Looking back now I really appreciate how blessed I have been to be able to continue to get out and about. My knee has been amazing; it’s been bone on bone for over 40 years now and although it’s arthritic, it’s certainly not as painful as it could be. While it is true that there were a lot of things that I could no longer do I was so very fortunate to find new things that I never dreamed of doing. Rather than wasting energy lamenting over things I couldn’t do I looked to what I could do. For example, for years afterward I kept trying to ski but skiing just wasn’t in the cards. It hurt my knee too much and put me at risk of damaging it even more. For a few years Cliff White kept encouraging me to try snowboarding so finally I tried that in 1995. I naturally lead with my left leg. I found that I could snowboard on gentle groomed, terrain but I just didn’t have the strength to make it work on more challenging terrain. So, I learned to snowboard, leading instead with my right leg. That’s been my winter season salvation. I snowboard at the resorts and have a split board for backcountry touring. I just work within what I can do. I’m very satisfied with that. I have no complaints, and no regrets; the Warden Service experience was a short but foundational part of my life; it wasn’t meant to be a long-term part of it. I really enjoyed it. It’s been fun to maintain the contacts I developed as a Warden. There are some great people associated with Parks and the Warden Service.
SH: What do you enjoy doing in retirement? Well, I know you haven’t really retired but what do you enjoy doing in your new life after Parks Canada Peter?
Peter: As you know I went on to practice law in Canmore in 1986 and have been practicing ever since. My brother Martin keeps asking me if I am still practicing or, have I managed to get it right. I tell him that I won’t retire until I get it right and no longer require any further practice. My wife, Chris, and I enjoyed the years of raising our three children, Heidi, Meredith, and Alex; they were our primary focus. One of the really nice things about working for myself in Canmore was that I was able to have breakfast with our kids every morning while they were growing up and I was home every night for dinner with them. I was also able to take time off to participate in and support their school and extra-curricular activities. The 20 cm rule allowed us to go snowboarding as a family as I would clear my schedule and pull the kids out of school whenever we received more than 20 cm of snow. In later years we lowered the threshold to 10 cm. I don’t know if it reflects poorly or positively on your job as parent when one of your teenage children tells you that she would rather skip the snowboarding on a day you invoke the rule and go to school because she was enjoying her English studies so much.
SH: That’s very cool. How did the Warden Service change over the years?
Peter: I watched the evolution of the Warden Service as we know it. I was very fortunate to get a glimpse of what it was like in earlier times when Wardens were called upon to perform a variety of tasks in a simpler world. I can fully understand and appreciate the need for specialization but it’s unfortunate that it happened the way it did, especially, in the law enforcement function. I think on both sides, people kind of lost sight of the real issues and it became a head-butting match. It is what it is, but I was certainly fortunate to be part of the old part of it. And the new part of it, they’re writing their own new history too. Things change.
SH: What about the Warden Service was important to you?
Peter: Our national parks are such treasures. There are so many important roles to play in their management and protection. The Warden Service has such a vital role to play not only in conservation but also in managing use and protecting not only the environment but also the users from each other and the environment in which they are situated. Maintaining the critical balance between sustainable use and safe enjoyment is a very difficult proposition. Hindsight is always 20/20 but some things just can’t be undone if it turns out they are wrong.
SH: Are there any legends or stories associated with the Warden Service that you can share? Is there anyone from the Service that stands out in your mind?
Peter: I can’t think of any that aren’t already known and have been told by others far more able to tell them than I could ever do. The books by many authors including, to name a few, Robert J. Burns, Mike Schintz, Sid Marty, Jim Deegan, Ann Dixon, Kathy Calvert and Dale Portman are full of great stories.
SH: Is there anything about the Warden Service, as you knew it, that you would want future generations to know?
Peter: I can’t think of anything specifically. Just the history and what they did and how they survived.
SH: What made the Warden Service such a unique organization?
Peter: I think it’s a combination of the character of the wardens, the mountain environment, and the varied tasks that they were asked to accomplish. I think proof of that is easily found when you look at the success of the musical group “The Wardens”, and how their music, the lyrics in their songs, and their pictures captivate the audiences they play for.
SH: Do you have any photos of yourself as a warden that you would like to donate to the Project, or that we may copy? Do you have any artifacts/memorabilia that you would like to donate to the Project (Whyte Museum)
Peter: I don’t really have much in the way of photographs. One regret that I have is that I did not purchase a good camera when I first was hired on. I saw a lot of things and you just assumed you’d see them again, and you don’t. But I’ll look and see what I have.
Chris and Peter at Golden, B.C.
End/sh
Attachments:
June 30, 1980 Macleans Magazine by Michael MacLeod.
Mountain Heritage Magazine Winter 2000/2001 “The View from Inside an Avalanche”, by Peter Perren
Alberta Report, June 27, 1980. “A plunge down Mount Logan”
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Susan Hairsine worked for Resource Conservation and Operations in Mt. Revelstoke/Glacier, Jasper and Banff National Parks, as well as for Public Safety in Western and Northern Region for over 30 years. She obtained funding for an oral history of Parks Canada’s avalanche personnel and oversaw the successful completion of the project. Her experience working with several the interviewees during their careers has been an asset to the current project. She was also the Executive Assistant to the Chief Park Wardens of Jasper and Banff National Parks.
