a letter carrier for the post office.
In 1954 Mike accidently met Louise McGillivray the love of his life.
Mike explained, "I went to pick up a prearranged blind date and Louise came to the door. She informed me that her cousin had chickened out on the date. She looked me over and explained that she was visiting from Bralorne and would be happy to take her cousin's place and of course I was more than happy to accept the offer.
"I invited her out again the next night, we were sitting in the car watching the sunrise come up on English Bay and I told her that I would like to spend the rest of my life with her. Louise accepted my proposal and we were married in Bralorne in June of 1954 and as they say the rest is history."
Mike and Louise recently celebrated 61 years of marriage; together they raised four children; Barbara who lives in Kansas City, Michael (Susan) of Smithers, Keith who lives in Toronto and Richard who lives here in Prince George.
They now have seven grandchildren and one great granddaughter.
The couple along with their first three children moved to Prince George in 1965 and lived at the Premier Hotel with just a hot plate to cook on until they got settled in their home.
Mike worked for Canfor for the next 25 years mainly in the safety department.
He held the position as the chairman of the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada Union Safety Committee for many years winning the only 'no lost time award' for his company that he knew about at that point in time.
Mike retired from Canfor in 1993 and went to work for Regional Security for the next 17 years as well as doing consulting in safety and safety training programs.
Louise managed the home front, kept up with the children and at the same time worked in the retail business for nearly 20 years.
She also volunteered her time in the activities that the children were involved in.
Louise has been an active volunteer with the Hospital Auxiliary for nearly 25 years and has always found it to be rewarding.
Both Louise and Mike are great volunteers in their community.
Throughout the years they have both voluntarily served on many boards and enjoy helping others in need.
They try to brighten the day of everyone they meet.
Together they were two of the four founding members of the very successful Northern Interior Kennel Club.
Sports was one of Mike's passions as he coached the East Little League Yankees, umpired for the Freeman Park Little League, the Major Men's Softball League and eventually he became the district Umpire in Chief for Softball Canada for the Cariboo.
Mike was an official for minor football for eight years and won trophies in curling.
Mike was one of the founding members of the Y's Men's Club of Prince George (a senior's fundraising group for the YMCA).
Over the years the now-defunct group raised over $100,000 for the local YMCA.
Mike was a bit of a lobbyist in his younger years and said, "In the early 1970's I was involved in a head-on collision in the middle of the switch back on Peden Hill. I was lucky that I was not seriously injured. I raised a petition with over 900 names, took it to Victoria and presented it to our MLA Ray Williston. At the time the road was to be only three lanes with no priority; the petition resulted in a change to four lanes with a top priority and the work was completed in two years."
