Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
Hugh Lecky has a well-rounded approach to life. It's a rewarding balance of work and recreation.
One part of his life is overseeing the day-to-day operation of Tekarra Color Lab as the managing director.
In another part of his life, Lecky's love of the outdoors and adventure has taken him to many places in the world.
Lecky was born in Jasper in 1954 to Myrtle and George Lecky.
As a young lad, Lecky remembers seeing crocuses in the spring, and little frogs along Lake Annette.
He said from the perspective of a little kid, the forest was huge, including lots of big Douglas fir trees.
Della and Harold Senz lived across the alley, where Lecky and his brother and sister were babysat sometimes.
It wasn't always a light-hearted dash across the way when it came time to stay with Della.
"In the middle of summer it wasn't unusual to see a mother bear and three cubs - we had to pay attention when we went across the alley to Della's," Lecky said.
Mabel and Doug Brown were a big part of their lives too.
He was four years old when the family moved to Drayton Valley.
"Dad was an electrician so he worked in the oilpatch," Lecky said. "It was a booming little town at that time. Oil was coming on line pretty strong. In Jasper in the 1950s you had to work three jobs to make a living, so it made sense to move."
The Leckys lived in Drayton Valley for seven years or so, then George partnered with a fellow from Jasper and the two built and ran private nursing homes in Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan and Ponoka. He and Myrtle managed the facility in Fort Saskatchewan.
Leckys kept a connection to Jasper.
Using a cabin at Overland Lodge as a base, Lecky, his siblings, and his dad went skiing at Marmot Basin as they pleased.
When his dad passed away in about 1975, Lecky's mom continued to manage the nursing home there, and then sold it to the business partner. She managed a seniors lodge next and retired when she was 72.
Myrtle eventually moved to Alpine Summit Seniors Lodge where she could visit with longtime friends, Della Senz and Mable and Doug Brown. She passed away at the age of 98.
Lecky graduated from high school in 1972 in Ft. Saskatchewan and Lecky began studies at the University of Alberta the next year, graduating with a degree in commerce in 1977.
His first job was as a night auditor at the Lobstick Lodge, which allowed him to do one of his favourite things - skiing - during the day.
Working at a newly-constructed hotel in Hinton in 1978 was next. One night, a friend who was on his way to Marmot Basin stayed at the hotel and told Lecky about a job opening there, which led to Lecky signing on as the office manager in 1979.
"It was an evolving time... the ski hill was growing up, diversifying services," he said.
Lecky developed an interest in photography and cameras at Marmot Basin. He got a job with Altacolor in 1982 and worked the summer and fall there.
In 1983, Lecky explored Africa for five months. He met with a group when he arrived and they traversed over all kinds of terrain.
"It turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life," Lecky said. "It's a good way to explore - with a camera."
He carried two cameras actually, just in case one broke, which happened later on in the journey.
There were no cell phones, no emailing in those days, so letters were the way folks communicated. Because she knew his itinerary, Lecky's mom sent letters to post offices he was to arrive at.
It was a good time to travel in Africa.
"I hit it lucky,” Lecky said. “We went through Africa at a time when it was travelling without fear.”
The travellers camped during most of the journey, carrying what they needed with them, from tents to food to cooking apparatus to clothing.
Lions and elephants were amid them although, thankfully, none dropped by at their camps.
Among the many highlights was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Lecky noted the porters walked barefoot or were in sandals as they carried a 50-pound pack of supplies on their heads up, to a certain elevation.
"It's nice to see the system has progressed," he said.
When Lecky returned to Jasper he became a partner with the Altacolor fellows in a new business - Tekarra Color Lab. He took over as manager in about 1984, running the store with David Turcotte for many years.
Lecky also shot promotional skiing photos. Turcotte photographed weddings and portraits then, and now focuses full time on his photography business, A Different Angle. Tekarra morphed into a digital operation, and produces banners, signs, and window and vehicle graphics.
"Believe it or not, we still develop film," Lecky noted. "It's busier now than it was 10 years ago, with film."
In that balancing-work-life-with-recreation philosophy, Lecky kept busy with kayaking for a few years and taught people the skill through the Jasper River Runner Club. These days he does sea kayaking.
He's also been with the Jasper Rotary Club for 15 years.
Lecky said the trip to Africa was "a trip that started world travel for me”.
“I've been to a lot of really interesting, hard-to-get-to places all over the world,” he said.
He and his wife, Johanne Roy, have explored several locations including Patagonia.
Lecky emphasized that a powerful point about Jasper is that it brings people from all over the world, not only to visit, but to work.
"It brings a huge diversity to our small town," he said.
