Roger
Fry BSC(Agr)'51 and Lois Fry
It was the winter of 1949/50. I was a gauche Aggi undergrad, with few if
any social graces, from Central BC; she a beautiful blond primary teacher
from the Kerrisdale area of Vancouver, daughter of one of my profs, socially
accomplished and popular with all of her set.
We met at the Annual
Aggi Barn Dance at the White Rose dance hall on Broadway. I had been persuaded
by a chum to go and went without a date, not thinking that dances in the
city did not operate on the same system as the community dance back home,
where boys chose a girl for each dance from those sitting across the hall.
She was there because
her mother had carefully arranged to have a headache so that she would
not have to go with her husband who was to represent the faculty; and
because her sister, remembering their mother's skill at dodging such events,
had equally carefully arranged to have a date. My future wife, Lois, busy
with her active social life and unaware of all this careful planning,
had drawn the short straw and had to accompany her father to the dance.
Long before the supper
dance, I had worn out my welcome with the few couples I knew and was reduced
to sitting out most dances. Knowing the couple that was organizing the
evening, I asked if I could be any help.
"Well you might
go and dance with Dr. Wood's daughter," was the reply.
"I think she is pretty tired of dancing with faculty members."
So I asked, she accepted, and we had every dance to the end of the evening.
She shared her box lunch with me and we talked about anything and everything.
She had a wonderful sense of humor and a delightful laugh and I thought
myself the luckiest guy there.
She passed up a ride
home with her father to let me take her home and we continued talking
and laughing as we walked, she in her dancing shoes, the several blocks
along Broadway to Granville, then south on Granville to 16th Ave before
the bus came. By the time I'd walked her from the bus stop to her home
on 57th Ave I'd missed the last bus, had to take the Inter Urban and probably
had to walk from the university gates to Acadia Camp.
In 1953, after a zig-zag
courtship; ("She'd never want to marry me!"
"What, marry him!") we found ourselves in West Point Grey United
Church saying "I do" to each other and 57 years after that Aggi
Barn Dance we still marvel at how long it took us to see the obvious.
She still has that sense of humour, that delightful laugh, and many friends;
and I still think I was the luckiest guy at that dance.
Grace
Jones, BMus'83, BEd'90, MEd'06 and "Joe"
Although this story is true and probably unusual, my husband and I are
no longer together so it may not qualify for your contest.
I was enrolled in
the UBC School of Music when this took place. The University Singers had
planned a retreat at Whistler for the October 4-5 weekend. I was pregnant
with my first child and my due date was also on October 4. I visited my
doctor that day to ask if I should go, and he assured me that first babies
were notoriously late and I would be fine. Even if I did go into labour
I would most likely not need to rush to a hospital and would have plenty
of time to contact him and get to Vancouver.
Well, it didn't turn
out that way. I drove to Whistler with friends and had a great evening,
probably staying up a bit too late. The next morning I could hardly eat
at breakfast. I was scheduled to help with the dishes, along with the
man (I will call him Joe) who I later married. It was the first time I
had talked to him for any length of time, but he seemed nice and commented
that I was brave to come on the retreat. We joked around for some time
and then I began to feel quite ill. Within moments it was clear that I
was going into labour and needed to contact my doctor. He was apparently
out golfing, so the staff contacted a local doctor. By this time I was
having contractions and obviously needed to get to Vancouver quickly.
Joe had been planning
to return early for work and offered to drive me to Vancouver. My girlfriends
helped me pack and get to the car. We were about to leave when the local
ambulance arrived with the doctor, who took one look at me, loaded me
into the ambulance and rushed me to Squamish. That is a ride I will never
forget! My last look at Joe was only to wave good bye as this flurry of
activity took place around me. My daughter was born 45 minutes later on
arrival at Squamish General Hospital.
Two weeks later, after
spending some time at home with my parents, I returned to school. As I
entered the Music building with baby in a snuggly, Joe appeared out of
nowhere to help me with my bag and books. He expressed his concern and
his worry about me and how he had wanted to contact me, but none of my
friends would give him my number, apparently not sure what he wanted.
As it happened, he asked me out that first day back and we began to spend
a lot of time together. The fact that I had a newborn did not faze him
and we eventually married when my daughter was four. He adopted her as
his own and even though we did not stay together, he has remained close
to her. He is the only father she acknowledges. The real love story is
how we both fell in love with a little girl, who is now 26 years old.
Allison
Kozdron BSc'00 and Nils Johnson BSc'00
I found love at UBC! He was a friend of my brother's, and we started dating
at the end of our 1st year, and have been happily married for almost 3
years now.
Larissa McLean BEd'05 and Russ
Well, I didn't exactly meet my significant other at UBC but I associate
the love and triumph of our relationship with Vancouver and UBC.
Where do I begin?
I received my acceptance letter to UBC after two unsuccessful applications
for UofC and UofL. The letter caught me off guard and I had a lot of life-changing
plans to conceive of. I am a proud Albertan (ya know - beef and all) who
had to get up, stuff everything in her car, and move to Kitsilano - talk
about culture shock!
Problem: my boyfriend
lived in Calgary and, from what everybody said about long-distance relationships,
it would be a disaster! But we were determined to make this work. My days
consisted of full classes and nights were spent working at Costco. That
year felt like eternity, but the thing that kept me sane was the knowledge
that my honey would fly in once a month to visit!
The closer it got
to Russ's visit I would light up. Visits were like tiny tastes of a fine
dessert, and then it was back to the grind again. But it made me such
a strong person. When he visited, we would go to the Japanese gardens
or walk along Rec beach and spend as much time together as possible. The
atmosphere was just right for two people in love. Many nights I would
call him on my cell phone looking up at the stars or down at the ocean
just listening to the waves. The moon was always apparent and Russ would
say that at least we were under the same moon. That somehow reassured
me and brought peace to my loneliness.
Since then I have
achieved my degree and have moved back to Calgary where I am an art teacher.
Just in the past two weeks Russ and I discovered a metalsmith from salt
spring island who was at a trades show here in Calgary. His work is amazing
and we found two rings that were perfect for us. Both had a moonstone
with rippling waves carrying us back to each other. When I saw the rings
I began to cry and knew they were the rings for us so purchased them right
on the spot. We haven't looked back since and the wedding is next August.
There's a part of
me that really misses the night life, the cafes, the eccentric people,
walking on the sand, the vegetation of Vancouver. I think I may find myself
visiting more often than I thought, perhaps to rekindle what will always
be there: a beautiful setting for a perfect romance.
Victor Nahmias BArch' 77
I did not actually find love at UBC, but through UBC.
The simple story is
that I came to the School of Architecture in 1973 and in December 1974
joined with a group of students and faculty to spend a semester in Israel
as part of the schools Studies Abroad Program. I met my wife through a
mutual friend at the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem where we were working.
We married in June and are still married - to each other.
Simple, straightforward,
and vaguely "oh, that's nice" interesting.
It is in the details
that the story takes on its flavor. We weren't supposed to go to Israel,
we were supposed to go to Japan! We spent over a year working to develop
contacts and relationships in Japan. One faculty member, Bud Wood, went
there to try to seal the deal. However, we found it takes time to do this
(the next group was able to take advantage of our efforts).
Just when it looked
as though no trip would occur, we were offered leads to the Technion in
Haifa, Israel, by the head of the planning department. Again, the intrepid
Bud Wood took off, this time for Israel. While there he found the Technion
not a good fit with UBC. He did meet with some faculty members from the
Bezalel Academy and there it came together. With Israeli's, these arrangements
take no time. We meet, we like you, come stay with us. And so the stage
is set.
At the Bezalel our
group was blended with a group of Israeli students and faculty to work
together on some projects. The Israeli's were very interested in meeting
the Canadians. I was invited by one of the women, Dahlia, to come to her
house on Saturday night and to bring some friends. I did not know it at
the time but she was interested in meeting one of my friends. More on
that later.
Two weeks later the
Canadian group was holding a Valentine's Day party at the hotel we had
taken over. We invited a number of the Israelis to come join us. Unbeknownst
to me, one of Dahlia's friends from Haifa had come to visit her some weeks
before and had seen me in a design charrette. She was interested in meeting
me. Dahlia invited her to come to Jerusalem and join her at the party.
I saw my future bride for only ten minutes that night before her boyfriend,
who had invited himself along and did not like what he saw, dragged her
out of there. Too late.
Dahlia and Michal
(my wife) invited me and my friend, Mineo, to come visit them at their
parents' homes in Haifa. Two weeks after our visit I proposed (I waited
two weeks so I wouldn't scare her off). We were married in June 1975 in
a garden in Haifa.
Now for the coda:
Dahlia followed us back to Vancouver. She and Mineo married that winter,
and we were the witnesses at their wedding. All told, three long-term
relationships began during that trip by UBCers to Israel. All three continue
to this day.
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