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Olga Osinchuk’s Sense of Humour Shines for 100 Years
Olga Osinchuk’s Sense of Humour Shines for 100 Years
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
Olga is Vegreville’s new Centenarian as she reached this rank on May 14. “I grew up on a farm eight miles south of Mundare where I was the oldest kid of four. Our parents were good to us. There was a 15-year difference between me and my youngest sister. I was like a young mother to her.
My earliest memory is when my parents gave me a birthday party when I was eight when all the neighbours’ children came. We were poor as it was 1932. I have no idea where my father got the money to do this, he must have saved a lot. I think we had a beautiful cake and a case of pop. This was the first time I drank pop.”
When asked how school was, Olga admitted that she liked school and her favorite subject was Math. School was three miles away, and she could ride a horse there, as long as, her father didn’t need to use it in the field. “I had quite a few friends at school but left after I finished Grade Eight.
After she finished school, she helped her father on the farm. “I walked behind the harrow with four horses most of the day. I was expected to assist with some of the chores on the farm. But was still allowed to go and have fun.”
When questioned about how she met her husband. “My parents took me on a holiday to the Hot Springs in Radium, British Columbia. My husband worked for his sister and brother-in-law North of Mundare, and some locals had hired him to drive them to the Hot Springs in Radium. I was from South of Mundare, but we met for the first time that day when he bought me an ice cream cone. After this holiday, we met up in town and he took me on a date. We started seeing each other more often.
After we were married, my husband and I owned this café with his brother-in-law and sister. But times were still tough then and so many things were rationed. It wasn’t a great time to own a café for this reason, we couldn’t even buy sweets or candies to sell there. If someone gave you a package of gum, you wanted to save it. After one year, we sold the farm and started farming.
My husband was good to me. We had a mixed farm and both worked hard. We had six children. Parenting was good for us.
I lived long because I worked hard and found humour in every situation. Then I made time for fun. I belonged to Vegreville Garden Club for 35 years and I bowled. I traveled to Northwest Territories, Kelowna BC, Vancouver BC, Australia, and Fiji. I even put my foot in the water in Newfoundland.
From all this traveling, I discovered that every place was educational but I wouldn’t want to live at any of these places. I was born on the farm. I am a country girl and a gardener at heart.
My advice is to enjoy life; take care of yourself and don’t work too hard. I love my family and they all turned out well.
Today, I feel well except for some pain from having arthritis.”
