Longtime Prince George residents Roland and Edna (Byman) Rouleau recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Edna, of Norwegian and Swedish descent, was born in Prince George in 1943. Her parents Erick and Myrtle Byman left Wadena, Sask. and arrived in Prince George by train in 1942 along with their first-born daughter Judy who was only 15 months old at the time.
In the spring of 1943, her parents bought property outside of the city limits,on the south side of Connaught Hill - on the corner of Bowser and Brockville which is now 17th Avenue and Kenwood Street. There was no source of electricity or running water so they had to carry their water from a city tap a block away.
They built a house and moved into their new home in August shortly after Edna was born.
In 1946, her father Erick and uncle Herman started Byman Brothers Sawmill and horse logged near Six Mile Lake (Tabor Lake) for four years and then sold the company. Her father bought a truck and hauled lumber, bought property and ended up with three rental houses and a new home on Kenwood Street for his family. He prospered and bought 80 acres near Tabor Lake for $500 which was eventually subdivided into six 12 acre lots and later distributed to Edna and her siblings.
Edna said, "My father died in a vehicle accident in 1956; my mother was left to raise five children between the ages of 15 and just eight months old. She managed three rental houses, grew a big garden, sewed our clothes, cooked and canned and kept the home fires burning all on her own. She was my hero and she was always there for all of us.
"My mother married again in 1961 and my kid sister was born. My stepfather died in a tragic accident in 1993 and sadly my mother passed away in 2007 at the age of 88."
Edna attended the Connaught school on Queensway Street (until it burned to the ground in 1951), and then went to school at South Fort George - her teacher was Mrs. Fanny Kenney - the school was rebuilt and is now Ron Brent Elementary.
She graduated from Prince George Senior Secondary in 1961, attended hair dressing school and then went to work for BC Tel in 1963. She lived in Australia for a year, came back to Prince George and met Roland in 1967 at an adult skating event at the Coliseum. She said, "Roland chased me around the skating rink until I caught him."
Roland Rouleau was born in Sault St. Marie, Ont. in 1943, graduated from high school in 1962 and joined the Air Force in 1963. He signed up for a five-year program but only stayed for three years. He actually wanted to join the Air Force when he was in Grade 10 but his father would not allow it.
He took his boot camp training in St. Jean, Que. along with 5,000 other soldiers and made friends with Dave Brown and Wayne McDonald from B.C. After he completed boot camp, he was sent to Camp Borden in Barry, Ont. and ended up in Moose Jaw, Sask. for one year.
In late 1964, he decided to go to Vancouver with his friend Dave and then to Quesnel where he worked for Wayne's father setting chokers in the bush.
He quit that job and went to work for Modern Electric in Quesnel. In 1965, he was working in Prince George for S. Herbert and Son contracting wiring the Inn of the North during its initial construction.
He worked 100 hours a week, saved his money and went to Vancouver and successfully got his commercial pilot's license. He returned to Prince George broke - but happy - with his recently acquired pilot's license. He went back to his old job and was sent to wire a new school under construction in McBride.
He worked long hours, saved his money and bought a J3 float plane. He landed a job with Thunderbird Airline working in the Arctic from June to August flying a 206 float plane.
Roland said, "When I arrived back home in August of 1968 Edna told me that we were getting married. That was 50 years ago this November. I was nervous at the time but I have been very happy about her announcement ever since.
"From 1969-71 I worked as a commercial bush pilot out of Mackenzie as they flooded Williston Lake for the purpose of creating the W.A.C. Bennett Dam on the Peace River. It was my job to fly in the fallers, timber cruisers and the bulldozer and boat operators for companies like Findlay Forest Products, Alexander Forest Products and the BC Forestry. I delivered the mail into Fort Ware by plane on ski's or floats as needed.
"When I finished that contract, I quit commercial flying and went back to Prince George. In 1972, Clarence Calyniuk, Bill Reid, Art Lawrence and I bought out S. Herbert & Son Electrical Wiring Contractors and changed the name of the company to Camac Electric Ltd. People said we were crazy but it worked out OK.
"Eventually Bill Reid bought the rest of us out and Clarence and I formed a partnership and started ACRO Electric in 1980.
"Time went by and in 1983 I went out on my own and formed Edland Enterprise Services, a company that I still own and operate today.
"In 1984, my partner Roger Blagborne and I built a power plant from scratch and started the Robson Valley Power Corporation at Ptarmigan Creek which is just past Dome Creek. We became an independent power producer (IPP) and sold power to BC Hydro for 20 years. I eventually sold my shares in the power plant and took over the power plant service maintenance contract."
When the children started to arrive, Edna became a stay at home mom and like her mother she enjoyed knitting, gardening and sewing and in fact she made her own wedding dress.
Edna and Roland had four sons; Brent (Drazenka), Lance (Diana), Doug (Adele) and Tron (Jenifer) who in turn gave them eight grandchildren and one great granddaughter.
Edna and Roland have always been willing to give back to their community. Edna volunteered with anything to do with their children. Their boys were involved with freestyle skiing competitions and she volunteered as needed. As a family they enjoyed travelling, skiing, slow pitch ball, camping, dancing and playing music.
Edna has been a member of the Prince George Sons of Norway Rondane Lodge for the past 53 years and the president of their Ladies Auxiliary for over 20 years. She volunteers with their fundraisers which enables the group to donate to five different local charities.
Roland and Edna have both served as directors for the Old Time Fiddlers for many years and continue to be involved through their music.
Roland volunteered with the search and rescue team with his Piper Cherokee 6 plane for 20 years, aiding people who were in distress or imminent danger.
Roland and Edna concluded by saying, "During the past 50 years life has been good to us. Life in general is not always an easy road but with compromises along the way you can smooth out the bumps. We have had a lot of fun, we are social people and we are not afraid to get involved.
"Life is pretty short when you think about it and we often compare it to the six-foot spruce tree we planted in our front yard. The tree is now over 40 feet tall and has a history all of its own; it has a bend in it from being knocked into by a Cat but it continued to grow. After a while we just did not notice how fast it grew and how fast time went by. Now we look at the tree and count our blessings and try to live every day to its fullest. Just enjoy your life, your good health, your friends and your family because nothing else matters."
