Cecilia Arnet, 78-year-old Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation member, brings a wealth of practical knowledge, skills and understanding about living, and is very creative and innovative in her art work and gardening.
Throughout her life she has worked at a variety of jobs and has achieved a great deal. Cecilia is a happy, outgoing lady and is respectful, friendly to all people and has a lot to offer.
Cecilia’s parents are late Barney Williams Sr. and Cecilia Williams (nee Chipps) of Opitsaht. Cecilia has six children and many grandchildren.
She began working as a housekeeper at age 16 for families living in Tofino, and continued in that job until age 28. She said the wage was really good back then and the people she worked for really appreciated her work.
One of the ladies she worked for owned a clothing store called Frankie’s, and Cecilia recalled that the lady was very nice and gentle. Cecilia also worked as a short order cook at the Schooner Restaurant, and worked one year at the old Tin Wis Hostel.
Cecilia worked as a deck hand for 10 years for her late husband Larry Arnet. The couple traveled by boat to Kyuquot every July to fish till the end of August. Cecilia’s job as deck hand was to clean and ice the fish.
The fish buyers observed that the fish she iced was always top notch and wasn’t all flimsy or soft.
Cecilia purchased her own boat last year and renamed the boat Maria Christina. Her son Dennis is now operating the boat. Owning and operating her own business is costly, but mentioned that she did this for her son. She said last year the fishing season was rather poor, and she hopes that this year will be much better.
Working with children at the Tlu Cha Children’s Centre in Esowista and the pre-school in Opitsaht for eight years has been very rewarding for Cecilia. She teaches arts and crafts and prepares and serves each child specially made lunches.
Cecilia is very meticulous and health conscious and takes special care to teach the children about washing their hands and putting their toys away. She gently reminds them about respect. It is important to know what each child can eat, due to some children who may have severe allergies or other health issues, and to be mindful about the family members at home who suffer from allergies as well.
Cecilia has learned a lot from the little kids and credits them with teaching her how to hug and say “I love you”. All the children call her nanna or gramma.
Cecilia attended the Christie Indian Residential School on Meares Island from age eight to 16, and reached Grade 6. She left the school mainly to look after her grandmother Mary Jackson who became ill. After her grandmother recovered, Cecilia never returned to the residential school. Back in her day it was normal for native children to leave school at Grade 6, however, many have accomplished a great deal despite that fact.
Cecilia’s other talents include knitting, painting, flower arrangements and gardening. Cecilia began gardening about six years ago. She learned how to garden by watching shows on television and getting tips from the local plant store in Tofino, and by trial and error.
To start her garden she cleared the yard and built a fence by herself. She has a beautiful garden of flowers, trees and some fruit plants.
Cecilia does not use pesticides at all, and only uses natural fertilizers, such as kelp, seaweed and starfish for her plants, and she just picked up some cedar shavings to protect the plants from frost and keep the bugs away. She said the starfish compost makes the best fertilizer.
Plants can be fussy about the location that you put them in and she has learned over time where to place them. Some rosebushes do not like direct sunlight and prefer shady areas with a little sunlight.
There are three different types of soil that you use when planting flowers and vegetables. Cecilia is planning on growing vegetables at the community garden this year as she has limited space in her yard, and is planning on building a new fence and adding some boulders around the garden to keep dogs out of her yard.
Gardening is very therapeutic and great exercise for Cecilia. She does a lot of walking, carrying heavy objects, packing sand and cedar shavings, fertilizer and hammering and lots of bending.
She feels stress free, calm, worry-free and totally relaxed.
