By LYNN NEUMAN
MCDOWELL
of The Advocate
" Don't call me Ms.!"
This from the first woman
to be lieutenant- governor of
Alberta, the first solicitor
general of the province and
first woman to hold a full —
and massive — government
portfolio in Alberta.
When Helen Hunley, who
t u r n s 66 today, began her
political career as a Rocky
Mountain House town councillor
in 1960, she wasn't
championing a cause for the
women's movement or anybody
else. She was, she
thought, simply doing her
civic duty.
That sense of duty has
taken her from a farm implement
dealership to a government
position that supercedes
the premier's. Through
it all, she's been Miss Hunley
— Second World War lieutenant,
first woman mayor of
Rocky Mountain House,
minister of Social Services,
and president of the Alberta
Progressive Conservative
party.
Now, however, she's Your
Honor. And she'll let you
know if you forget. It's not
personal pride. It's part of
her job as the I2th lieutenant-
governor of Alberta, personal
representative of the
Queen.
" Whether they like me or
not, care about me or anything
else, they should respect
the office. That's what I
want people to do — respect
the office of the Queen."
The Queen's representative
does everything from attending
citizenship ceremonies
and inspecting cadets to
opening stampedes and talking
to high school students
about government. She
shakes a lot of hands.
When Helen Hunley
reaches out her hand, she
does it in the old sense of the
gesture. Originally, a noble
stretched out his hand to
show goodwill and that he
bore no dagger. The political
veteran of 19 years has never
backed down from a fight,
but she's never carried a
hatchet either.
" We'd have some dandies,"
said Art Bott, who was a
councillor when Miss Hunley
was mayor of Rocky. " But
we'd always go for coffee afterward.
If Helen's got anything
against you, she'll tell
you to your face and that'll be
it. No way she'd ever hold a
grudge."
" My office is neutral
ground," she says, leaning
back into her chair with a cup
of coffee. " I'm apolitical now.
I've divorced myself totally
from loyalties to either party.
I'm here to represent the
Queen, who is neutral."
The conversation always
finds its way back to duty and
responsibility, just as Helen
Hunley, private citizen has.
In 1979, the lieutenant- governor
was tired of politics.
After four years in the hefty
Social Services portfolio, she
announced she was leaving
public life.
But when the call came
from Prime Minister Brian
Mulroney, asking her to represent
the Queen in Alberta,
she packed her suitcase, marshalled
her Labrador dog
Kelly and her ingrained
sense of duty, and moved to
Edmonton.
" What are you'going to say
— no, I'm too lazy?" asks the
dyed- in- the- wool monarchist.
Even in retirement, she
served as chairman of Rock-y's
town library board, chairman
of the provincial mental
health advisory council and
president of the Alberta Tory
party.
When a person considers
politics, she says, the first
question is whether she s
willing to make sacrifices:
time, personal freedom,
sometimes even income.
Next, and equally important,
is to determine purpose.
" If you want power, that s
too bad. You may make it, but
it's bad for the people."
She says responsibility was
t h e factor that most shaped
her life. Others agree.
" Helen came up the hard
way," says Lou Soppit, mayor
of Rocky. The eighth of 11
children ( named alphabetically),
little was handed to
her.
As a farm girl she was responsible
for chores and contributing
to the family income
by picking berries for.
^ tcms a pound. There was
never any question she'd get
a job to pay for her board
when she moved into Rocky
at 16 to finish high school.
Working the night shift as
a switchboard operator may
not have done much for her
concentration at school ( she
tended to fall asleep), but it
prepared her for her next big
responsibility.
In 1941, the 21- year- old
joined the Women's Army
Corps and soon became a telephone
operator instructor.
She wasn't fussy about rising
in the ranks because, she
says, shft enjoyed what she
was doing. But others had a
different idea.
Alberta Women's Institutes - Collective Memory
