Interview with Ponnie Wilmot
https://search.bvmuseum.org/link/descriptions12297
- Date Range
- April 24, 1991
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- GMD
- sound recording
- electronic record
- Scope and Content
- Interview with Pauline 'Ponnie' Wilmot (nee Marshall) recorded by Mica Morris as part of the 1991 Alternate School students' series. Includes raw and edited .WAV files, .MP3 access file, and a .jpg release form.
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- Creator
- Mica Morris
- Fonds No.
- C5
- Item No.
- 2021.21.76
- Accession No.
- 2021.21
- Physical Description
- 810 MB of digital records
- Date Range
- April 24, 1991
- Scope and Content
- Interview with Pauline 'Ponnie' Wilmot (nee Marshall) recorded by Mica Morris as part of the 1991 Alternate School students' series. Includes raw and edited .WAV files, .MP3 access file, and a .jpg release form.
- Type of Record
- Archival Description
Audio Tracks
Interview with Ponnie Wilmot - April 24, 1991
Interview with Ponnie Wilmot - April 24, 1991
https://search.bvmuseum.org/media/Digital%20Fonds%20and%20Collections/C5%20BVM%20Oral%20History%20collection/2021.21.76_Wilmot,%20Ponnie/Wilmot,%20Ponnie%201991_04_24.ACCESS.mp3
Ponnie Wilmot discusses how and why she moved to Smithers in her 40s and briefly describes how the town has changed since then.
Terrace; Usk
changes; coming to Smithers; population growth; town growth
Wilmot discusses her education and childhood/teen years in Eastern Canada. Topics include: attending convent schools; wages and prices during the Depression; growing up as an English Protestant in a French Catholic community; aspects of teen life such as dating, recreation, and drinking; and being an only child until her early teens.
babysitting; biking; bilingualism; Catholic school; convent school; dating; discipline; drinking; English Protestants; French Catholics; graduation; Great Depression; mischief; missing school; money; Ontario; pranks; prices; punishment; Quebec; religion; siblings; skating; switching schools; wages
childhood; education; family life; recreation; school; youth
Wilmot relates how and why she and her family moved from Quebec to Prince Rupert after the Second World War.
extended care; Nora Arnold; Phil Linzey; Phyllis Mooney; population; Yamachiche, Quebec
moving; nursing; Prince Rupert
Wilmot discusses what she and her future husband Ken did during the War years - he worked as a radio operator for the Canadian Marconi Company while she trained as a nurse cadet in Denver, Colorado.
Canadian Marconi Company; dating; Denver, Colorado; nurse cadets; nurses' training; radio operator; soldiers; telegraphs
Ken Wilmot; war effort; World War II
Wilmot discusses women who came to the Smithers area to nurse and ended up marrying local men.
Benny Collison; Beth Davidson; Eva Headley; Jim Davidson
marriage; nursing
Wilmot discusses her nursing career and the volunteer work she does for the hospital in her retirement.
antibiotics; candy stripers; death; dying; Hawaii; Mr. Middleton; pediatrics; penicillin; volunteering
changes; health care; hospital auxiliary; hospital work; medical care; nursing
Wilmot discusses the modes of transportation she has used throughout her lifetime, from her family's old Model T Ford to a trip across Canada by car, rail, and boat.
driving; horse and buggy; Model A Ford; Model T Ford; rumble seat; snowshoeing; vehicles
cars; trains; transportation
Wilmot relates stories of Smithers' early days, told to her by Muriel Fowler (wife of A.C. 'Fred' Fowler). Also includes brief discussion of the interviewer's grandmother, Kitty Morris.
anecdotes; horse; tent; well
Fred Fowler; Kitty Morris; Muriel Fowler; pioneers; Smithers history
Wilmot discusses the changes that have been made in Smithers since her arrival in the late 1960s, such as the paving of roads, the construction of new buildings, new requirements for drivers, and increased rules and regulations in the hospital. Includes a story about delivering triplets in Prince Rupert.
births; bureaucracy; Central Park Building; driver's license; Government Building; motorcycle; paving; slack road; triplets
changes; delivering babies; driving; Smithers
Wilmot discusses working with the Sisters of Saint Anne at the Bulkley Valley District Hospital.
Sister Serena
hospital; nuns; Sisters of Saint Anne
Wilmot discusses how her children and grandchildren have all chosen to stay in the Bulkley Valley, and credits the close-knit nature of the community with keeping people in Smithers.
Anglican Church; Bulkley Lodge
Bulkley Valley; community; family; grandchildren
Discussion of Wilmot's local news column,
Interior News; news column; Ponnie Wilmot Notes