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Golden Moments: Cameron moved to the valley from Manitoba

From the farmlands of Manitoba to the mountains of British Columbia, Margaret Cameron has lived in a variety of landscapes and climates.
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Margaret Cameron moved to Enderby

From the farmlands of Manitoba to the mountains of British Columbia, Margaret Cameron has lived in a variety of landscapes and climates, but has been happy to call Golden her home since the late 1960s.

Cameron was raised on a farm near Brandon in the 1930s. The Great Depression combined with a severe drought meant those years were extremely tough on farmers, but Cameron’s family persevered nonetheless.

“It was really a tough time but on the farm we never really needed a thing. The Lord met all of our needs,” she said. “I was about six years old when the Dry Thirties started and it lasted several years.”

Her childhood spent on the farm was an enjoyable time for Cameron, who was surrounded by a multitude of farm animals and kept busy with a variety of chores and tasks.

“We had everything there was going: cows, horses, pigs, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, we were real farmers,” she said.

“I used to have to heard the cattle out in the ravines where the grass was greener…and I milked cows.”

At the age of 20, her father allowed her to move to Winnipeg.

“I had to grow up and be of age before he would let me go,” Cameron smiled.

In Winnipeg, Cameron worked at a sewing factory for seven years.

This was a good job for her, because one of her priorities was to have weekends off in order to shop.

“We had every Saturday and Sunday off. Saturday was my day to go shopping, I’d go downtown and go through all the stores,” Cameron said.

Winnipeg was also where she met her late husband, George, who had just returned from serving in World War II.

Before her and George were married, Cameron went to see a fortune teller who had some interesting predictions for her future.

“This one said to me, ‘I see a ring for you and when you marry, you’ll marry out of the province,’…I thought ‘that’s a lot of hogwash, I’m not leaving Winnipeg!’” Cameron recalled.

The predictions came to be when Cameron moved west with George to Enderby, where they married and started a family.

George’s job in the logging industry eventually brought the couple to Donald, and the family lived there until they made the move to Golden.

It was a welcome change for Cameron as Golden had a lot more to offer than Donald.

Just under two years ago, Cameron moved into Abbeyfield House after George passed away and has enjoyed her time in the assisted living facility.

“It’s a very nice place to live, but you have to be able to get along by yourself. You have to be healthy enough to come and go to the dining area on your own,” she said.

Cameron’s faith continues to be an important aspect of her life, and she continues to be a regularl member of the congregation at the Golden Pentecostal Tabernacle.

“Most of my relationships are with my church people…they’re my close friends…(many) that I’ve known for 20 years or more,” she said.

There’s little around here that resembles the prairies of Manitoba, but it is easy to see that Cameron is more than happy that her fortune teller’s predictions rang true.