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markhams first mayor weekender may 3 1986 b17 heartache a part of her life by nancy hoskin death is a horrible word espe cially when relating to your own children said alma walker children are suppose to bury you not you them with the loss of her two eldest children john and jill both in early adulthood to heart disease mothers day is a reflective time but not always in happy one for the veteran markham politician accepting my childrens death has been the hardest thing ive ever had to face you never really let your children growup theyre a part of you and you al ways think of them as children even when theyre grown and gone mrs walker said i am a busy person and am very active she said mothers day is never a holiday i look for ward to i work around the sad feelings that continually tug at my heart when i think of my los ses i didnt lose just one child but two of my four at such early ages though her losses have been great mrs walkers strength may lie in the fact that she has maintained a close knit family with her surviving two children and 10 grandchildren ranging in age from three to 26 her son jer ry lives in kitamat bc with part of his family and daughter judi lives with her mom accompanied by her 18yearold son mrs walker noted that there are many differences with women today and their roles as mothers in comparison to when she started her family women have choices now there is much more freedom there is marriage the work place and motherhood and most of the time a combination of all three today you can set your mind on anything and accomplish it in my day the paths young women are now taking were beyond compre hension i knew i was going to be come a mother and housewife there were no questions mrs walker was married dur ing the depression when worldly goods were at a shortage but old fashion team spirit remained high standards were less mater ialistic mrs walker explained that everyone helped each other neighbors passed clothing down to youngsters on the block for ex ample friends and acquaint ances were always there when you needed them in many ways you miss out by being married young in this day and age it was okay years ago because thats what women were expected to do get married and have a family now there are so many opportunities out there in cluding the opportunity to become a more mature adult with time be fore settling down mrs walker added mrs walker lost her husband when her four children were still young but didnt have any prob lems in raising them the children were all helpful and so busy themselves i had a hard time keeping track of all their activities she said being one of 13 children herself and being raised in the markham area the walker children didnt come up short when finding play mates the family remained close and the walker children had loads of cousins to play with at all ages all living nearby alma walker was never career oriented and felt her place was at home where she shared her time with her children but when one by one they began moving away she wanted to embark on new activi ties and interests unexpectedly a fire that destroyed a house on princess st in 1952 shes lived on that street for the past 45 years changed her life and alma walker started her political career after the fire a group of us got together and decided something needed to be done about the fact that we didnt have any town wa ter available on our street some of us had our own wells and there were a few natural springs but it wasnt enough to save a neighbors house reflected mrs walker alma walker here with photos of her family has former mayor is still active as a markham hydro known heartache in her lifetime but the resilient commissioner nancy hoskin my friends convinced me to run for a council position i be came the first women councillor for the village of markham and have been involved in local poli tics for the past 33 years said mrs walker alma walker has held various political positions including the town of markhams first mayor she has worked in social ser vices has been a ward council lor regional councillor and has remained on the markham hydro commission since 1980 her involvement with the mar kham museum the markham fair and the chamber of com merce to name a few local in terest groups has kept mrs wal ker active in the community she has been a recipient of many awards being honored by many local service clubs including rot ary and the kinsmen and re ceived a markham women of dis tinction award in 1983 dont lug a vacuum plug in a beam guarantee wc guarantee that every beam item we sell is accurately described and or advertised within one year from date of purchase if for any reason whatever you are dissatisfied with your purchase we want you to return it to us we will exchange it for one you arc satisfied with or refund the cost of the item in full including any transportation charges jbeam til am o cafjaija inc 2s2fis2 joopooimooollopooooooilpooooclqoooooooqoollqoooocic dont you wish 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