I stood in the waiting area of the Medicine Hat Airport looking around for a familiar face. And there it was. Leana had just come in the door and was smiling and waving at me.
LEANA KOCH acted as my hostess for the next 3 days, chauffeuring me about, helping me set up interviews and welcoming me into her home. I worked closely with Leana when she was the LCA Administrative Assistant a couple of years ago and came to appreciate her ability to get a tremendous amount of work done in a short period of time with almost no fanfare or fuss. Medicine Hat College is lucky to have her on staff now as the coordinator of the Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) Program.
We discussed the plans for my visit on the drive into the city from the airport. We decided that the first stop on the Medicine Hat tour should be "the trailer", a mobile trailer unit set up in a field on the north side of the Medicine Hat College campus. We parked the car, walked through a long building then back outside into an open area where the turquoise coloured trailer is parked.
The trailer is the home of the ABLE Program, the Medicine Hat Further Education Council, the One Voice Literacy Program for Seniors, Public Legal Education and the Adult Basic Education (ABE) Department. (The office of the Administrative Assistant for the LCA was also housed in the trailer before the new LCA office opened in Calgary.) The trailer itself is long and narrow with five small offices in a line on one side and a coffee area, books, papers and boxes of "whatever" on the other. There is a "lived in" feeling about the trailer and I noticed that the people who came into the trailer in search of a book, an answer to a question, or a cup of coffee were quite relaxed and comfortable in the trailer setting.
I was also made to feel at home in the trailer. Leana introduced me to some of the women who coordinate and work in the programs run out of the trailer. These woman (10 at the time I was there) are affectionately referred to as the "trailer ladies". It was obvious as everyone gathered around to say hello that they are very fond of one another. After chatting for awhile, I mentioned that I wanted to freshen up before I got started on my interviews. Leana looked sideways at the person next to her and everyone started to laugh. Then I remembered; there is no bathroom in the trailer!
Leana explained that when you need to use the ladies' room, you are obliged to go outside and walk to the nearest building that does have washroom facilities. No one complains much in the summer, but in the winter one has to don coat, boots and mitts before going outside. I asked the trailer ladies how they cope with such an inconvenience and one woman good naturedly replied that they've perfected the art of "holding it"!
Everyone laughed again but the reality of working in the trailer obviously presents some very real challenges. It's hot in the summer, cold in the winter, the roof leaks when it rains and the janitorial service is marginal. The trailer is isolated and inconvenient. But instead of letting the inconveniences get the better of them, the trailer ladies have created a family atmosphere of acceptance and support. Their means of survival is a community spirit which they have been careful to nurture over the years. I know many people who would find this work environment impossible but as I got to know the women who work in the trailer, I wasn't surprised at all that they've been able to make it work.