Despite our relatively small size, Jasper is a town where a lot gets done—and that is largely thanks to the hundreds of people who donate thousands of hours of their time each year.
National Volunteer Week runs from April 12-18 this year. It’s a time to recognize, celebrate and thank volunteers in Canada, and in that spirit the Fitzhugh spoke to some of the dedicated volunteers that make this town tick.
From the front lines of community dinners to the basement of the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives, Jasper wouldn’t be what it is today if not for the selfless deeds of these special people.
Pat Bell
Pat Bell has been volunteering at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives for more than 20 years, but she’s not too interested in accepting praise for it.
Bell said she started helping out at the museum because she was interested in the history of the town. But, like all of the most dedicated volunteers, the long-time Jasperite said she has continued simply because she knows that there’s a need.
Bell spends her Tuesdays in the basement of the museum doing any job that will take some of the pressure off of museum staff. That can be anything from clipping out relevant articles from newspapers, to helping preserve old photos by painstakingly slipping non-acidic paper between them, or helping to organize files.
“There’s so much to do, there’s so much coming in all the time, and the work is so meticulous,” she explained.
“I’d like [Jasperites] to realize how important the museum is, and just how much work the people have on their hands. It’s a tremendous amount of work, and they work really hard.”
And while she was clear that her primary motivation is her desire to see the museum thrive, she said still gets a lot from her work at the museum, including “The satisfaction of meeting and talking to other people, and learning so much—mostly learning the history of the early people here.”
[accordion title="The Lafrance family"]
You don’t have to live in Jasper to love Jasper. And while many visit year after year to soak in the wonders of the national park, few give up their free time to help make it a better place. The Lafrance family is one of those few.
The eastern Canadians love Jasper so much that each year they make the trek all the way across the country to help out at Parks Day.
Parks Day is a yearly celebration of national parks that takes place in Jasper. It takes a lot of manpower and volunteers to make it happen, and each year the Lafrance family: Gilles, Rosita and their kids, have been coming to lend a hand.
In fact, the family has been coming from Ontario for more than 15 years to volunteer at Parks Day. You can see their smiling faces working the barbecue, helping out with other activities or just taking in the spirit of the day.
Their yearly holiday to Jasper is an important one for the family. Even with the kids growing from toddlers to teens and beyond, they all make an effort to come back and help out—both to give back to Jasper and bond as a family.
Gilles said that he and his family cherish their memories and experiences from Jasper, even though the place is far from their own home.
“We love Jasper, our hearts and minds are there even though we reside ... provinces away.”
[accordion title="Cody Murdock"]
“I don’t think I have free time. And that’s not even a joke.”
Cody Murdock, who sits as treasurer on both the board of the Jasper Adult Learning Council and the Jasper Pride Festival Society, said he spends hours each day helping out the two organizations—and feels incredibly fortunate doing so.
Murdock works at the CIBC bank, and said that ever since he started volunteering his time as a treasurer his life has “opened up.”
“It’s a whole world that I wasn’t really privy to, and now that I am, I love it—and I would encourage everyone else to do it,” he said of volunteering.
He explained that while he dedicates a lot of his free time to helping out the organizations he is involved with, in a lot of ways the work is more enjoyable and satisfying than his day job.
He’s watched and helped a festival grow into a huge success, coming up from a point of literally having zero dollars in its bank account, and witnessed the well-oiled machine of the JALC board, and he said it’s a special thing to be around people who care enough to give up their free time to make a difference.
“Volunteers are amazing people. To do things out of the kindness of your heart, not for monetary purpose—it’s amazing to see what gets done by these people.
“I really encourage people to volunteer. It doesn’t have to be as time consuming as some of the things I do, but it’s challenging and enriching and I think it’s important for growth.”
[accordion title="Gary and Grace Long"]
Although Gary and Grace Long don’t live in Jasper, they are two of the town’s most dedicated volunteers.
For the months of both June and September, the Saskatchewan couple, along with their Siberian Husky, hop in their trailer and make the trek to Jasper to camp, and donate their time to the Friends of Jasper National Park.
They help out with trail construction, the annual Parks Day barbecue and with just about anything else they’re needed to do.
According to Grace, she and Gary have been coming to the park for vacations for years. Their volunteer work started several years ago when on a whim she popped into the Friends’ office to have a look around. She ended up in a conversation with the employees there and within two days she and Gary were out in the dirt helping to dig a new trail.
“They rope you in quick,” Gary said with a chuckle, explaining that over the years volunteer work has become a huge part of his and Grace’s vacation.
“We’ve been coming for years and years and hiking and doing our own thing. But we decided it was time to start giving back a little bit to the park that has given us so much over the years,” he said.
“We could see that there was a need. The budgets have been getting cut in recent years. And you can start to actually see a deterioration in the park, and if volunteers are the answer … we’re only too happy to contribute.”
Joking that she and Gary probably now know more people in Jasper than back home, Grace said that the people they volunteer with are what keep them coming back.
“If we didn’t get the kind of appreciation we do it might not be quite as much fun.”
Denise Mellet
If you went to any of Jasper’s famous community dinners this year you almost certainly met Denise Mellet: the queen of the dessert table.
Mellet volunteered all season, helping out at the dinners—which see hundreds of community members from all walks of life gather for a meal at the Jasper Activity Centre each Sunday—cooking, cleaning, serving and most notably making sure the dessert table was well stocked all night long.
Mellet said she loves being part of the action at the evening dinners each week, but what really keeps her coming back is the joy she gets from seeing the whole community come together.
“It used to be where every week there was Sunday dinners and families would get together, and in Jasper the community dinners kind of do that: the community comes out, and people look forward to it,” she said.
“There’s just that community vibe that we’re all here together and loving life.”
As she talked about the weekly dinners, her eyes shined and she broke into a big grin. She described the regulars who come through, how seniors often show up first, and then younger kids later into the evening. She gushed about the spirit of togetherness that permeates the venue, and how every evening there’s always people who stick around to help clean up once it’s all over.
She said that every week when she comes back home, she can’t help but babble on about that week’s dinner.
“It’s like on a high. It really is. I go home and I tell my husband about it, and I’m just babbling away,” she said with a laugh.
“It’s awesome. I can’t say anything more than it’s awesome.”
Trevor Nichols
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