Leaving Lab. City

After 18 years of crunching the numbers and working with the town council, Labrador City's executive secretary is moving on.

Marilyn Dicks finished her job with the Town of Labrador City June 4 and will now take up residence in Boat Harbour, near her hometown of Rushoon on the Burin Peninsula.

Ms. Dicks originally came to Labrador West in 1977 when Reg Walters, her partner, was hired with IOC.

"When I first got off the plane, it was -60 below and it was at the old Wabush airport, and I thought, 'Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?" she recalled her first thoughts of the Big Land. "I stayed and shortly thereafter, we had our first strike and we went home, but we came back after the strike was over and have been here ever since."

She said it wasn't as scary coming back the second time, as the young couple knew more about the area and the people living in it by then, and she's happy to say she's thoroughly enjoyed her life in Lab. West.

Ms. Dicks noted she worked in various jobs over the years including a five-year stint at Same-Day Photo, owned by Walter Hlipko. That position, she said, prepared her for the rest of her career at the town hall.

"I owe a great deal to Walter," she said of her former boss. "I was very shy when I first started and wasn't sure how to deal with the public. He set me up to do this job and helped me develop my personality."

Ms. Dicks took secretarial science at the local college after working at the photo lab and she remembers driving past the town hall and declaring she would someday work within the four walls of the administration.

In 1990, the Town of Labrador City hired Ms. Dicks under contract to do the "dreaded" poll tax and it wasn't long before she became a full-time employee. Eight years ago, she moved from the left side of the town hall to the right side to work as executive secretary in the town manager's office.

"That has been the most rewarding experience of my career," she stated with conviction. "It seemed to fit me like a glove. When I was growing up, I wasn't playing with dolls, I played school, so the office environment was in my blood for a long time."

Over the last 18 years, Ms. Dicks noted she's enjoyed every aspect of her career and is pleased to be finishing up under the direction of the same person she started with - Joyce Nichols.

She said she admires many aspects of Ms. Nichols' personality and also considers herself lucky to have worked with so many amazing individuals over the years including former town manager Martin Roberts, who according to Ms. Dicks was the best person anyone could ever dream to work for.

She also had high praise for the town council and explained there aren't enough kind words to describe the tremendous group of people she's worked with over the years.

"It's been an extreme pleasure," she said of her stay in Lab. City. "The area kind of grows on you. I enjoyed the work obviously, and I loved the security of the community. You didn't have to worry about locking your doors, you could leave your car running up in the mall parking lot in the winter if it's cold and not worry someone would take it. It's the kind of community I grew up in, but on a larger scale."

Ms. Dicks and Mr. Walters have forged long-lasting friendships in their three decades in Lab. City and no matter how far they move from the Big Land, the couple knows those bonds will never be broken.

She thanks her neighbours and friends for welcoming her and her spouse in their lives so seamlessly, but said she's ready to move into the next phase of her life. She'll spend the next couple years in Boat Harbour getting her brand new log home ready for occupancy.

"I'm extremely excited," she said with a smile. "I'm a little sad to be leaving after 30 years, but I'm looking forward to the future. Maybe I'll come back - to visit."