The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Gladys Olson was born in Fargo, North Dakota in 1911. Her dad worked there as a carpenter. Gladys completed her high school in Fargo and then the family moved to a small town called Nora, Saskatchewan, (near Wadena) where her dad bought a farm. Gladys was the eldest of nine children. "They were hard times and bad times!"Gladys said. Gladys was very interested in art even as a young girl. She took art in school and especially enjoyed working in the mediums of acrylic and pastels. However as she said, "a person just couldn't make a living at it in those days, so I did house keeping." Gladys met and later married Glen Nomeland and they came to Flin Flon in 1940 when Glen got a job with Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting working underground. "When we first came we lived in several small apartments till we bought our home on 69 Channing Drive in the late 40s and I have lived there ever since," Gladys said. Gladys and Glen raised two kids, their son Darryl who lives with his mom and has retired from the City of Flin Flon and their daughter Sherry who lives in Grand Prairie, Alberta, is married and has three children. (The three grandchildren are all married and together Gladys has seven great grandchildren.) See 'Changes' P.# Con't from P.# Gladys started out in Flin Flon as a housewife and later a mother. She has seen many changes in Flin Flon. She said that in the early years, people socialized a lot more. They'd even spend Christmas Day with their neighbors. Gladys especially remembers her neighbors the Menzies and the Quickfalls. The families visited back and forth, playing cards and just enjoying each other's company. Both of Gladys' children went to school at Ross Lake School where they had Mr. McLennan as their principal. Once the kids got bigger, Gladys resumed her first love of painting. She took some art classes and laughs, "the only ones left are Noreen Watson and myself. All the rest have passed on or moved away!" See 'Old' P.# Con't from P.# They used to have their art classes upstairs of the old Town Hall that was on the corner of Main Street and Third Avenue, where the Flin Flon Bakery is now. When asked if she ever thought of teaching, she just laughs, "Well I took over a class one night for someone, but if someone asks me what to do, I'll help them to the best of my ability." Gladys has many of her pieces of art work in her home. "I like to paint Indian Faces, but I am shaky, I'm old you know!" The Flin Flon Arts Council put on a special showing of Gladys' work about two years ago. "I think it was well received," she said. Then she lights up, "You don't need to mention this," she smiles, "but you know, they had an art show in The Pas just recently, and I sent down a couple of pictures. Well I just got a phone call today (Friday, May 14) telling me I won! I was so happy, I was just floating! Imagine me with my shaky hands, winning!" Then she smiles again, "I just turned 93 you know!" What a pleasant and talented lady to talk to. Thanks for sharing with us Gladys.
