"I just feel that given the circumstances under which we came here, like my grandparents came here, their descendants have done well.
And I believe they will continue to do well."
Myrna Wisdom was born on February 14th in Amber Valley, Alberta and is the granddaughter of two Black Pioneer families who settled in Amber Valley. Her paternal grandparents were Willis and Jeannie Bowen (nee Thigpen). Myrna’s Grandfather Willis was born in Greenville, Alabama and Grandmother Jeanie was born in Evergreen, Alabama. Myrna’s maternal grandparents, Samuel and Beulah (nee Heslep) Carothers, were from a small hamlet in Lee County, Texas.
Myrna has been very active in helping to preserve her ancestors’ legacy and those of other Black families who traveled from the US to Canada in search of a better life. 1999, she organized a restoration project for the Amber Valley Cemetery.
She was a member of the Planning Committee of the Amber Valley 100th Anniversary & Homecoming in 2009 and a founding member of the Black Settlers of Alberta and Saskatchewan Society.
As a member of the East Athabasca History Book Society, Myrna helped in the collecting of stories and photographs of those who lived in and attended school in the five school districts East of Athabasca,
One of those schools was the Toles school which Myrna attended and in 2010 - she was a consultant on the Toles School Project - providing photos, artifacts for display, and recommended different folks for interviews for the project.
In 2017 Myrna worked with Parks Canada and the Amber Community Association on the unveiling of the plaque honouring the Black Pioneers of both Alberta & Saskatchewan.
Most recently, Myrna was a consultant on both the Canada Post stamp and the Canadian Mint's Amber Valley silver commemorative coin honouring the Black Pioneers of Amber Valley.
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