Tea With Bea
Monday, February 27, 2012 @ 5:10 AM
Spending time with a local gem, Bea Dezell, as BC Heritage Week ends
Prince George, BC – At 102 years of age, long-time city resident, Bea Dezell, says, "It’s been an interesting life and kind of fun, too."
She laughs often as she recalls some of her personal tales of adventure as a pioneer in this region. Bea and her husband, Garvin, moved to the Cariboo in 1932, eventually settling in Prince George in 1946. Their family history is interwoven with that of the city – Garvin Dezell served several terms as Prince George Mayor; her son, Cliff, was a city councillor for many years and has volunteered on numerous boards; her daughter, Noreen Rustad, is a long-serving volunteer with many local organizations and a steadfast community booster.
As part of the Prince George Public Library’s efforts to commemorate BC Heritage Week, 250 News was given the wonderful opportunity to have tea with Bea, discuss her love of books and reading, and chat about some of her adventures.
For 40-years, Bea has been enjoying the library’s weekly home service. Once or twice a week, volunteers with the program drop off a selection of audio books at Bea’s home which she listens to on a DAISY reader designed for those with visual impairment.
"I like a good mystery, I like historical novels – I don’t like boring books, stories that don’t come to a point," she says. "I like travel stories, too, because sometimes it’s places I’ve been and it makes it very interesting."
Her life does read like an adventure novel – she remembers travelling down one steep, long hill in the region by horse and buggy and having to cover her little dog’s face with a wet rag to keep the pup from choking and sneezing on the dust. She travelled through the Kootenays with her husband many years ago, through some areas now covered by lakes. A few years after her husband passed away, she took an eight day canoe trip down the Mackenzie River, flying into Inuvik and heading north to Tuktoyaktuk before beginning her journey by water. And also spent time in Europe with her sister-in-law, when a nephew was based overseas with the Armed Forces.
Bea is, in fact, the subject of a book at the library. "An interview with Bea Dezell," by Denise Trick, was a project undertaken by the Prince George Oral History Group in 2004. It’s a transcription and Bea loves that it notes all the spots where she laughed while recounting her experiences.
The lively senior is working with a local writer on her personal history – from horse-drawn buggy to present – and says, "I’ll get laughing about all the crazy things we did."
While the story is still a work in progress, it is a certainty that the history of Prince George will be all the richer through it’s telling.
Comments
What a gem!
A gem for sure. I do wish though that a lot more of the older folks could write their stories or have someone write for them. They have led fascinating lives and their stories are full of historical facts that a lot of younger people have not a clue about.
We can learn a lot from these old people, if we choose to listen to what they have to say.
metalman.
Great story. Thanks!
I sat across from her at the Sunday dinner at the Senior’s on Brunswick a couple of weeks ago. She was very friendly and introduced herself, it was a nice evening. I had no idea she was 102, what a woman!
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