Anne Baker has never been a big city person. In the city, she explained, only 20 per cent of people are happy and 80 per cent are grumbling. In a community like Powell River, 10 per cent are grumbling and 90 per cent are “amazingly happy and content.”
Baker moved to Powell River in 2010. After running a small printing business with her husband in Burnaby for over 20 years, they had both had enough. She and her husband were from northern BC, “so we knew we wanted to move back to a small town,” she explained.
The couple took a year off, crisscrossing the province while trying to find the right community to live in. That community turned out to be Powell River. “Within an hour of being here, it was just home,” said Baker. “From that first moment on, I’ve been getting happier and happier by the week.”
Though Powell River’s amazing scenery and proximity to nature was a plus for Baker, what really sold her was the people. “Everyone’s so friendly,” she explained. “[The community] has been so welcoming and so accepting.”
Baker and her husband have lived in two locations in Powell River so far, and both sets of neighbours have amazed Baker. “I knew more neighbours in each location in the first month than I did my 20 years in Burnaby,” she explained. “People have time to talk. The pace of life is awesome.”
One thing that helped Baker get involved in the community was the Rotary Club of Powell River. On July 1, she became president of the evening group, a year-long position. “Rotary’s such an awesome organization,” said Baker. “Whether it’s gifts of time or gifts of money to improve the community, it’s just such a great avenue to feel that you belong.”
Although she admitted it’s harder for her to find a job in Powell River, Baker said taking jobs she normally wouldn’t consider has broadened her horizons. After working everywhere from a gravel pit to Statistics Canada, she has finally found a fit—returning to truck driving after an almost 30-year hiatus.
“The local freight company has never ever had a woman driver before, after 50 years of business, so they were skeptical,” explained Baker, “but I managed to earn their trust.” She now drives five-ton trucks for City Transfer on a part-time basis.
Though she loves her job, what Baker enjoys the most about Powell River is the happiness of the people around her. “One of the unusual ways I recognize that it’s a happy place,” she said, “is that there are more houses painted yellow in Powell River than anywhere else. You don’t paint your house yellow if you’re not happy.”
Even though Baker didn’t paint her own abode the colour—“yellow doesn’t look good on new houses for some reason,”—her happiness with the city comes through loud and clear. “In Burnaby, I probably was consciously aware of being happy once a week, and here, it’s like four times a day,” she explained. “I feel like I’m on a natural high of life, and I’ve been that way every day for two and a half years.”
Baker said she aims to spread her enthusiasm for the community wherever she goes. “The energy here is so beautiful. There’s the physical aspect of the beauty of Powell River, and above that, there’s the people’s energy. It’s just so positive,” she concluded. “Several times a day, I say to myself, I’m so lucky.”
If readers have a story they would like to share about their experience of being welcomed to Powell River, please contact Kierra Jones at [email protected].
