Dear Editor,
Few people saw the potential of Ashcroft’s history as much as Marnie Adamski did. She saw it as an industry that would attract tourism.
I think I can write without exaggeration that Marnie’s love of history is marked on several areas of the village, such as the large pictures of old Ashcroft on the wall of the Purity Feed building, the large framed depictions of old Ashcroft on the south wall of the shopping mall on Railway, and the photographs of pioneer folk from the 1890s, depicting everyday activities. There was also the restoration of the Harvey Bailey building on Railway, which Marnie turned into a delightful array of shops inside the former store. Every place that Marnie turned her hand to had the discernment of culture, history, and taste about it. Marnie was one great classy lady.
I will never forget my first sight of Marnie back in the 1980s. We were conducting the election for MP for Cariboo-Chilcotin, and her brother-in-law Dave Worthy was running. Marnie swept into the community hall, and as I sat at the table near the ballot boxes I wondered who the heck this woman was. She appeared like the tear-off of the front cover of Vogue magazine. She radiated. Marnie’s success as a businesswoman is on record. Her insight and acumen were sharp. Her success as a realtor was phenomenal for a woman at that time. If anyone demonstrated the power, talent, and capacity of women, Marnie surely did.
We still live in an age where women are not considered equal. Sure, we’ve made gains. Women are now Supreme Court justices, ministers with government portfolios. They’re mayors of large cities, prime ministers of powerful countries. But we’ve still got a long journey ahead to travel. Equal pay for equal work is still something we have to achieve in many areas. Female representation in the corporate world is another one of them.
Regionally, here in the Cariboo, women like Marnie Adamski are as rare as the proverbial hens’ teeth. Marnie was a vital, very attractive standout of a woman. It was a pleasure and a privilege to have traded ideas with her, including our mutual love of Ashcroft’s history.
Esther Darlington
Ashcroft