Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Patterson, Rose
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Rose Devlin
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1893-1988
History
Rose, born in 1893, was the eldest of five children born to Edward and Maria Devlin of Nanaimo. Her father was a miner and she has many fond childhood memories of school days and summer family camping trips. Books, music, church, celebrations with friends and family all provided more memories. Rose attended Normal School in Vancouver from 1911-1912 and began her teaching career in South Wellington and then Harewood School. Rose has vivid memories of the flu epidemic of 1918, schools closed and teachers recruited for helping in hospitals. Most of the family were stricken, but chidren fared better and had to take shifts looking after the family store wih their mother. In 1919, she accompanied her friend, Laura Davis, on a trip to Beaverlodge where Laura’s sister’s family, the Fred Dixon’s, lived. She spent a wonderful summer and when a teaching offer came for the fall, she took it. In the year that followed she met Donald Patterson and also made friends with Isabel Henderson who had arrived from Nova Scotia. She continued to teach at Montrose School but resigned in June, 1921, to go home and help her mother who was running a dress making business in the family store. In Dec 1922, a telegram from Donald Patterson soon led to their wedding and their return to Grande Prairie. On arriving in Grande Prairie, they were presented with a silver tea service from the townspeople. Rose became very active in the Ladies Aid and Women’s Missionary Society, and a leader of C.G.I.T. Rose was a charter member of the Women’s Institute and was involved in formalities for two official visits. In 1933, Lord and Lady Bessborough toured the Peace country and stopped in Grande Prairie for a reception. In 1943, the Duke of Athlone and Princess Alice (patron of Women’s Institutes) visited. H.R.H. had requested an exhibit including “bottling” so samples of war service work, quilts and canned produce were gathered from the whole region. After a trip to the Beaverlodge Experimental farm, the royals were met by a Majorette Guard of Honor, followed by a reception with formal receiving line held in the St. Paul’s Church. The Pattersons were also involved in the Canadian Club which invited speakers like Sheila McKay (writer for Chatelaine) to address rheir meetings. They entertained and hosted many visitors. In 1930 they took a two-week pack-horse trip with Dr. and Mrs. L.J. O’Brien to Cutbank River and Musreau Lake area, and in 1938 another wilderness trip took them to Kinuso Falls and the Monkman Pass area. Rose also contributed to a talk show over CFGP, the Monkman Pass talk show first and then a public service program for the Grande Prairie W. I. which lasted 25 years. In 1957, the Pattersons travelled through Europe for five months; in 1959 they travelled to Whitehorse and continued taking yearly trips.