Oyen Lodge News: 90 year-old Joan Shields donates hair to cancer

By Dianne Spath

I hope all the moms had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with family. All the ladies and some of the men enjoyed the wine and cheese party. The ladies received roses as a gift from the Lodge. Monday started with exercises and scrabble games, then bingo in the afternoon. Tuesday was the regular bus run downtown, and then we did some baking in the morning and again in the afternoon. We are having a mini bake sale on Thursday, May 23, when Alberta Clothing and Avon are here from 10:00 to 2:00. Wednesday morning started with exercises, Church with Pastor Brad, and the Whist card game. In the afternoon, the Grade 9's were here to play cards with the residents. I visited with the residents on Thursday morning and then had a couple of crossword games to follow. In the afternoon was our monthly birthday bash, in which angel food cake with sauce and strawberries was served with coffee and tea. Friday started with exercises, then horse races. I had to cancel the rest of the activities for Friday because we are on an outbreak. To all visitors, please take precautions using masks and sanitizing when visiting residents.

This week, we were blessed with some nice moisture, a big difference from last year. As a result, there will be a lot of grass-cutting this spring on a regular basis. We also have some exciting events coming up. On Saturday, May 18, we will be celebrating Joan Mick's birthday. We hope she has a wonderful day. We also wish everyone a fantastic long weekend. Let the camping season begin!

Joan Shields, a resident of the Oyen Lodge, decided to do something special to donate to cancer. Joan, at the age of 90 in 2022, thought she would like to grow her hair long and donate it to cancer. She said she couldn't go out and campaign for cancer to help, so this was what she decided to do. Her granddaughter had donated her hair when she was a teenager, so Joan thought she would like to do the same. Her last haircut was in July 2022, and she had to grow it 12 inches long before she could donate it. In May 2024, Janice Peers cut her hair, which was 12 inches long. She mailed the hair to a place in Vancouver, and they told her she would make someone very happy to receive it. She received a letter two weeks later, thanking her for her hair and saying that she did make some young girl happy and got a wig made from Joan's hair. Joan was very happy with her accomplishment, but she did say, "It was a pain in the neck to grow." Again, now she is wondering what she can do next. She also commented, "Hopefully, this encourages other people to do the same." We are all very proud of you, Joan.