Duane Hicks
After a lifetime of volunteering, Ruth Caldwell has no intention of retiring.
After all, she loves this town.
Caldwell, 85, was honoured Monday night as the 2016 Citizen of the Year for Fort Frances before town council and friends.
“I’m very proud to be honoured, to do this in my town,” she beamed after being presented with a plaque by Mayor Roy Avis.
“I love my town. I was born and raised in this town,” added Caldwell. “I was baptized in the church that I still attend.
“I’m so happy my minister [Brian Keffer] and his wife are here today.”
Caldwell also said she enjoyed being in the Christmas parade here Saturday evening and seeing all the people.
“I’m so humbled by this,” she remarked. “I thought most of the day about what I was going to say and I’ve pretty well said it.
“But thank you very much for this honour.
“I’m not retiring. I’m still going to be busy,” Caldwell vowed.
Caldwell was nominated by her daughter, Karen (Spritt) Magill.
Caldwell celebrated her birthday in late October and Magill had come from Port Alberni, B.C. as a surprise. While visiting, she went through all of her mom’s papers and compiled information for the nomination.
Mayor Avis said the Citizen of the Year Committee was pleased to announce Caldwell as the recipient of the prestigious award this year, adding she’s “a very, very good choice.”
The committee had received several worthy nominations, which made the decision a difficult one, he noted.
But in the end, he said it was Caldwell’s many years of dedicated service to the community of Fort Frances that moved her to the top of the list.
Reading aloud the nomination prepared by Magill, Mayor Avis noted Caldwell began volunteering at a young age as a Sunday School teacher, which developed into a lifetime of commitment to her community.
During her career as head of the children’s department at the Fort Frances Public Library, she organized “Storytime,” book clubs, the “Teddy Bear Picnic,” and more.
“These experiences have exposed and assisted so many people to realize the importance of reading,” noted Mayor Avis.
Even after Caldwell’s retirement from the library 21 years ago, she remained a committed volunteer—sharing her love of reading with the residents of Rainycrest here, with children at F.H. Huffman School, with toddlers at the Fort Frances Children’s Centre, and as a caregiver at the library while moms participated in library services.
She also lent her abilities to many different boards throughout the years, including the Valley Adult Learning Association, Seniors & Law Enforcement Together, the Fort Frances Library Board, “Friends of the Library,” the district music and drama festival, Sunset Seniors group, the Scandinavian Society, and Family and Children’s Services.
In her spare time, Caldwell knits hats for newborns at La Verendrye Hospital, delivers “Meals on Wheels,” and provides rides for senior friends unable to get around town.
And as an active member of the Zion Lutheran Church here, she always shows up at church an hour early each Sunday to greet everyone coming through the doors.
In 2003, Caldwell was featured in Pharmasave’s Living Well magazine as a “Remarkable Woman” for her outstanding contributions to her community.
She also won the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce’s Tony Beyak Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award in 2005.
“She’s a special kind of person—caring, compassionate, and so humble,” noted Magill.
“Never expecting any recognition.”
Caldwell goes to Rainycrest each Friday to read the local newspaper and visit with her dear friend, Frances Shelfantook, who is 103.
She then returns on Saturday to read many kinds of books—often local history—to residents there.
Caldwell also previously helped work towards getting an assisted living complex built in Fort Frances, which she hopes still will become a reality here lest Fort Frances lose its precious seniors to other communities.
Mayor Avis presented Caldwell with a plaque honouring her as the 2016 Citizen of the Year—a moment followed by applause from those in the gallery who had attended to wish her well.
Pastor Brian Keffer of Zion Lutheran Church said he doesn’t know anybody “who loves this town more than Ruth does.”
“Her kids have for years been begging her to come closer to them,” he noted. “But Ruth’s answer is always, ‘This is my home.’
“And we’re so glad you stayed here. Keep this your home,” he remarked.
Keffer recalled when he and wife, Peg, and their four children first arrived in Fort Frances years ago.
“Ruth drove us around in an old red van,” he said. “We were completely new here. We had no idea where we were.
“She drove us around and introduced us to her town,” Keffer added.
“We drove up to the Point and various parts around the community, describing to us in detail all of the places, and ending up at Dairy Queen—another favourite haunt of hers.
“And by the time we were done, this was our home, too.
“She’s a huge reason this has been a home for us,” Keffer stressed. “Ruth is a surrogate grandma to our children here in this community and she’s been a huge blessing to us.”
While Caldwell has seen some of her peers pass on, Keffer said the community is very fortunate she is alive and well.
“You’ve helped so many of us continue—from babies to people in their senior years—to love this town, Ruth,” he noted. “To love this town as their home.
“Thank you for doing that for us.”
