麻豆传媒AV

2013 was a life-changing year for Tammy Donahue Buziak.

The chair of the City of North Battleford's centennial committee and part time archivist is moving into 2014 with new priorities, one less job - and a new haircut.

"You have a sort of remorse when you see something like a centennial year end. You do honestly think, 'what am I going to do?'" says Donahue Buziak.

For 2014, she says "I'm going to concentrate on the archives, my granddaughter and volunteering."

Since starting work with the City of North Battleford Historic Archives in 2009, Donahue Buziak has been surrounded by dedicated volunteers.

"I work with nine volunteer committee members who are a crucial part of the archives," says Donahue Buziak, listing Harvey Cashmore, Ken Holliday, just retired, Larry Kulyk, Terry Lumsdon, Leola Macdonald, Mary Matilla, just retired, Lorna McLean, Barb Sealy, Ken Sanders and new member Bill Wells.

As the chair of the centennial committee, she found herself working with even more volunteers, and she has been bitten by the volunteerism bug.

Looking back at the past and how generations before had celebrated these events, Donahue Buziak says, is a powerful thing.

"We had a vision that we wanted to involve children, seniors and youth in a community that we're very proud of and that we love," says Donahue Buziak. "It's been an experience I had never had before. It was definitely a changing experience."

Through the year leading up to the centennial year and the centennial year itself, Donahue Buziak worked with volunteers from throughout the community, from retired long term residents like those on the archives committee, to business owners, young people and more.

"The number of volunteers in this community is amazing."

It started with the archives volunteers deciding to gather together a collection of photos for a book for centennial year. It was to be entitled Reflections. When they looked back at a 1963 scrapbook for the 50-year celebration, they were encouraged to think big. Donahue Buziak was named to an initial committee with Mike Halstead and Siobhan Gormley of the City of North Battleford.

"I had no idea at the time I would be able to be the chair, but was very excited when I had the opportunity."

Donahue Buziak says, "I really, really wanted to do it."

She says, "I had no idea how it would proceed. I had some very good people, all retired individuals who have been in this community a long time, and they were really able to assist me with some decisions.

She also had help from City Hall, a call went out for volunteers and in March of 2012 there were 40 people already signed up.

It was Donahue Buziak's commitment to the centennial project that brought about a significant change in her work life - her decision to retire from her work with Saskatchewan Justice as a coroner for sudden and unexpected deaths.

At one time, she said, this community had three coroners. Then it lost one and was down to two, of which she was one.

"Then right in the middle of the year we lost a second coroner for a number of months," says Donahue Buziak. "It was a very busy time. I had made my commitment to the centennial, so I took a leave of absence. I had to finish the centennial year. I decided to retire and didn't return."

Donahue Buziak says she loved her work as a coroner. It was very interesting work. She became a coroner after having begun studies for a career as a doctor.

She began attending the University of Saskatchewan in 2000, took three years of pre-med and wrote her entrance to the college of medicine.

"I wasn't accepted the first year," says Donahue Buziak. "I thought I would look for something else so I got into the coroners department in 2004."

It was while she was going to university that she got involved with the City of North Battleford. She began working part time as a gallery assistant in 2002. In 2009, she started working in the archives.

"That's when I started getting really interested in history," she says. "This was something I really enjoyed," and she received her archivist certification in 2011.

For the 2011-12 year, she served on the Saskatchewan Council of Archives and Archivists.

'It really got me going with the whole archives community and what was happening with our data bases in our repositories."

She proudly says North Battleford's archives was one of the first archives to begin data entry into the new provincial system ICA-AtoM (International Council on Archives Access to Memory).

Donahue Buziak says this year will be a clean-up year for the archives because "we had so many researchers come in and so many donations come in."

While that is underway, she will be looking around for her new focus on volunteering.

"I like the WDM," she says. "You get the families out there. I volunteered a few times last year and I think I am going to be looking at that."

There are other areas she looking at as well.

"There's always a good call for volunteers and you don't have to look very far."

She may be looking for a way to volunteer her passion for playing and teaching violin.

"When I was going to university, I taught violin lessons to support my family."

Her love of violin comes from her father, Tom Donahue, although Tom's interest was in fiddling.

"He was a great collector," she says. "He had 92 fiddles when he passed away."

She has six of her dad's fiddles, and collectors from Calgary and Edmonton have most of the rest. Her brother Kim has their grandfather's.

Donahue Buziak says, "I learned fiddle playing by ear. My dad wanted my son to play ... so I would start playing along. I picked it up and loved it."

Sadly, her father passed away 1991. It was difficult to play the fiddle after that, so she "went all classical."

"There was a group that had me trained in Saskatoon," she says. "I got my Grade 6 Royal Conservatory, was able to classically train kids in the community and then they would go to Saskatoon."

She says, "There's a good group of students running around I'm very proud of who continue to play and are now teaching, so it's pretty exciting to see that legacy live on."

Donahue Buziak herself is living a legacy, that of her father. Tom Donahue and his family came to North Battleford from the Assiniboia area in the mid-1960s to help run the local drive-in theatre. He is well remembered by residents of the city. He served as a city councillor from 1986 until his death, and would probably have run for the mayor's position.

"I think he would have run for mayor that term," she says, "We had the discussion, and I think he probably would have made it."

He loved working with the city, she says. It seems that passion has passed on to her, and she's proud of it. Although she's married, she has retained her maiden name because, even now, when she meets people they ask her, "aren't you Tom's daughter?"

Her mother Edna passed away in 1999.

"You really miss your mother and father when they are gone and you really draw close to your siblings," says Donahue Buziak.

Her older brother, Kim, has a business in the city and her older sister Diana Bolan (of the Denholm Bolans) is an education superintendent in Edmonton. Her younger sister, Terry Ring, is a lab tech in North Battleford.

"My older brother and sister are two years apart," says Donahue Buziak, "then 13 years later [my parents] had me and my sister."

They have been termed "Irish Twins."

"I was born at the beginning of the year in January and my sister was born in December of same year," she says. "We're the same age for 10 days. "

Donahue Buziak has two children, Matthew and Lisa. Matthew lives in Edmonton and Lisa has recently relocated her family to North Battleford from Edmonton. That means grandma time for Donahue Buziak.

"Emma, she is my pride and joy," she says. "I would like to show Emma about volunteering. It's something I definitely want her to see."

Four-year-old Emma is also a big help on the farm where Donahue Buziak has lived with her "wonderful" husband Terry for the last four years.

"You should see her dig potatoes!" says her grandmother.

Donahue Buziak loves life on the farm. She's planning to get some sheep, and she loves vegetable gardening.

"I love to can, to pickle, to freeze. And I love to make jam."

She enjoys spending time outdoors. This year, of course, she was busier than usual.

"My husband had to do a lot of weeding," she laughs.

She and her husband also love camping and fishing, and they feel lucky to be in an area where there are so many lakes. While she won't give away her favourite fishing holes, she says Dory Lake was a favourite of theirs last year.

They've even done a fly in fishing expedition.

"It was amazing," she says. "They drop you off and away they go. You have a satellite radio if you need help it was really remote, very exciting."

Once she was there, she loved it, but Donahue Buziak does not like to fly. She leaves that up to her sisters, who have both travelled extensively.

"I live travel adventures through them," she says.

While she doesn't like flying, she would like to drive across Canada. She's been to the west coast, and would like to go east as well.

"There's lots to see in our dear country."

Looking back over the past year, Donahue Buziak is excited about having a new time capsule prepared for opening in another 100 years. In that capsule is a picture of herself and her granddaughter, representative of a year well spent, and a time to move on.

"When you think back you don't think about all the obstacles it was the friendship, the fun of planning of the events."

She says, "Maybe it was more about the developing of friendships. These are people who are dear to my heart now. You become very connected in a year like this and great friendships have been made.