Sunday, May 14, 2000 — North Shore News - 23

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_ Nature-lover’ S life sustained by gentle faith

DOROTHY Dobson,
90, advises: “Don’t hurt
anyone’s feelings — be
kind to people.”

This gentle, imaginative,
and active great-grandmother
does just that. A lover of
nature, she has always spent as

much time out of doors as
possible, and still does. A life-
time of appreciating the mira-
cle of nature found Dorothy
tavelling to interesting places
and understanding why nature
can wuly be a spiritual experi-
ence for some people.
Dorothy, shy and an only
child, was brought up to be a
lady from a very early age.
Born in Brampton, Ontario
in 1910, her family moved to
Vancouver when she was five.
Her father rented a large
house in Shaughnessy and her
grandmother lived with them.
When Dorothy was little she
attended the Busy Bee pre-
class, located in a big square
building at Oak and King
Edward streets in Vancouver.

The building is still chere.

“41 remember my father
ig se about being a

: ‘busy little bee,’” laughs
* Dorothy.

eee enjo joyed learnin
iano and ukulele, but ee
ing out in the garden —‘
there, her imagination could —
abound. She recalls watching
the’ Prince’ of Wales laying the

-comier stone of the Prince of
‘Wales van and remembers, .

cading a a big celebration:
Before her high-school’.
» her family built a wood
tent at Spanish
would spend week-

i¢s did the same and the chil-

id play games on thé

sandbar. The families would ©
build huge bonfires, sing .
songs and tell stories. “A

’ friend of our family would play

the trumpet,” recalls Dorothy.

During her early teens, she
was a member of the BHB
Club (Bob Hair Bandits), a
group of about 10 girls. They
would hold monthly meetings,
take day trips, enjoy picnics
and she played her ukulele and
piano for sing-alongs.

When Dorothy w was 17, her
father built for her mother a
large house in Kerrisdale. It
was a beautiful home, and
years Jater when her mother
passed away, her father remar-
ried and gave the home to
Dorothy.

The y years 1926 to 1930
found Dorothy attending
UBC, graduating at age 20

with her B.A. There were only «

1,500 students attendin; the
university on the Point
campus at that time. All chiee
of her own children graduated

from UBE.

Dorothy then attended the
Harradine Business School for
Women."Upon finishing she
got a job with the North
American Life Insurance
Company where she stayed
seven years.

It was through the United
Church’s various youth group
activities that she met her
future husband, George
Dobson. The various groups
would go hiking on day tips
and weekend trips, make bon-
fires on Wreck Beach. It was
just a regular beach in those -
days. They would sit around
the bonfires and sing, and she
would play her ukulele:

Dorothy laughs as she
recalls: “We had good, clean,

cheap fan in those days, and'T.

still have lots of sheet music

from the 1920s, like Yes, We

Have No Bananas”.
‘She and George t became!

UBC Master of Education
~ on Vancouver’s North Shore

This cohort program. . wt

“¢ begins September, 2000
* a Master of Education degree

in Curriculum Studies
* focus on Art Education

* part-time study over three years” ~~
* courses after school or in the evening |

Son Vancouver’ 's North Shore:

close friends and enjoyed hik-
ing and canoeing by them-

See Couple following page

calcium levels in our body? If.
you consume less than 800°
mg of calcium per day and
drink two or more cups of reg
ular coffee, you could be in a
negative calcium balance, You