May 31, 1980

ae

livin

women e t.v. listings e real estate

SECTION

Tel. 985-2131

FINALLY PART OF THE TEAM

j (OUES

aa

A woman among all the guys

By CHRIS LLOYD

It's taken her almost
five months of
determination but 19-
year-old Beth Reid
thinks she's finally
considered a member
of the North and West
Vancouver Emergency
Program.

The mountain rescues of

the off-duty firemen = and
other volunteer members
have virtually) placed = the

guys ino the hero league
where integration might
appear formidable to
anvone

But for a woman who

happens to be just oft 41

tall and

weighs a mere TES

poounds can be

acceptance
more than pust ac halbenpe

bvery luesday and

several

Salutdays since last

December. Beth has gone
along for lectures and
training sessions ain’ North
Van with the group and
found she was virtually
ignored

What clinched at for her

was when a hiker got lost on
Black Mountain tn West
Vancouver the week before
last and she finally had a
chance to yon the team in an
emergency situahon
than just a practice

rather

PROVING HERSELF

It was her first opportunity
to prove she has the stamina
and staying power to take it
in the mountains as well as

the men without them
making atv allowances for
het

In fact they made a point

of not omaking any con

cessions for her motlesen by

moderating Ube language

Beth finds the attitude
understandable and accepts
that df part of the
rescue team she has to
Operate on exactly the same
terms aseveryone else

And by the end of the
search she commented “1
feel like Im getting more
accepted At first 1
totally ignored IT guess they
didn't know if } was going to
be able to keep up and stand
upto them

shes

was

“They didn't want to have
to pull their weight and half
of mine There 1s the
carrying of the equipment
and up all night,
carrying overnight gear. a
sleeping bag and stove as
wellas hot tea and food ~

staying

After the search was over
and the lost hiker was safely
off the mountain catching
some much needed sleep at
the teams rescue truck base

headquarters Beth

found

herself being included in the
conversation as other
members in the search crew
gathered around to talk
about the rescue

As North Vancouver
Distnet firefighter Bert Batt
summed up “1 lke the way

She works She's one of the

team
Hes ino favor of women
being on the team once he

feels confident, as with any
new member, that they can
look after themselves

Beth is not the first woman
on the rescue team In fact
Batts own wife used to be
among the rescue crew and
is Likely to reyorn the team

again soon

Beth already

had a yoo
background oon preparation
for the work before she
started A member of the

CONTINUED ON PAGE C3

atch holidays with your interests: Page C6

Happy
Mother’s

Day

ITS A SPECIAL day
for Mom and little
Rahul and Aparna give
their Mom, Anne Ray
some flowers. The
NEWS joins in with
everyone else’ in
wishing all Moms
everywhere avery
happy Mothers Day.
With so many lovely
places to visit on the
North Shore, perhaps it
would be appropriate
to take Mom for a
Sunday outing.
(Elsworth Dickson
photo)

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