Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2021

Paula Young: Our Affable Historian

My relationship with Camosun College began in the 1980s
when I enrolled in Thom Bland’s fabulous first year English
Literature course. That led me, at age 34, to quit my full-time
job in order to attend Camosun full-time. My goal was to
become an elementary school teacher specializing in teaching
children with hearing impairment, which meant I had to take
the required Canadian history courses – never my favourite
subject in high school. Margaret Whitehead taught the Pre-
Confederation history class where I learned more about First
Nations, the fur trade and settlement. Clarence Bolt taught
the Post-Confederation history course where I learned to think
in entirely different ways about history. Around the same time,
the provincial government reduced funding for special-ed
teachers so my goal shifted towards obtaining a BA in history.

After completing my two years at Camosun, UVic beckoned

and I completed my BA in 1994 and MA in 1996. Shortly
before defending my thesis on Strathcona Park, Clarence
Paula

Bolt offered me a contract

to teach a European
history course which I
readily accepted. I never
imagined I’d ever work
alongside my favourite
Camosun instructors! I
had the knowledge but I
did not have any teaching
experience. It was
daunting but I struggled
through that term and
loved it. Unfortunately,
contract work teaching
history was not always
available. I also worked
for Vandenberg and
Associates, a firm
specializing in land claim
research for First Nations
in BC. My learning grew
even more and this work
Paula with Andy Bryce on Shakeout day prepared me well for my
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2021

future in the classroom. The work was also flexible, allowing me to pick up the odd
contract at Camosun.

A few years later, around 2000, Margaret retired and I applied for the job and, to my
delight, found myself working with Clarence and Larry Hannant, two of my favourite
instructors. We were quickly joined by Susan Johnston, with whom I co-edited the
history student journal at UVic. Susan and I either shared an office or were across the
hall from each other, for many years. Faculty and students knew they could talk to
either of us whenever we were around. Our history faculty formed a tight-knit group that
expanded to include Chris Morier, or “young Chris” as we called him. I could not have
wished for better colleagues or friends. When my mom died in 2010, they quickly
stepped in. I’ll be forever grateful.

There were so many things about Camosun that I loved and I appreciated being
welcomed into its various communities. Friendships were made everywhere, especially
as I took on extra work with the Faculty Association, sat on hiring committees, and
chaired the Humanities Department. Fellow Arts and Science department chairs were
so supportive and I really appreciated their knowledge and humour. They made those
chair meetings bearable! Involvement with the CCFA was inevitable for me as I was
raised in a family that supported collective rights. I served in a variety of positions on
the executive and was a member of the bargaining team for several rounds of
bargaining.

There were also some very

special times with Sandee
Mitchell, Faye Martin, Janice
Simcoe and Sekwan
Wabasca from the
Indigenous Studies program
and with all those fun people
in Data Management. After
Larry Anthony made me an
honourary biologist, I was
welcomed to the entertaining
lunches in the biology
lunchroom. More than a few
laughs happened when I
had to call on the AV people
– especially Anton Skinner,
Darryl Parkinson and Blake
Handley, to rescue me when
technology (sometimes me)
failed in the classroom.
There were people like this Back row: Anton Skinner and Paul Pitts
everywhere – the Arts & Front row: Lucia Wiewiorowski, Darryl Parkinson, Paul, and Paula
Science office, the printshop, (Lucia, Darryl and Paula attended Vic High together)
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2021

facilities, college safety, HR, faculty

training, the bookstore, the
cafeteria, counselling services,
student services. I remain good
friends with many Camosunites.
We worked hard but had a lot of
fun.

Not surprisingly, the students were

the focus of my world. They made
my teaching career so wonderful.
History is not an easy subject for
many – there are lots of
assignments and it requires
considerable effort to do well.
Students read about, and
discussed, issues they’d never
considered before revealing the
past in ways they had never before
considered. They learned about
First Nations and immigrant
communities, politics, power,
gender, ethnicity and class
relations. I was always so pleased
when students questioned me or
when they had their “ah hah!”
moments. One student followed me
Paula with Dale Mosher
to my office after class, lamenting
that a lot of events in Canadian
history were sure negative. I agreed with him, went in my office, and did a happy
dance. He got it! And he was only one example of students who arrived at Camosun
ready to learn and ready to have their world-views challenged. My door was always
open for them and I supported them in any way I could, whether it meant speaking with
Counselling Services (Chris Balmer and Siobhan Bryce), Financial Aid (Cath Dye),
registration (Tony Nelson), or with the College Ombuds (Carter MacDonald). One of my
proudest achievements was working with my history colleagues to establish, and fund,
the History Faculty Award, given annually to students who excelled in history.

Another favourite moment came in the midst of a seminar in the History of Sport, a
required course for Sport Management students. Not academics, they didn’t always
enjoy themselves. But one day during a seminar I bonded with one of the classes in the
most unexpected way. While students were in small groups throughout the room, a
student at the back fired an empty pop can towards the garbage can at the front of the
room. It passed by, about 4 feet from my head, and landed on the floor. I did not get
mad but turned to the student and said, “I’d have got it in with a left-handed throw.”
Why I said this, I will never know. But they challenged me to do it, and much to
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2021

Paula’s cats
Right: Lola who was found on campus
Above: Pumpkin

everyone’s (and my) surprise, it

landed in the can. Cheers erupted!

In 2010, my husband Randy and I

moved to our new house on Argyle
Avenue, across from the library. Lola,
one of our sweet cats had, years
before, come home with me after she
was found living on campus. When we moved, she and our other kitty, Pumpkin,
followed me to work almost every day. On campus they received a lot of love and many
members of the Camosun community watched out for them. As well, our new home
became the location of the annual Freeze Off ice-cream making contest. The idea came
from a conversation between Jackie Eddy,
Natalie Corbett and myself and very soon it
became an annual event to raise money for
the Camosun Day Care. A group of us
made ice-cream then invited our Camosun
friends to come over, sample and judge the
desserts, and leave a donation. The
daycare kids were treated to free samples!
We also used that house for CCFA

Left: Sampling ice cream in Paula’s

backyard
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2021

Paula with Larry Hannant at their retirement party

activities when the college CUPE members
and the teachers in School District 61 went on
strike, making our own signs to carry when we
walked the lines with our friends.

By 2015 I was tired. Two of my closest friends

passed away long before they could consider
retiring so I gave the college a years’ notice
and retired in 2016 at age 60. I vowed to make
my last teaching year fun and memorable for
myself and my students. I hope I succeeded.

Do I miss teaching? Sometimes, but the

feeling usually passes. I have no idea how I
would have taught these classes on-line during
COVID and thankfully, I don’t have to worry
about it. I truly miss the students and my
friends at the College. I do not, however, miss
the long hours of work and the endless
marking. My decision to retire was made so
much easier when Larry Hannant and I retired together, followed soon after by Clarence
and Susan. We stay in touch and look forward to a dinner together someday soon.

Paula (centre) with Peninsula Singers

 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2021

I love being retired. To keep my activities in check, I committed to only taking on

activities that are joyful. Randy and I moved from Argyle Avenue to the urban side of
North Saanich three months after I retired. I lived in North Saanich in the mid 1990s
and really missed it when we moved away. Not surprisingly, community remains an
important part of my life.

Right: Paula driving the boat

Below: Paula and Randy

I sing with a very fun group of altos in

the Peninsula Singers, exercise with
The Fabulous Over 50 exercise
group, and meet quarterly with
members of the 100 Women Who
Care (Saanich Peninsula) group. To
keep my brain active and to give
back to the community, I serve on the
North Saanich Community
Stewardship Commission and liaise
with the Planning Commission. We’re
currently reviewing the tree preservation bylaw and the Official Community Plan.

But the post-retirement activity that provides me (or at least it did until COVID) with the
greatest joy is volunteering at Sidney Elementary School – it’s as if I’ve come full-circle.
Soon after I moved here, I learned that the then-principal, Tom Vickers, wished to
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, July 2021

establish a reading program but he needed someone to recruit and schedule

volunteers. That became my role and all those volunteers came from the choir, the
exercise group, and my new neighbourhood. Best of all, I spent two hours a week
listening to children in grade two practice reading aloud. It’s fabulous beyond words.
Over the course of the year, I witness their levels of improvement and make new
friends. There is nothing better and I hope we can re-start this program sometime
within the next year. I really miss them!

Retirement, despite the COVID challenges, remains my preferred choice of employment

and it has afforded me the gift of time to do things I like to do. Randy and I own a boat
and we have travelled to Desolation Sound, the Gulf Islands, and Tod Inlet with Lola as
the boat cat. I play golf twice weekly at Cordova Bay and Ardmore, have distanced
coffees with Clarence and Mona, and I make quilts for people I love. I bought a piano
keyboard a year ago and am teaching myself to play. I look forward to resuming
lunches with the
McRae’s gang -
Trudy, Irene,
Steve, Dale, Larry,
Dominic, Susan,
Jackie, Natalie,
and others when
we can.
Meanwhile, I’m
relying on
Facebook, Zoom,
e-mails and phone
calls to stay
connected.

Best wishes to you

all.

The McRae’s gang

Paula in upper left corner
Clockwise around table: Trudy Baird, Natalie Corbett, Jackie Eddy,
Susan Johnston, Dominic Bergeron, Dale Mosher, Larry Anthony