Mary Sidney (Young) Mickey

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
- Mother Teresa

My father, James Sutherland Young, was one of the original settlers in the Rose Prairie area of the North Peace District of B.C., where he opened and operated the post office. He also became a Justice of the Peace.

My mother, Angharad Meirion Roberts, came from England in 1929 to be the first Red Cross nurse at Grand Haven Outpost before there was a doctor or hospital at Fort St. John.

My parents were married on April 21, 1931. They lived at Rose Prairie, B.C., north of Fort St. John, in the North Peace District. After her marriage, my mother continued her midwife duties throughout the district. They had a son, Robert. Then I, Mary Sydney Young, came along on August 15, 1933. They had another daughter named Dorothy.

We grew up on a small mixed farm and walked 1 1/2 miles to a “Little Red School House” where we took grades 1 through 8. I then did a year of grade 9 by correspondence. This was followed by a few years working on the family farm, helping other families at threshing time and herding sheep in the summer. Then it was off to the BIG city of Fort St. John to work for Canadian Pacific Airlines.

When a new Texaco service station opened as Pappy’s Service a friend and I became the first girl gas jockeys in town. I later managed the restaurant that was attached to the service station. That is where I met Tom Mickey who had come from Alberta to work in the oil fields. We were married in 1957 and moved to Dawson Creek, B.C., to a Texaco station for the next three years.

Our first son, Jim, was born at Pouce Coupe, B.C. We then moved up the Alaska Highway to Mile 408 to open and run a Texaco Truck Stop that included a 24-hour restaurant and motel. Our second son, Glenn, was born at Fort. Nelson, B.C, hospital.

Our next move was to Edmonton, Alberta, where Tom began driving a weekly freight truck between Alberta and the Yukon for Alaska Highway Express. Our third son, Michael, was born while we lived in Edmonton. We were there long enough to know that we did not care for city living so when Tom was offered the position managing Gordie’s Trucking at Whitehorse we were on the move again and this time with our own mobile home because housing was scarce.

We arrived in Whitehorse in March of 1966 and bought a lot in Marwell where we parked our trailer and lived for the next twelve years. During this time, we went into business in the transportation industry and I operated the Road Runner Lunch Bar mobile coffee wagon for three years.

I joined the Order of the Eastern Star and became an active volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society working in the office, canvassing and with daffodil sales.

Then we bought a house in Riverdale where we lived for the next ten years.

In 1988, we moved to Porter Creek building a rancher house on Versleuce Meadow, which was country living in town, where we reside today.

Our boys were involved in Scouting and spent many Sundays helping at the concession stand at Kara Speedway. They each worked with their Dad in trucking as they grew up and continued on in their own trucking-related businesses.

In the year 2005, I received the Commissioner’s Award for public service. In that same year, we lost our second son in a highway tragedy.

In retirement, Tom and I have travelled extensively to Europe, Asia, Russia and New Zealand.