Hjalmar Tiesenhausen is inching toward 30 years of service with the Jasper Volunteer Fire Brigade.
He says being a volunteer is his way of giving back to the community that he loves.
“The community is really taking care of my family,” he says, “so it’s a way of giving something back.
“We can’t afford a full-time fire department, so people have to step up to the plate and volunteer and get the job done.”
Although some people might think he’s chosen a dangerous way to give back, that’s not how he sees it.
“The way I see it, if you have the proper training and the proper tools and a good support structure, you’re not putting yourself in danger, you’re protecting yourself and all the people that are around you.”
Every Wednesday afternoon for the past 20 years, Mildred Flanagan has put her nimble fingers to work, playing piano tunes for residents in the hospital’s long-term care facility.
When the sing-a-long began, it was Flanagan’s way of helping out the hospital’s volunteer coordinator, who was looking for people to feed patients.
“I said, ‘No. I don’t think I could feed them, but I could play the piano for them’ and that was the start,” remembers Flanagan. “They used to say in the hospital that after sing-a-long, residents were more contented. There were less complaints and less hassles.”
Flanagan says she enjoys performing each week, especially when everyone participates.
“I get great pleasure to play for people who sing.”
Like most long-time volunteers, Anita Robinson is quick to dismiss her years of service to the community. For her, being a volunteer is just part and parcel of being a community member.
“It’s not even a question,” she says. “Sometimes someone asks you to help and you do it and you don’t even realize you’re volunteering.”
Robinson, who grew up in Jasper and attributes her volunteer approach to the people who mentored her while she was young, is the longest serving member on the Jasper Adult Learning Council’s board.
What she likes about that role is that it’s hands on. “You don’t rubber stamp things. You actually get in and get your hands dirty and participate.”
She also volunteers with the Jasper Curling Club and in the past she’s worked with Meals on Wheels.
