Dorothy Carleton

(38:16) I missed my bicycle too (in the backcountry). I used to have to bike to work in England. It was a half hour trip on a bicycle. And I took my lunch. Then I would bike down to the river and see the ducks, while I ate my lunch. Watching the ducks and feeding the ducks. It was very nice, it really was. I used my bike a lot. I bought my first bike by installment plan. It was called a Hercules bike. Before that my folks had bought me a second hand one at 14 years old, that’s when I got my first bicycle. I liked bicycling and I decided I really wanted to have this Hercules bike because it had brakes too, very important! It cost me five shillings a week on installment. I was going out to work then and I was earning ten shillings a week at Thornycroft, they built marine engines. Big engines. That was when I was a shorthand typist. At 14, I got my first job at Thornycroft…Then my dad noticed this advertisement in the local paper for a shorthand typist at the English Forestry Association, the EFA. And I got twice as much money. Wow! That’s what I said. But my dad noticed the advertisement so I applied and I got it. I was the only girl working there, all the rest were men. I wasn’t allowed to join any of the services. I wanted to join the Land Army, I really, really did. But I was in a reserved occupation. That’s what they called it. So my boss didn’t release me to join the land army. They grew trees for estates. They felt that was a contribution to grow trees for the war effort. Anything for the war effort, everything was for the war. They even took our railings from around our house, the iron railings. From everyone on our street Grange Avenue they took the iron railings. So we ended up with no railings…I was also an Air Raid Warden during the war. That was voluntary.

(41:20) Yes, really (In response to the comment, “You have had an amazing life.”) The warden service has been so special to me and if there are any more parties they better invite Dorothy! She’ll get there and sing anyway. You bet! I love to sing, I really do…That’s right. (In response to the comment, “And you are the director of the senior’s choir.”) I love that and then when they found that little baton for me. It’s not just a stick, it’s a baton! I felt like I was really in control then! A tight ship yes. (In response to the comment, “I hear that you run a tight ship.”) I really had to bang on my music stand one practice because the two men were getting out of control…

(42:48) Yes, definitely! (In response to the question, “Do you ever miss the warden life?”)

(42:38) I think the fellowship, I really do. (In response to the question, “Do you have any lasting memories as a warden’s wife?”) Especially when we first moved in. I really appreciated the fellowship…We became very close, especially the wives. We were so happy to see one another after being isolated…

Years later, singer-song writer Scott Ward, a retired park warden and member of The Warden band, wrote the following song to honor of Dorothy and Dorothy was thrilled.

WAR(DEN) BRIDE
By Scott Ward

War is over a Canadian Soldier brought her to this place
When shown her new home he could tell by the look upon her face
No power and no water, she could only frown
Thirty miles by horseback to the nearest one horse town
Haul in water, stack up wood; get that stove alight
Alpine glow on mountainside quickly turns to night
Bread bakes in the oven, chaps hung from a nail
Saddles stowed, blankets aired, horses thrown a bale

She remembers the crossing of an ocean
Recalling the life she left behind
A life that’s filled with love and devotion
Visions frozen deep in time
Winter came, seasons changed, she learned to survive
From city girl to mountain legend Dorothy did thrive
With confidence her skills they grew with each passing year
Came to love this wilderness, this wilderness frontier
Dorothy’s gone, spirits strong, the legend will live on
Her smile, her grace, her cheer face honored in this song
Our thoughts go back to Stoney Creek, sixty years have passed
A one-room shack with a shed for tack, in a wilderness so vast

War bride to warden bride, living in the countryside
Far removed from England’s shore, nothing like she’s lived before
In her dreams it’s Stoney Creek, Bow Summit, Observation Peak
Deep in the backcountry, now a part of history.
Dorothy
Ed Carleton passed away on August 8th, 1994 at the age of 76.
Dorothy Carleton passed away on January 30th, 2018 at the age of 98.

In the spring of 2020 Mike, Terry and Brian Carleton with Lea Storry of Family Lines Publishing, Alberta published the book Ed and Dorothy Rocky Mountain Romance. The book captures the events of two lives well lived; and is not only a memoir of their lives but a tribute to them as well.

“HAPPY TRAILS ED and DOROTHY”