Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, March 2019
A Historical Moment: In Her Own Right
This picture, taken in
1980, marks an interesting
moment in Camosun’s
history. The people in the
photo came together to
write and publish a book
of essays about BC
women entitled In Her
Own Right. This was an
early and significant book
about women in BC. It
was followed in 1984 by
another book, Not Just Pin
Money: A History of
Women’s Work in BC.
Back Row: Kerm Carlson; Dale Mosher; Nora Lupton
Dryburgh; Tamera Adilman
Middle Row:Robin Drader; Rob Pazdro; Diane Crossley;
Front Row: Cathy Kess; Barb Latham; Val Mieras
Nora Lupton Dryburgh:
Enjoying an Unexpectedly Long Retirement
Editor’s Note: Nora Lupton Dryburgh came to Camosun in 1980.
Wilna Thomas, who looms large in the college’s history, had
persuaded Nora to leave Ontario to develop a new Early
Childhood Education program at the college. Nora became very
active in the college as well as the Victoria community during her
nine years at Camosun. She appears in the photo (above) with
the group who developed the book In Her Own Right. Nora
contributed an essay on the Bishop Cridge Centre.
When approached to be the featured CCARE member for this
issue of the newsletter, Nora, who turns 93 this month, was
delighted to share some of the highlights of her long retirement
(30 years and counting!). The following are her recollections.
Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, March 2019
At 62, I retired from Camosun College. I’d loved my
job in Early Childhood Education, but I expected to fall
victim to a shortened life like others in my family. Now,
here I am at 93 depleting the Pension Fund and still
enjoying life.
So, what have I been doing with myself these past 30
years?
After retirement, I moved from Victoria to Vancouver,
where I found a small condo in the East End. It had a
nearby bus stop, a view of the port of Vancouver, and
no rules against pets. I didn’t have to conceal Oona,
my beloved cat who is now, alas, no longer with us.
For several years, I volunteered at the local school,
reading stories and talking with children in the primary
grades. Many of the children had English as a second
Nora
language. I gave up this activity when the children
began to tell me that reading was a waste of time!
I did a bit of traveling early, inspired by the two wonderful opportunities Camosun gave
me to visit childcare facilities in the Soviet Union and in Scandinavia. In retirement, I’ve
returned to Scandinavia and visited Prague and Budapest at the time when their world
had collapsed. Women and children, at least in ordinary families, lost a lot in the great
sell-off. I’ve also done some house and cat sitting in New York City, San Francisco and
Toronto. I still go to Victoria, California and Toronto, but so far I’ve said no to a friend
who wants me to go to Paris - too many stairs and long walks in the subway stations.
En route to extreme old age, in 1999, a
slightly older friend, Diana, and I set off
on an adventure which fitted our
convictions and proved interesting.
Very early one morning we boarded a
special bus bound for the huge
demonstration, known as the Battle of
Seattle. Diana was nearly blind so this
was a great coup: participating in the
November protests in Seattle at the
World Trade Organization meeting. In
Scene from the Battle of Seattle demonstrations
Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, March 2019
fact there was no battle, although Seattle was in lockdown - no coffee shops or
washrooms to greet the weary. People kept hugging Diana and me. We thought it odd
but presumed it was tribute to our elegance until their remarks proved that it was
because we were so old.
Diana and I went to the Vancouver Film Festival every year, eating our sandwiches as
we raced from one theatre to the next. In winter, we attended the Quartets music series
and theatre productions. Alas, one day Diana felt very poorly and finally agreed to go to
the hospital, although she was clear that she wouldn’t stay the night. She died at 3:00
p.m., her best friend and her son at her bedside.
I liked my apartment in the East End but, at the age of 80, a near car accident made me
realize that I needed to give up my driver’s licence. I
moved to Barclay Street in the West End. It’s an
excellent place for walking, with frequent buses, and
all the things an older person requires to stay out of
care. Within three blocks, I have three grocery
stores, movie theatres, and numerous restaurants -
some for fine dining, some just for eating out. It’s an
easy walk to English Bay where there are lots of
benches for sitting to socialize or stare at the horizon
or count boats. All this, and Stanley Park!
I try to take a course at Simon Fraser Downtown
Campus each semester. The last one I took was on
Artificial Intelligence. The lecturer was excellent and
the content broadened my perspective beyond what
I thought possible. It hasn’t made me cheerier!
I spend considerable time on buses observing
people packed together, silently communing with Nora
their cell phones. Even pre-verbal infants know how
to enlarge the pictures on the screens, and show their indignation at parental
interference. I’ll never catch up, and no one seems impressed with my cursive writing.
I’ve always considered turning the pages of a book as the perfect exercise, but these
days I get myself over to the Community Centre where I attend classes with names like
STEADY FEET and YOGA FOR WRECKS. Others are more adept than I at this kind of
exercise, but I am the oldest. That has prestige.
I have good times with a friend I’ve known since she was 13 and I was 17. She still
drives, though no longer on adventures as she used to. In fact she says 2019 is her
Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, March 2019
last driving year. Once we went all the way to the Alaskan border. It was guarded by a
very small uniformed woman. She was armed but very friendly. I think she was happy
to see two old women after a constant stream of young men. This was long before Mr.
ETrump. I wonder whether he knows about the
border in the Great White North, vulnerable to
Illegals from Canada who believe in socialist
Medicare?
For awhile I enjoyed drawing pieces from my
collection of Gouda pottery. At first, I drew a lot but
somehow I got distracted for a decade. It’s
something I plan to return to. Here comes the
Renaissance!
In closing, I do not have much useful advice for
retirement beyond saying to pay attention to your
health and remember what you wanted to do and do
it now before you forget.
Thank you and best wishes to the few Camosun
people who remember me, as well as to the many
who do not
Examples of Nora’s Gouda pottery
