LOOKING BACK — LIFE AS A MARRIED UNIVERSITY STUDENT

Art MacKay 1959

Frankly, when this article was first written, it was in the hope that it would bring in some money. It’s a habit I picked up as a married university student back in 1959.

When I look back, I realize that my life had always been relatively simple. Born in a small conservative town in New Brunswick, I had few financial worries and, in those days, a trip to a point 100 miles distant was an event to dream about! I graduated from high school and shortly thereafter found myself registered as a science student at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Since my family had moved there at the same time, my sheltered position was maintained. However, during my third year at university the thought of being unable to marry my childhood sweetheart for another 5 years began to make me unbearable and plans for marriage were made and fulfilled.

The rapid growth of education in Canada had produced an ever-increasing group of young Canadians with peculiar characteristics. They are university nomads in the best sense, wandering back and forth across our country in search of a livelihood to the point of being professional beggars! This thirst for knowledge was phenomenal. Imagine, they were potentially worth $7,000 to $10,000 per year; but their outstanding characteristic was that they were perpetually broke.