2013 Senior Idol Contest winner 82 year old Clarence Boudreau, was born and raised in Penny, a small sawmill town in Central BC half way between McBride and Prince George. Clarence says, "We had no roads, telephones, or electricity in those days, so my seven brothers and sisters and I made our own entertainment, singing and playing musical instruments, fishing and hiking".
At age 15 Clarence joined his older brother and dad, driving a team of horses in a "gyppo" gang logging and years later he worked in the saw mill. Because of his unique sense of humour I wasn't sure exactly what Clarence meant by this term, so I looked it up: The "gyppos" were small outfits run by hardworking, undercapitalized, mechanically ingenious operators that relied on resourcefulness and ingenuity to compete.
Clarence married the school teacher, Olga Horn, in 1951. They have been married 61 years and have 5 children, 17 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
In 1956 they purchased a D6' cat and 50 head of cattle; they tried cattle ranching, but that proved to be unprofitable so Clarence made their living from then on in logging, land clearing and snowplowing. He plowed the snow in Penny for 40 years. He was fire warden for many years, and then he ran a salmon hatchery for 16 years for the Federal Fisheries Dept. until he retired in 1996: After that he kept busy doing volunteer work building and maintaining a road from Penny to Longworth, using that some old D6' cat and an old gravel truck, partnered by nephew-in-law Bob Gobbi.
Olga stopped teaching school while she was raising the children, but was a substitute teacher when needed. She also worked in the hatchery and did all the bookkeeping, grew a large garden and canned all the produce.
The couple both enjoyed the outdoors, picking berries, hiking and boating up until one year ago when they were in a devastating head-on collision, which left them both in critical condition and unable to return to their beloved Penny. After several months of rehab and home care they moved into a lovely home in the North Nechako area owned by their daughter and son-in-law. Here, with lots of help from family and nurses, they are working hard to regain strength and mobility.
Clarence and Olga agreed, "We will always miss our life in Penny, but we are certainly enjoying being so near to family and friends, along with the wildlife, scenery, gas heat, electricity and phones here in the North Nechako. We are making new friends." Clarence has found people to join him in picking berries, hunting and fishing. Olga is not yet able to participate in these activities but hopes to start gardening in the spring.
The Hart Pioneer Centre, 6986 Hart Highway is holding a dance on Saturday, February 23rd, from 8:00 pm to Midnight. Admission is $10.00 at the door, everyone 19 and over is welcome.
February birthdays that I know about: Darlene Meyers, Catherine Bond, Bob Carrier, Lloyd Annis, Ton and Amy Vander Ploeg, Sophie Chartrand, Kirsten Redding, Paul Steindl, Iris Frenkel, Lillian Peter, Verna Wright, Judy Fisher, Clarence Boudreau, Kathy Iselmoe, Joan McKay, Helen and Wendy Wlasitz, Gertraud and Roman Hildebrandt, Betty Pearson, Raymond Roch, Andrea McKenzie, Evelyn Porter, Deloris Bircher, Ingrid Maack, John Ormiston, Judy Johnson (JJ), Jack McKinley, Edna Stitt and Mike St. Germain.
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