Long time Prince George resident Marvin Wilson was born in Bancroft, Ontario in 1934.
Marvin was 16 years old when his uncle invited him to come out to British Columbia to work for him. He said he needed help in the sawmill that he was running for Ongmen Brothers Logging out at Merch Lake. Marvin was up for the challenge. Merch Lake is near Nukko Lake and Chief Lake and is approximately 25 km northwest of Prince George. Marvin and several other young men left Ontario by car headed to BC for work. They arrived in September of 1950 and he has been here ever since.
He worked at the sawmill at Merch Lake for one year and then the sawmill packed up and moved to Hixon and he went with it. In 1952 his uncle bought the saw mill and all was well until the fall of 1953 when the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) went on strike. The strike lasted for over 100 days and as a result of the strike they all lost their jobs until the strike was over. Marvin had no choice so he moved into Prince George and went to work for Bryant Motors.
Two years later Marvin moved to Kemano to work as a mechanic in the powerhouse. Kemano is a settlement located about 75 km southeast of Kitimat and was built to service the hydroelectric power station that was built for Alcan. I wasn't sure what this powerhouse thing was all about so I checked it out on Google. This particular powerhouse is built 427 metres inside the base of Mt. Dubose in a blasted cavern. The plant produces power from eight generators to provide energy for Alcan so they could smelt aluminum. The plant comprises a 1/4 mile long tunnel, the width of a two-lane highway, drilled and blasted through the coastal mountains to carry water to the penstocks of the Kemano powerhouse.
Another two years went by and Marvin took a job following the construction of the pipelines. He worked in construction for the pipelines from McLeod Lake to Ontario among others.
Marvin met Louise Gillingwater in Prince George and they got married in 1955 at the Knox United Church. Marvin and Louise had two children Tex Wilson of Prince George and Donna Mae of Kamloops along with three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
After a short stint in Ontario the couple decided to move back to Prince George. Marvin worked at the Prince George Machinery Depot on Third Avenue for awhile and then went to work for Finning Tractor in 1965. He worked for Finning in the welding shop and the undercarriage shop until he retired in 1991.
Louise worked for Woodward's as the personnel manager for many years before her retirement in the 80s. Unfortunately, Louise passed away in July of 2014.
Marvin said, "When Louise passed away there was a big hole in my life. My life changed completely. We had a great life together and we did a lot of things over the years; in fact some of the things I did I would not do over again. We traveled for many years and we spent lots of time with family and friends. We took memorable trips to Hay River, Yellowknife, Whitehorse, two trips to the Yukon and many trips from B.C. to Ontario.
"I lead a pretty quiet life and I like it that way. My hobby has always been my woodworking. I make mostly small items and if it can be made out of wood then I can make it."
Marvin is now 80 years old and he quite often drops into his favorite senior centre for a hearty lunch and to catch up on the news with friends. Way back in the day Marvin used to volunteer at the Hickory Wing Ski Club at Tabor Mountain and which is now known as the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club out at Otway.
January birthdays that I know about: Bill Bond, Hilda Fichtner, Charlotte Hellyer, Lillian Brown, Victoria Gutfriend, Beth Crewson, Ann Neville, Dean Veitch, Laura Sandberg, Franca Pascuzzi, Mike DePalma, Terri Meyer, Joy Wikjord, Ken Goss, Wayne Hamlin, Mary Hamlin, Martha Cook, Marilyn Hinton, Tanna Dofka, Gail Horwath, Cecile Duffy, Carol Haugland, Sharon Vincent, Dianne Humphreys, Diane Rose, Keith Young, Richard Winnig, Sharon Clark, Gudrun Hamm, Tom Torraville, Barb Pierce, Robert Weed, Susan Weed, Wilma Carson, Jean Bayne, Darlene King, Sue Bliskis, Ida Bosham, Deanna Carter, Roy Christensen, Amelia Christensen, Doreen Erickson, Alcie Henderson, Pearl Hiebert, Pat Kinsley, Leonard Polsfut, Dave Stevenson, Brian Walker, Robert Anderson, Clarence Harmon, John Darchuk, Lena Enns, Doreen Hewlett, Edgar Laurin, Bonnie Meikle, Joan Pitcher, Brice Gurney, Ed Ventress, June Brown, Patricia Backstom, Diane Hubbell, Robert Anderson, Doris Schock and Mark Miller.
