Patricia Joy MacKay - Drugstore Cowgirl: Adventures in the Cariboo-Chilcotin

Grateful thanks to my partner, John, for stoically bearing with me as I travelled through the process of becoming an author. He heard Drugstore Cowgirl had been accepted shortly before his death in 2012.

Thank you to June Bliss, who first suggested I write this story. She believed in me when I did not believe in myself and also shared her memories and knowledge of life as it was lived in the Chilcotin in the good old days.

Many thanks to editor Betty Kellar of Sechelt and her writing groups, who critiqued and encouraged me in my writing endeavours.

Thank you to Mathew Lehman for patiently guiding me through the intricacies of coming to terms with my computer. The same thanks go to Mary-Anne Turner of Williams Lake for helping me through some of the more complicated programs when I became overwhelmed by it all.

Thanks go as well to Barbara Heather, who read my first draft and encouraged me to keep going. Im most grateful to all friends and acquaintances who have offered continuous encouragement and support during my writing struggles.

And, of course, thank you to Kate Scallion, my editor at Heritage House, who has given me unending support, advice, and positive suggestions over the past months. She has been instrumental in bringing this manuscript together.

Patricia Joy MacKay was born in England in 1938. After seeing her first western at the age of ten, she became enamoured with the cowboy culture and way of life. She moved to Canada in 1964 with hopes of becoming a cowgirl. However, being unable to ride (horses frightened her) or rope anythingmoving or stationaryor even make decent cowboy coffee, she realized there was no chance of that happening. Instead, Pat learned how to cook, which enabled her to work on various guest and cattle ranches, and so she experienced a little of the cowboy (or girl) way of life.

During her first summer, she worked in the Cariboo at 70 Mile House, then spent that winter cooking in Ashcroft before moving to Clinton. She found her way into the Chilcotin in 1968. For the next two seasons Pat worked at the TH Ranch in Hanceville, and she remained in the Chilcotin until 1976, when she moved to Williams Lake. Later, she and her partner, John, relocated to the Sunshine Coast, where they operated a small farm. After an absence of twenty-five years, they returned home to cowboy country in 2012. Pat now resides in Williams Lake.

Copyright 2013 Patricia Joy MacKay

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, audio recording, or otherwisewithout the written permission of the publisher or a licence from Access Copyright, Toronto, Canada.

Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd.
heritagehouse.ca

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

MacKay, Patricia Joy, author

Drugstore cowgirl : adventures in the Cariboo-Chilcotin
/ Patricia Joy MacKay.

Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-927527-37-5 (pbk.)ISBN 978-1-927527-38-2 (epub)ISBN 978-1-927527-39-9 (pdf)

1. MacKay, Patricia Joy. 2. CowgirlsBritish ColumbiaCariboo RegionBiography. 3. British CanadiansBritish ColumbiaCariboo RegionBiography. 4. Ranch lifeBritish ColumbiaCariboo Region--Biography. 5. Cariboo Region (B.C.)Social life and customs20th centuryAnecdotes. 6. Cariboo Region (B.C.)Biography. I. Title.

FC3845.C3Z49 2013 971.17504092 C2013-903383-1 C2013-903384-X

Edited by Kate Scallion
Proofread by Vivian Sinclair
Cover and book design by Jacqui Thomas
Cover photos: Pat and her puppy, Pogo, sitting on the porch of the Drag em In cabin at the Flying U Guest Ranch, summer 1964 (front); Pat haying with Ross at the Three Bar Guest Ranch, summer 1965 (back); red background by sx70/iStockphoto.com. Interior photos: Pat learning how to ride on Reuban at the Flying U Guest Ranch, 1964 (page 7); Pat bottle feeding a young calf at the TH Ranch, 1968 (page 91); June Bliss tending her garden in Alexis Creek, 1971 (page 161).
All interior and cover photos courtesy of the author.
Map by Jacqui Thomas

Heritage House acknowledges the financial support for its publishing program from the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF), Canada Council for the Arts, and the province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

This book is dedicated to the people of the CaribooChilcotin. Thank you for welcoming me into your homes and for sharing your friendship and laughter over the years. I hold you all in my heart.

When school was out for the summer, Tex and Tony moved their families from Terrace to the TH. Tex and his pretty dark-haired wife, Marj, who had met and married in 1948, had four daughters. At thirteen, Jan was the eldest and close to her grandma. Next came their adopted daughter, Joy, who was eight, followed by bright and cheerful five-year-old Patti, and, finally, three-year-old Margot, the baby of the family. Tony and Betty had a seven-year-old daughter, Joanne, and a son, Lee, who was fourteenold enough to help out on the ranch, but young enough not to be too enthusiastic about it. There had been an older boy, but, sadly, he had drowned in front of his family a few days after my arrival at the TH. This was their first summer at the ranch without him, and Bettys face mirrored their grief. These six children brought life and laughter to the ranch. They revelled in the freedom and the sheer happiness of simply being at the TH and blossomed under the summer sun, which seemed to shine every day, often sending temperatures in the kitchen to one hundred degrees Fahrenheit.

Shortly after breakfast on the first morning after the familys arrival, the screen door gave its usual squawk and then slammed shut as Betty entered the kitchen.

Damn. I forgot about that dreadful door, she said as she eyed the coffee pot, the aroma of its fresh brew permeating the air. That smells good.

Help yourselfits on the house.

Want one too?

Please.

Marj will be along shortly. Would you mind if we took our coffee into the nook?

Of course not. Ill join you in a moment. And so began the summer ritual where the three of us and Eve shared a morning coffee and gossip session.

Cigarette? Marj, who had just arrived, held out an open pack.

I shook my head. Thanks, but I dont smoke. You go ahead, though.

It wont bother you?

No, I like the smell of tobacco. It brings back childhood memories.

Betty and Marj were good company and so were their children. All were free to come and go in the kitchen whenever they pleased, except when I was serving meals. During those summer days they took it in turns to choose a favourite goodie for me to bake especially for them and gave me the nickname Nummie after a decadent dessert I made as an extra-special treat, Yummie Nummie Cookie Cake.