Getting to know Barbara Hagerman
PEI'S 40TH Lieutenant Governor, Barbara Hagerman, is an accomplished musician, choir director and voice teacher. She's identified arts and culture, multiculturalism, youth and seniors as her priorities. Her Honour spoke with Saltscapes from Fanningbank-the official residence, in Charlottetown, where she lives with her husband-about her childhood mentors, her attraction to the ocean and fruitcake.
Q What was it like growing up in Hartland, New Brunswick?
A It was a very safe community because everyone knew you.
Q Your family wasn't well off?
A No. My father had been in the hospital for two years with tuberculosis before I was six. I started working when I was 12 at a soda fountain place.
Q What did you do with your wages?
A The money went to help with the expenses at home and to support myself. To buy my own clothes. To save for university because when I was 14, I decided that I was going to university.
Q You took music lessons as a child?
A Yes. My father's cousin [Elsa Keith] was the piano teacher in town. She offered to give me piano lessons for free, and if it hadn't been for free, I probably never would have been able to start. Professor John Peterson… adjudicated the music festival and he saw such raw talent in Carleton County that he moved to Woodstock. One day when I was about 11 or 12, a piano was delivered to my house. I found out long after he was gone that Professor Peterson bought this piano. He's probably one of the reasons I try to give back as much as I can.
Q Under your leadership for 17 years, the Summerside Community Choir went all the way to Carnegie Hall. Can you tell me about that day?
A Unbelievably exciting. The people in my choir were just regular, ordinary people: secretaries and nurses and waitresses and bus drivers. It was electric.
Q What do you like to do outside of music?
A Biking and walking. I did weights for 17 years. To celebrate my 60th birthday, my girlfriend and I biked across the Island.
Q Both New Brunswick and PEI are home to you. Where are your loyalties?
A I was here about two months and I remember saying, "I never want to leave." It was the ocean that really touched my soul. It makes me feel really calm and peaceful and content.
Q When you found out about the appointment as the Queen's representative for PEI what went through your mind?
A I have to move. When can I tell my family? I have to quit my job. I said, "But Prime Minister, I'm supposed to be playing at church on Sunday." He said, "Well, play this Sunday, but then give your notice."
Q What's been a highlight of the job?
A We have a lot of immigrants moving to the Island. On June 19 we had 90 arrive [from countries like Columbia, Afghanistan, Burma, Somalia, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran]. Most of them were in national costume. They came to sing for me because I was a musician. They sang "It's a Small World After All." I conducted them singing "Oh Canada."
Q You have a cook at the official residence. Do you, say, get a midnight craving and call down?
A Oh no. But a lot of people told me that the fruitcake [at Fanningbank] is so delicious that two years ago, I decided I would use my own fruitcake recipe-from my great grandmother's recipe. The chef made 34 fruitcakes, and we had 550 visitors here on New Year's Day. The chef was very, very patient with me because I told him exactly how to do the fruitcake.