“Betty Campbell: is‘an avid gu

-. dener, a swimmer, a: golfer, an

-. active member of the . Terrace’:

. . Beautification Society. and- the

.), Tegional coordinator of: the Heart
_ + ‘and Stroke Foundation of B.C.

. After a 32-year career a3 a nurse |

in Terrace, Betty Campbell retired

from Mills Memorial Hospital in
1987, But she hasn’t slowed down.
With eight years as president of
the Terrace unit of the B.C. Heart
Foundation, she was offered the
position of regional coordinator the
moment she retired.

Betty began her career as a gen-
eral duty nurse in Terrace in
March 1954 at the old army hos-
pital (now the Flynn Apartments).

‘She went on to become day super-

visor and subsequently recovery
room, emergency and operating
room (OR) nurse. "I loved the
drama of the OR," exclaims Betty.

She spent the last six of her 16

years in the OR as head nurse. For
the last seven years of her nursing
career, she was infections control
coordinator at Mills.

"When I became an infections
control. coordinator, I practically
flipped my wig,” claims Betty. She
remembered the early days at the
hospital when there was no such
thing as air conditioning — so

- they had open windows in the

operating room! She also remem-
bers that there were very few
antibiotics in 1954 — only penicil-
lin and sulpha drugs — so infec-
tions were rampant, despite safe-
guards. =

B16 Terrace Review — Wednesday, February 20, 1991

Who is... Betty Campbell? —

e by Betty Barton

Betty Campbell grew up in
. Newcastie, New South Wales,
Australia. She left there at age 18
to begin a nursing career at Royal
Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.

‘The war broke out and she

remained on at the hospital as

_ charge sister. Betty reminisces that

she had always planned to travel.
She put her name down at the P &
O shipping office and said to the
purser, "Once we win this war,
I’m going travelling." He ques-
tioned, "How do you know we're
going to win?" She replied, "We
have to. I’m going travelling!"
Two and a half years later, he

. phoned and said she could leave in

10 days.

Betty had planned to study
maternity nursing in England, but
got only as far as Ottawa when her
mother died. Because she couldn’t
afford to go home, she applied for
nursing positions as far west as
possible to reduce the cost of
travel. She finally took a job at the
TB clinic at Miller Bay near
Prince Rupert and they paid the
way.

Shortly after her arrival, Betty
met Jock Campbell and they were
married three weeks later. Jock
was in logging, working on the
Queen Charlotte Islands. Betty was
27 and Jock was 31 when they
met. It was 1949 and Betty had
holidays scheduled, so they
decided to make it a honeymoon.
Her family was aghast, but Betty
knew she’d made the right deci-
sion, They agreed with her once
they met Jock on one of their
several trips to Australia. Betty

still has a sister, brother-in-law and
several nieces and nephews in
Australia.

The Campbells first lived is
Juskatla on the Queen Charlotte
Islands and moved to Prince
Rupert in 1950. That first winter
they spent in the Khutzymateen,
with their eldest daughter Susan, a
baby at the time. Although they
were promised monthly supplies,
they received provisions only twice
that winter by airplane. The second
food drop was lost when it was
misdirected onto ice too thin to
carry its weight, "It was quite an
eye-opener," says Betty, "coming
from Australia.” From then on,
they spent only their summers in
the Khutzymateen, with four other
families, in houses built on skids.

They moved to Terrace in 1953
and second daughter Leslie was
born in the old army hospital. In
1958, the whole family packed up
and moved back to Australia. After
18 months, they decided to return
to Terrace.

Over the years, Betty Campbell
kept active with her full-time job,
three boarders for 10 years, three-
quarters of an acre of land (much
of it garden), a home on Molitor
Street, two daughters and a hus-
band. She says, "I got good genes
from my father. I’m a survivor."
Betty’s father was a university
professor until age 80.

But Betty’s many relatives and
her husband, Jock, had heart prob-
lems. Jock had by-pass surgery the
year before he died in 1989,

almost 17 years after he was diag-

nosed with the problem. Because

Betty Campbell: It was quite an eye-opener, coming from
Australia.

of her personal involvement with She works for Dr. Paul Clarke as
the disease and her nursing train- his booking nurse and she does
ing, it was a natural for Betty to food demonstrations at Safeway on
become president and later, many weekends. "I sometimes
regional coordinator of the B.C. have to take off my ‘Heart Hat’
Heartand Stroke Foundation. Betty for that job," explains Betty. She
has a contract with the Foundation likes her many jobs because of the
to work 16 hours per week on challenges they offer and "I can do
Heart Foundation coordination and it at my own speed and work when
promotions throughout the region I feel like it."

from the Queen Charlottes to

Houston, Stewart to Kitimat. "We A. few of the highlights of

‘ appreciate the continued support of " Betty’s retirement years to datc?

the people of Terrace. This year, "Winning the gold and silver at the
we hope to get the Heart Smart Seniors’ Games in Vernon in 1987
program off the ground in this jin freestyle and butterfly, and the
area." Beautification Society accom-

homes.

themselves.

spending nights

Terrace — 638-3527

The reasons teenagers come
into care are often as
different as the teenagers

Here is an example:

Marnie is 14 years old and her father is
chronically unemployed. Her parents fight all
the time, and often her dad’s anger and
frustration get directed at Marnie, who is the
eldest child of three... Marnie is very sensitive
and spends a lot of time worrying about things
at home. She is often depressed and has started
with friends
sometimes she is afraid to go home. After
discussing the situation with Marnie, the social
worker met with the family and it was agreed
that Marnie should live in a foster home for a
while so that her parents could receive some
help in resolving their problems.

For more information on fostering teens,

Ee a Poster Parent
There is no one reason why
teenagers need foster

because

Someone to talk to can make a difference.

Kitimat —

contact your local Ministry of Social

632-6134

Services and Housing office, |

plishments. ” Betty is pleased to see
that since its inception the Beauti-
fication Society has spruced up the
City of Terrace with the arena hill
beautification, flower bins, and
persuaded local businesses to con-
tribute their own "spruce up" cam-
paigns. She is also happy to report
that their membership is growing.
"George (Clark) has been the

. driving force behind it,” she
explains.

Betty hopes to fit in more golf
this year. She will take holidays in
July to see "Phantom of the
Opera" in Vancouver. And she is
enjoying her new home at Twin
River Estates.

Dave Parker
M.L.A. for Skeens

635-4215

Cassiar as 778-7227

ee ne eagle HR I