![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.brandonu.ca\/alumni\/files\/2021\/04\/joan-with-Dougs-scarf-2.jpg\")
<\/a>Although she graduated from Brandon College \u2014 now Brandon University \u2014 almost 70 years ago, Joan Garnett remembers her time at the college like it was yesterday.<\/p>\nGrowing up on a farm near Shellmouth, Manitoba, she learned about Brandon College for the \ufb01rst time when recruiters came to her high school in Russell, Manitoba.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a di\ufb00erent time, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Joan said. \u201cDoc Hannah and Walter Dinsdale just opened a window. It seemed like the natural next step for me, I don\u2019t know what I would have done if they hadn’t come.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, Joan enrolled at Brandon College and studied geology while living in residence. Some of her fondest memories include the Dean of Women, Sarah Persis Darrach, the gatekeeper to the girls\u2019 residence.<\/p>\n
Many residents, preoccupied with how Mrs. Darrach a\ufb00ected their lives, were oblivious to the fact she had been a highly-decorated nurse overseas during the First World War. \u201cWe were all familiar with the long rose-coloured chenille housecoat she wore at night, especially when she enforced the curfew hour by blinking the outside lights, putting an end to fond farewells as young men returned their \u2018dates\u2019 to the residence,\u201d Joan recalled. \u201cOr when she ventured upstairs to make sure we were not having a pajama party \u2014 an event which occurred if someone had received a food parcel from home.\u201d Joan also fondly remembers the dances and other social events, spending time with her fellow students and inventing their own good times.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were so important, those social events. They put so much work into them and we all went,\u201d Joan said.<\/p>\n
The classes at Brandon College were small, and Joan has vivid memories of the professors \u2013 each with \u201ctheir own strengths and peculiarities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith administration, classes, and residences all in one building, we were like a family and learned to innovate, tolerate and adapt \u2013 important qualities to apply to the\u00a0future,\u201d Joan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing in small classes and socializing together made Brandon College students di\ufb00erent. We were a very close-knit group, it was something unique and it was a factor in the remarkable achievements of so many of the graduates.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Joan was nominated to be Lady Stick for her class in 1952.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were more quali\ufb01ed candidates, they just liked me, I guess,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cIt was a good year, but it was hard to do that and do your studies, too.\u201d After graduating with a Bachelor of Science, Joan followed many classmates to Alberta during the oil boom. She ended up working for Imperial Oil analyzing well\u00a0samples until she and other women in her department were let go because \u201cmen need your jobs\u201d!<\/p>\n
Joan stayed in Alberta to work as an X-Ray technician when the president of Brandon College at the time, Dr. J.R.C. Evans, called and asked her to return to Brandon and work for him.<\/p>\n
She was honoured he thought of her and accepted the position of secretary to the College President, where she worked for 11 years.<\/p>\n
In addition to the daily duties related to the administration of the College, Joan managed the bookstore, opened the \ufb01rst Alumni o\ufb03ce, organized the \ufb01rst Homecoming, was a shoulder for homesick students to cry on, and thoroughly enjoyed the busy job into which she had been thrust.<\/p>\n
Just before leaving Brandon College in 1967, Joan co-authored with Dr. C.G. Stone the book, Brandon College:\u00a0 A History 1899-1967.\u00a0 <\/em>She later returned to Brandon University to an event held in her honour, where she received the Brandon Alumni Association Alumni Award <\/em>for exceptional service to Brandon College and the Alumni Association, the second recipient of this award, the first having been Mrs. Darrach.<\/p>\n
From 1995 to 1997, Joan was happy to have the opportunity to once again be in touch with former students as she co-chaired, with Ian Dickson \u201958, the Legacy Campaign for the restoration of Clark Hall and the original Brandon College building.<\/p>\n
As she approaches her 90th birthday, Joan doesn\u2019t have advice for today\u2019s Brandon University students so much as she has praise and encouragement.<\/p>\n
\u201cTimes have changed so drastically, I can only admire the courage it takes for them to tackle today\u2019s world, hope they persist in seeking out truth, and thank them for being our\u00a0hope for the future,\u201d said Joan.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Erin DeBooy Although she graduated from Brandon College \u2014 now Brandon University \u2014 almost 70 years ago, Joan Garnett remembers her time at the college like it was yesterday. Growing up on a farm near Shellmouth, Manitoba, she learned about Brandon College for the \ufb01rst time when recruiters came to her high school in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":588,"featured_media":0,"parent":2249,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2286","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brandonu.ca\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brandonu.ca\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brandonu.ca\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandonu.ca\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandonu.ca\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2286"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandonu.ca\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2294,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandonu.ca\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2286\/revisions\/2294"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandonu.ca\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brandonu.ca\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}