Bobby Hutchinson-Elk Valley’s Best Kept Secret May 28, 2010
Posted by admin in : News , add a comment“I was sixty-one, twice divorced. My house in Vancouver had a respectable west side address, a terrifying mortgage and three empty rooms upstairs. My only saleable talent was writing steamy romance novels, I was far too old for prostitution, the only other job I could think of which might net enough to pay the mortgage”.
Bobby Hutchinson
With this introduction Bobby begins her latest book a memoir titled “Blue Collar B&B, Adventures in Hospitality”. Bobby enters the room wearing a black ensemble that shows off a youthful slim figure and plays off perfectly against short white hair. She looks stunning and I tell her so. “I’m seventy this July 29. I’m excited about being seventy. I feel better; I feel every bit as good as when I was in my twenties. Then I was pregnant and raising little kids, this is the time of life to enjoy being free.
Age is a state of mind. It’s important to challenge yourself, especially as women we’re going to be more capable and functional as we age. The major part of our job is done when we turn sixty. But we have many more years ahead of us. Twenty or thirty to accomplish what we want. This is a time of wonderful opportunity. Challenge yourself to write, anyone can write, writing stimulates, grandparents should keep journals because grandkids want to know about what the grandparents’ lives were like, they want to know the personal, like how was it to date in the forties? They want to know intimate details, if they wrote this down it would be a great gift for the grandkids. Writing is good for co-ordination as well. I want to finish my last book on the last day”. I believe her; more than likely she will be at her desk writing as the last chapter of her own life winds down.
Bobby is articulate and expressive. Not surprising for a woman who has fifty-six published books. Fifty-five of which are Harlequin super-romances and one a biography. She’s currently working on six more. I ask if she gets characters confused when writing six stories simultaneously. Looking me straight in the eye she asks back, “Do you confuse the people you interview? Of course not, I respond immediately understanding her point. She elaborates by saying that all the characters have such diverse personalities that there’s no way she forgets who they are regardless of which story she’s working on.
Bobby is one of the Elk Valley’s best kept secrets. She keeps a low profile keeping busy operating her bed and breakfast and writing novels because although she could bask in past accomplishments she’s a high achiever that doesn’t believe that a number needs to determine the way you live life. She left Sparwood at a young age but never forgot her roots. The Rothel name is well known in the Valley, her grandparents emigrated from Scotland in 1898. They had eight children of which Bobby’s father was one. She was born in the house her parent’s built and where her sister Karen and brother Ole were also born. First son Dan was born in Sparwood and all three sons spent their summers here with her parents. “My family’s roots go as deep in this valley as the seams of coal in the mountains. My father lived his entire adult life in the house he and my mother built, a thousand meter from his parent’s house where he was born”, says Bobby. Both her sister and brother married locals, their children settled here as did numerous cousins and two of her sons. She never imagined that she would ever return to live permanently in Sparwood until she spotted a white house with a red barn along the river. That vision caused her to realize how much she missed home and she decided then and there to sell her house in Vancouver and move back. The decision was met with resistance but a friend told her to “trust the insistent voice deep inside urging me”.
That was five years ago. “I feel blessed, the B&B attracts interesting people, they usually teach me something I need to learn, whether positive or negative, every single person that comes into my life is there to teach me, each relationship is an assignment and I look at what I need to learn. I don’t worry about being busy or not, whoever is meant to come will come. Whatever is happening now is right for you, I used to be more uptight but age has taught me to let go, I understand the present is important, everything else is anticipation or memory. It’s a relaxing way to live life, it’s wasted energy to live in the past, we can’t change the past, How’s being angry or upset going to change others, we can only change ourselves.”
About her white hair “at age 19 I dyed it because it went white but when I ran the marathon at age forty I stopped dying it”. American society is very cruel to older women but Hollywood is changing, actress Susan Sarandon has just married someone 23 years younger”. I stare at her unlined face with its high cheekbones and hazel eyes and comment. “My mom always said the Rothels don’t look their age. But why do we consider it a compliment when we are told we look younger than we are, society has such expectations. There is so much a sense of ourselves in how we look, for a woman especially, it hampers our freedom”.
Bobby has lived through two abusive marriages, her oldest son Dan was born deaf but last year he had a cochlear implant and so now he can hear sound. “He was profoundly deaf without it, now in conversation he speaks softer and annunciates words better, the family still signs but he speaks. He picks up so much sound that he says there is too much noise”. His peace has been shattered I comment and she concurs, a world of noise after years of quiet is mind blowing. Danny is now working as a carpenter in Sparwood, “he did all the renovations at the B&B” she says with pride in her voice. Her son Rob works at the mine in Sparwood and son Danny is a fireman in Vancouver. For some time Bobby had three deaf chidren in her home as two of her second husband’s children were also deaf, the whole family learned to sign she says. She’s content but constantly keeps seeking, “looking for knowledge, growth gets stuck sometimes but you must keep open to new technology, new music.”
I have spent the better part of the day speaking with Bobby, the time has flown quickly. Her quick humor and wisdom makes conversation a pleasure. Her directness and honesty is as evident in person as it is in her autobiography which is available at Amazon or by contacting her personally.
Emily Brydon Day May 13, 2010
Posted by admin in : News , add a commentAs one of the organizers of the Emily Brydon Day I worried about the weather, would it rain or snow the way it did last week?
Would people turn out for the event? Could we get all the details accomplished in just a couple of weeks?
I didn’t need to worry, the committee comprising of Mike Delich, Patty Wortley, Karen Pepper, Jocelyn Sombrowski, Cindy Corrigan, Sharon Switzer, Shawn Ivany, Allan Knibbs, Krista Turcasso and myself met three times and cemented plans. Each person had several jobs to do and in a couple of weeks a celebration was organized that included a parade with pipers, kids carrying flags, large puppets, RCMP in red serge, police car and Studebaker fire truck carrying the guest of honour Emily Brydon, her mom Rosemary and Mayor Corrigan.
The parade wound its way through Victoria Avenue down Ninth Street to end up at the Community Center where presentations took place.
The Center had been decorated with Canadian flags and numerous posters of Emily. Eight colourful bibs were on display on the walls as were red Olympic mittens and flags made by Fernie Secondary and Isabella Dicken school kids. A table was set up so that Emily could sign the postcards made up especially for this occasion. Behind the signing table hung replicas of bronze, silver and gold medals made by Fernie Academy. The building was packed to capacity with people of all ages.
Kevnin Gifner was MC and did a great job guiding the program that began with young Ocean Wells singing O’ Canada and a presentation of fresh flower bouquet by Hallie McLaughlin representing the youth of Fernie. Mayor Corrigan presented a plaque and key to the City and announced that Emily will be on the Wall of Fame and that the Annex Trail will now be known as the Emily Brydon Trail.
Andy Cohen of RCR presented Emily with a sign showing that Spruce Run has been renamed to “Emily’s”.
MP Jim Abbot and MLA Bill Bennett sent letters of Congratulations and expressed their regret at not being able to attend.
Max Gartner Director of Operations for Alpine Canada spoke on behalf of the ski team saying Emily will be missed but she will always have a special place with the group. Other speakers were present to sing high praises to Fernie’s three times Olympiad including Dr. Rod Geddes on behalf of the Fernie Ski Team.
As well a video about Emily was shown; the Community Choir sang “We are the Champions and Oh Happy Day” and popular band Shred Kelly entertained. This Band has shot up quickly on the music scene and was one of the groups chosen to entertain during the Olympics in Vancouver.
It turned out to be a glorious sunny day, perfect for the parade, people came for the presentations, enjoyed the music and the barbeque with proceeds going to the Emily Brydon Foundation.
An emotional Emily took the stage to thank all of the people who have helped in her career as well as her many friends and supporters. She was clearly overwhelmed by the show of support by the people of the place she still calls home. She said she never thought she would be able to compete with those skiiers from places like Whistler but she skied just because “I loved it so much”.
The community loves you, I said to Emily, instantly she replied “I love them right back”, there is no doubt she certainly does. As everyone commented Emily has remained humble, she is an international star but is still a kind and thoughtful young woman but most of all she has never forgotten her roots. Our community knows this and that’s why they came to celebrate her success.
Of course no event would be successful without the help of all the great volunteers that we have in our town, there are too many to mention individually but some certainly need to be recognized, Fernie Firefighters, Bernie Pulsifer, Roy McLean, RCMP, Claris Media, Grant Laird, Neil McDermid, Gert Miller, Fernie Overwaitea, City of Fernie, Rosemary Brydon, the organizing committee. To everyone that helped make this day successful thank you so much, you are the heart of community, the spirit of Fernie.