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I retired 35 years ago at age 65. Whom am I ? |
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I retired 35 years ago at age 65. Whom am I ? |
By Marie-Pierre Tremblay
May, 2000
I really liked working at the National Film Board because I had a lot of fun there. The memory is vivid, the words precise, the voice confident. Then she was in the middle of her life. Now she is a bit over 100 years old. Her name is Marie-Jeanne Dolbec-Stanton. Jeannine Hopfinger and I went to see her on a fine May afternoon at Manoir Outremont.
Jeannine reminds her of their first meeting in the Cafeteria. That was in 1958. I remember it very well, says Madame Stanton. I was in Research and Statistics. I was working with Raymond Morissette, a fine fellow, a lovely man. And the top man was Roberge. Names surface : Gertrude Leblanc, Agnes MacFarlane, Bruce Pilgrim, Bill Gallant... and Jacqueline Mineau from Personnel.Jacqueline still telephones me every Sunday. At the NFB, we were a close-knit group. I will never forget that lady with the little dog she adored. When he died, she took the day off to bury him. We had a plaque made in his memory. I forget her name.
Madame Stanton has much to tell us: In the 1960s, everyone was taking language courses. So I signed up for English courses given by the NFB. But they told me I didn�t need them. She went on to learn Spanish on her own, which came in very handy on her many trips to places like Spain and Panama. Now almost blind, she recalls Parrot Island with pleasure. Marie-Jeanne started working at age 14 and bore 14 children. I�ve had a very wonderful life and have lots of friends, she says. Full of laughter, cheerful, even impish, she reviews the contents of her bar while telling us what she tells her son: Yes, it�s well stocked, but just let me decide! And a little more seriously, she adds : I used to invite people to eat here; nowadays I take them to the restaurant. I used to have soup; now they call it potage. Things never stop changing. Anyway, the most important thing is our health and I am very lucky: my health is excellent!
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Our thanks to Marie FitzGerald-Nycz, who gave us the lead on Madame Stanton.
