Kathy Cline-Gardner Haynes, the daughter of a war bride, was born in Leeds, England in 1941. She was born right in the middle of the Second World War and arrived in Canada when she was only five years old.
Kathy said, "My first memories are that something called 'the war' was now over and we were moving to a place called Canada and that we would get there on a big ship called the Queen Mary. My brothers Tony, Denis, Keith and I were quite excited about the trip; my brother Bob was to young to understand any of it.
"We landed at Pier 21 in Halifax on July 4, 1946. I still remember the sea of faces that greeted us in the harbor. The whole ship was full of war brides and their children and my mother was one of them. She married my stepfather Malcolm Cline who was in the Royal Canadian Air Force. We were headed to his hometown of Zelma, Sask. and a huge farm out in the middle of the prairies. All I remember is all the grasshoppers and there were millions of them."
When Kathy's stepfather got out of the air force in 1947, the family headed to the Peace River to homestead 160 acres in the East Pine area in a place called Lone Prairie. Lone Prairie had some pretty primitive access from Jake's Landing, which was a place where the Murry River joins the Pine River but that is another story.
Once they left East Pine, they had to follow a trail through the bush, travel over a mountain and then down the other side for 22 miles to reach their homestead in Lone Pine.
Most homesteads at that time were 160 acres of isolated and undeveloped land that was granted to veterans to work into a farm. Improvements such as a house, out buildings, corrals and cleared fields with crops had to be made over five years in order to earn a title to the land.
Kathy said: "We were so isolated that as a child I was told that Santa Clause got lost so there would be no Christmas presents and that as well is another story.
"It was an extremely hard time but we all appreciated the fact that this life was better than the war we experienced in England. Five years later, in 1952, when the Hart Highway opened we drove the 15 hour trip from Chetwynd through the Pine Pass with all of our belongings in a truck owned by a friend and we moved into Prince George.
"We moved into a small 12x24 cabin on the corner of Johnson and Eight Avenue. We were still living in the bush except for an old army barracks which is now Second Avenue. There was no such thing as Spruceland and the only home in the area belonged to the Alex Moffat family on Kelly Street."
Kathy attended the Harper and Central Fort George School,which was located behind the Fort George Baptist Church, King George V and Duchess Park and finally graduated from Prince George senior secondary in 1960. Kathy said, "I can boast as being one of the students in the very first PGSS graduation class."
After graduation, Kathy worked for the next two years as a seasonal worker at Roses' Ice Cream Plant on Second Avenue where the parkade is now located.
She married Bruce Gardner in 1962; they had three children and separated in 1977.
Over the years, Kathy worked at the brewery and the Red Rock Nursery.
She eventually went to work for Lakeland Mills and worked in industrial first aid and served as the plant chairman as a liaison between the union and the company. She was part of the team that won the Canada Award of Excellence for labor management relations and was selected to fly to Toronto to represent the Lakeland Mills crew.
After being diagnosed with arterial sclerosis, a medical condition that causes body tissue or organs to become hardened, she went on long-term disability.
In 1991, Kathy married Bob Haynes but sadly he passed away in 2001.
Kathy has volunteered with the Prince George Elks Lodge #122 serving as the secretary treasurer for over ten years. She is involved with a local senior centre and is always willing to volunteer as needed.
Over the years, Kathy successfully coached grade seven girls in softball, track and field and gymnastics.
She is a past president of the Navy League Cadets.
Kathy concluded by saying, "I have had a very interesting life and I have met many great people. In 2016, I attended a 70-year war brides reunion, at Pier 21, as a child of a war bride. Most of the war brides arrived in Canada in 1946; there are still approximately 130 surviving war brides who are now in their 80s and 90s and 30 of them attended the reunion. It was so much fun and I am glad that I was able to attend the event.
"I have always tried to pick out the beautiful things in life and to stay positive. There is always some good in everyone; we just have to see it. Right now I have to deal with some medical issues but it won't be long until I can travel and get back to my volunteer work."
