UNITY — Some people would say that once you volunteer, you are a volunteer for life. At a young age, Irene Thiessen-Campbell had a passion for music, and as she got older, she used her passion to give back to the community. From being a member of the arts council and the Lioness Club, Irene became well known in the community for her love of music. And for almost 60 years, she has been instrumental in keeping the United Church choir on beat and in key every Sunday.
Irene grew up on her parents’ farm near Woodrow, a little town west of Lafleche, along Highway 13, also known as the Red Coat Trail. Her father was a farmer, and her mother was a nurse, travelling with the local doctor, making house calls. She was the middle child, with an older brother and a younger sister, Janet.
After the arrival of her baby sister, Janet, who had difficulties breathing as an infant, Irene said she was sort of on her own. Her brother, Morris, was already attending school, so young Irene decided she wanted to go to school as well.
“Morris would take his horse, ride over the hill and then he would wait. In a little while, I would run up the hill, jump on the back, and go off to school. In those days, a farmer would have to quit his work, tying up your horses to fetch your child. After my dad collected me twice, the girl who was teaching school said ‘Just leave her. She’ll be so sick and tired of being at school, she’ll wish to heaven that she was at home.’ But I fooled them, because I loved school,” laughed Irene. At that time, children around the age of five would start going to school, but Irene was around the age of three or four when she began.
As Irene grew up, music was always heard around the house. She said both her parents loved music and urged her to take lessons from other girls from the area. She began playing the pump organ, but because of her small size, she often enlisted the help of her brother to push on the pedals.
“I never really had good lessons. I knew nothing about theory, and I played more by ear,” said Irene. Many times, her dad would offer to dry the supper dishes while she practiced on the piano.
“It took him longer than anybody on earth to ever dry those dishes. I always loved to play, and he kept drying the dishes.”
After she finished school, she applied for Normal School but was denied because she was too young. Irene said she was devastated, thinking she would have to sit at home for a year. But her parents thought that would be a good time to continue learning at the keys.
“They suggested I should learn all the things I should have learned through the years. So, I went to Lafleche on one train and came home on the other train, once a week.”
Irene began learning theory from Sister Jean, whom Irene described as a tiny wee mite who put up with Irene’s antics. When it came time for exams, Sister Jean decided to try her student out at Grade 10.
“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness. I know nothing of the theory,’ but decided okay, I’ll work at it too. So, it came time for the festival, and I felt pretty confident that everything was okay. The next time I went for my lesson, Sister Jean apologized because she had an old syllabus and the piece I had picked was no longer valid. I was ready to give up, and she said, ‘No, we will not.’ She gave me a record, told me to take it home, listen to it and see if I could understand it.” Irene did as she was told for the next week, and when she went for her next lesson, Sister Jean handed her the music and told her to take it home and learn it over the next three weeks. When the time came to take her exam, Irene was met by an older gentleman.
“I took my exam, went back out to the parlor and he asked me to come back in again. I thought he was going to tell me I didn’t do what I was supposed to do for the exam, but he asked me to play the piece again. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got through it once, I really don’t want to be doing this again.’ So, I played it a second time, and the gentleman asked ‘Why are you using an augmented chord?’ I told him I didn’t know and that I thought it just sounded right to me. He said, ‘That’s not the way it’s written,’ leaving us no other choice but to confess to our error.”
“He said, ‘If I didn’t have the music in front of me, you would have passed with flying colours. When I look at the music, you’re putting in chords and runs that aren’t even in the music.’ He passed me, saying, ‘Anybody who can do that, it’s a gift. You can’t teach people that, it’s something you have to feel.’”
Irene was often asked to play in various dance bands throughout her school years. One band, the Clampett Clumpets, needed someone to play the piano, and Irene’s parents were not keen on the idea of their young daughter playing late into the night. A band member named Bill guaranteed Irene’s safe return home following the dance, and so her parents agreed to the opportunity.
“I thank my mom and dad for all their support in allowing me to play in that band at a young age. While at the teacher’s college, I got a call to see if I was available to play at the Temple Gardens, but I was already committed to playing with the dance band and would not be around. I suggested reaching out to another pianist in the Assiniboia area, and found out afterwards that I missed the chance to play with Don Messer and his band,” laughed Irene.
Following her year of music lessons, Irene was accepted into Normal School, becoming a teacher. She started in Meyronne, then went to Avonlea, Regina, and Assiniboia before settling in Unity in 1968. Here, she began teaching special education and started volunteering to teach the music program at St. Peter’s School. After some years, a position for a Grade 2 teacher became available at the Unity Public School, and Irene was looking for a change.
“The superintendent at the time phoned, and he said no. That was the worst night I think I ever had because I really wanted that position. The next morning, he phoned again and said he wanted to apologize. I was still mad at him, and he said, ‘You realize I’m going to have to hire two teachers to take over what you are leaving?’ I said, ‘Well, why do you think I want a change?’” The next school year, Irene made the transition to the public school, retiring from teaching in 1991.
When Irene and her first husband, Elmer, first came to the community, they began attending the Unity United Church. Shortly after being here for a year, Irene was approached by Mrs. Cleall, the choir director and her daughter, who played the organ every week.
“I got a call one day from Mrs. Cleall, asking if she could come over for tea. As somebody new in the community, I thought it was a nice thing to have someone wanting to come visit. So, I got my girls all organized and got tea made, then there was a knock on the door. There was Mrs. Cleall, with her arms full of music. Without even giving me time to offer her a cup of tea, she said, ‘I want you to play this.’ I was sort of taken aback and thought, well, alright. I suppose I could if you want me to.” Irene said Mrs. Cleall kept changing the music and putting it in front of her.
“She told me her daughter was leaving for Regina, and that the church needed someone to take over the organ. ‘You will do,’ is what she said to me. I was told that I was to go and have my hair done on Thursday, and she had my whole life planned out for me at that point. I don’t think I even said a word, I was so flabbergasted,” laughed Irene.
At the time, Irene never thought she would still be taking a seat at the bench almost 60 years later. She was able to talk Elmer into joining the choir and saw many members and directors come and go. Irene always had a special seat for many nuptials and honoured those she knew with their favourite hymns during funerals. After retiring from teaching, Irene and Elmer travelled to Mesa, Arizona, for four years before Elmer passed away in 1991.
Irene continued to play each Sunday at the Unity United Church, with weekly choir practices on Thursdays. There, she met another special man, Si Campbell. The pair became good friends and shared a love for music and the church. Irene and Si were married, sharing many wonderful adventures together before Si’s passing in 2024.
“He was the kind of person that you could share anything with. He called me Audrey as many times as I called him Elmer. We never had a mean word in all those years, and it was something that was very special. And not many people can say that. I feel really privileged to think I had two relationships like that,” said Irene.
After years of having her partners in the choir, Irene said her spot behind the church organ was the one place she felt safe, even without Elmer or Si there. She purchased a little keyboard shortly after Si’s death, setting it up in her bedroom.
“I can sit and spend hours and hours. The thing with music is, if you’re mad, you can pound on that thing all you want; the only one that’s hurting is you. I have earphones, so if I can’t sleep, I go and play for a while. It gives me a calm, and nothing else can do that for me,” shared Irene.
Irene spent some time on the Unity Arts Council, where she would often go listen to the different programs and decide on what performers the council wanted to bring to the area, which was always a highlight of her years. Even though the local arts council is no longer running and she is no longer teaching music, Irene still enjoys watching the local students during the annual music festival.
“I remember when I was teaching in Regina, I was asked if I would like to put everybody in the music festival. Our school was huge, and I was teaching Grade 2 at that time. The principal said not to worry about disciplining the students; all I had to do was teach them. There was one little guy, and he was a handful. We happened to win at the festival, and that little boy said, ‘I’m the toughest kid in Regina, and I won first in the music festival,’ and I think that was the first time he had ever won first in anything.” Irene said many of her students went on ahead in life and have accomplished wonderful things, but not because of her, but their own talents.
Although she said volunteering can sometimes feel like a full-time job, she enjoyed meeting all the people she met through her time as a volunteer, whether it was a new friend or a young student.
“Nobody realizes how much you have to do for the children for them to succeed. But if you can’t do your job, there would be nothing worse because the child wouldn’t be able to succeed,” added the pianist.
This past year, Irene has officially retired from being the main organist for the Unity United Church, giving someone else the chance to take on the role. Even though she may not be seen at the front of the church, the bench and sheet music will always be there for her.
