CATEGORY: PERSONAL STORIES
After writing songs her entire life, Vera, a 95-year old singer and writer, lives out her dream of becoming a recording artist.
It began with a dream.
Vera has been playing the piano and writing music since she was a young girl. With a book full of original music that she still has today, her favorite remains her tribute to Canada called, "The Canadian Way". A song that she hoped to one day be able to travel to Toronto and have recorded. But life had other plans for Vera. After enlisting at 17, Vera met the love of her life in the Navy and soon married and returned home to Saskatchewan to raise her family. Still an avid musician, her children recall growing up listening to Vera play the piano and entertaining them with her original works.
Fast forward to early 2020. Vera, now living at Riverbend Crossing Memory Care, mentioned during a conversation with Martha, our Memory Care Coordinator, that she had given up hope in ever having The Canadian Way produced. Not one for letting anyone give up on their dream, Martha immediately sprang into action and contacted local musician Ryan Hicks to enlist his help. While Vera couldn’t travel to Toronto, Ryan was able to bring his recording equipment to Riverbend Crossing so that she could record her song right here in her home. As it turned out, that was just the beginning! Knowing in our hearts that everyone needed to hear Vera's amazing story and her song, we contacted the CBC Morning Edition in hopes that they would agree (they did)! Not only was she a rockstar during her interview, she was able to hear the release of her song The Canadian Way played on the radio for the very first time. After her story was shared, Vera also received requests to be interviewed with the Leader Post and the CBC National News and received fan mail and gifts from listeners across Canada who were inspired by her song and her positive outlook on life. To quote Vera, "never give up, never lose hope, keep trying, believe in what you're doing and be proud of what you're doing".
For the entire team at Riverbend Crossing, Vera's words ring true as we couldn't be prouder to have played a small part in helping Vera realize her dream.
