Shirley Bond [BScHEc/46] and Don Wilton [BScAgr/46] wouldn’t have crossed paths if it weren’t for the University of Manitoba. She was the eldest daughter of a lawyer, born in Winnipeg and raised in Fort Rouge. He was the eldest son of a farmer, born and raised on a homestead near Roland, Manitoba.

When they first met in 1942, the Fort Garry campus was a fraction of its current size, made up of a dozen brick and stone buildings nestled in a meander of the Red River. The Second World War was ongoing, and the south side of campus, including the residences, had been commandeered by the army for training and housing.

Don Wilton, 1943

Don hadn’t initially planned to be there pursuing a bachelor of science in agriculture. He’d earned an agriculture diploma a few years prior and had returned to the farm, but around Christmas in 1941, he became ill and didn’t get out of bed until the following June. The diagnosis was rheumatic fever, and doctors weren’t sure he’d ever walk again. While he did eventually get back on his feet, his days of doing manual labour were over and he decided to head back to school.

In a story about his life that he wrote in 1997, Don says, “My health was a long way from being A-1 that first year at the U of M. Some of our classes were on the fourth floor of the science building. I was able to make two floors and would have to sit down on the stairs for a breather. Shirley claims that was the first time she noticed me. I really didn’t do it just to get noticed!”

As it turns out, meeting Shirley was the silver lining of everything he’d been through.

She was at UM fresh out of high school, working on a degree in home economics. Like most female students at that time, she was also enrolled in a variety of courses to aid in the war effort.

Shirley Bond

In her own writing, Shirley remembers feeling overwhelmed at university. “I was a very young lady in an entirely new world, one among thousands, few of whom I had ever seen before. The classes were so large, the professors so intimidating. What was I doing here? I asked myself, and then one day the world changed. In physics class I was supposed to be fixing an electric gadget. I wasn’t having too much success when a voice over my shoulder asked if I could use a little help. I sure could and did.”

That voice, of course, belonged to Don. Shortly after, he invited Shirley to a university dance.

“I was a little slow as she had accepted an invite from another fellow,” Don writes. “I found out later that that date was not as exciting as she might have expected. Her date suggested that he would appreciate it if she did not wear lipstick and there were a few other matters he thought he should solve. At one stage during the evening my friend and I went up to the balcony to watch the dancing. There was Shirley sitting with her escort in the balcony on the other side. I got the impression from Shirley’s looks she was not too happy about her evening and I was not helping a bit…I think another problem she had, if I remember correctly, was that her fellow didn’t even dance. We had many a good laugh over that evening. I sure never let anybody else get the jump on me again.”

At a dance together, 1945

A double date of dinner and a show followed in the spring of 1943 and then the university year was finished, and Don went home to the farm for the summer.

“The experiences of a city girl’s visits to the farm were something else,” Shirley writes. “A five-mile ride in the jitney on a mud road from the bus at Roland to the farm, a cracked wash basin in my bedroom, a crow and shotgun blast over the outhouse, an encounter with the electric fence, a stubble field on fire, a sore shoulder from trying out the shotgun, and on and on. I survived and I think I really enjoyed it all.”

In the fall, they returned to campus and their courtship continued through their remaining three years of study. One of the highlights for both was the time they spent together on their way to campus from their homes further downtown.  “Travelling by streetcar and bus took a lot of time,” Don writes. “On most days, I would meet Shirley at the corner of Osborne and Corydon and that made the time spent much more attractive.”

Don and Shirley graduated on May 16,1946 and were married two days later before leaving town on their five-week, 5,000-mile, 500 dollar honeymoon in Don’s 1938 Chevy. Their lives took them from Winnipeg to Minnedosa where Don held the position of agriculture representative for the provincial government. Shirley established and ran the home (a three-room apartment over a shop on Main Street with no running water) and they started their family. In 1949, Don began working for Manitoba Pool Elevators, transferring back to Winnipeg in 1953 where the couple lived for the rest of their lives.

Don and Shirley Wilton at their 50th wedding anniversary, 1996

“Our life together has been pretty wonderful,” Shirley wrote on their 50^th wedding anniversary in 1996. “In the early years, as a 22-year-old mother with my first child and living in a small Manitoba town, I sometimes wondered why I had not taken my mother’s advice to work a few years before getting married and having a family. Now I have my four wonderful children, all with university degrees (from UM) and well established in their life’s work, and eight grandchildren. We have been abundantly blessed.”

Don lovingly cared for Shirley through ill health in the lead up to her death in February 2005. He missed her deeply until the day he died in September 2006. They were truly soul mates for their entire 58 years of married life, and it all started with a chance meeting at the University of Manitoba.  

This collaborative project was conceptualized and designed by three former FHNS (Food and Human Nutritional Sciences) students—Sheila Stark-Perrault, Darren Fife, and Victoria Wojakowski—as part of their graduate studies in Home Economics Education at the University of British Columbia. All three are now home economics educators in Manitoba.

The mural presents a detailed timeline, tracing key milestones and pivotal events in the field from the 1800s to the present day.

The initiative aims to honor the profound contributions of home economics and human ecology to the University of Manitoba and the province as a whole. Additionally, it seeks to inspire current and future students by showcasing the diverse career opportunities available within the discipline.

Dr. Joyce Slater, a now-retired professor from the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, played a pivotal role in bringing the project to life. She secured support from the Faculty Endowment Fund and guided the project through its design and installation phases. 

The artistic design of the mural was created by Dian Greaves of Well Creative, while LightVisions oversaw the fabrication and installation process.

Warm words and a great reminder during this year’s National Volunteer Week (April 24-30).

“Whether it’s with kids or adults, it’s always so fulfilling,” adds Sally Shwetz [BSCHEc/60, CertEd/80], a fellow UM alum and McCabe’s former classmate. “There’s a huge warmth with everybody coming together and making something happen.”

“The biggest event I volunteered for was the Jeux Canada Games as Chair of the cultural component called ‘Creative Canada Creatif’ in 1981,” continues McCabe. “It was a three-year planning event, a huge undertaking, but it was also one of the most rewarding volunteer experiences of my life.”

Shwetz has spent many years volunteering with church groups, youth groups and at summer camps, while McCabe’s volunteering passions lie with her community theatre group, the Ageless Players.

“The joy that it brings to people has always fueled my love of volunteering,” continues McCabe. “It also satisfies the social part of my personality in places that I enjoy, such as the theatre.”

The two women’s commitment to community began back in their university days and they also recently celebrated the milestone 60^th anniversary of their graduation from Home Economics at UM with a virtual reunion and tea party over Zoom.

 “I think there were 27 of us in this event. We had people from Quebec, all the way to B.C., a couple in the States, all across the continent,” explains Shwetz. “It was so much fun over the course of the two hours, a lot of storytelling, everybody was laughing and we had such a good time with the pictures.”

Graduation day for the UM Home Ec class of 1960.

“Sally and I talked about the event by phone over a number of weeks,” adds McCabe. “It renewed our friendship even though we were miles apart.”

 Unfortunately, the reunion also had some melancholy moments.

“The saddest part of the planning was learning of the passing of some of our fellow girls,” says McCabe. “I was honoured to pay tribute to them with a poem called Afterglo.”

Otherwise, it was a gleeful gathering, with plenty of stories, memories, and hilarious comments, including this exchange:

“You need to sit on a cushion because we can’t see you behind your name on the screen.”

“I’m already sitting on three pillows.”

“Well get another one!”

The University of Manitoba is proud to recognize the life-long volunteer efforts of alumni like Shwetz and McCabe and congratulates them on their milestone reunion.

“Lynn and the Alumni Relations team put together this wonderful book for us with pictures and highlights from the reunion,” adds Shwetz. “It was such a lovely ending to the event, we’ll treasure this book forever.”

 If you’re interested in planning a class reunion of your own, visit the Alumni Reunions webpage, or contact Lynn Ferguson directly.

And for information regarding volunteering opportunities on campus, visit the UM Community Volunteers Program page.

Donald [BSA(Hon)/66] and Elaine [BHEc(Hon)/66] first met while staying in residence at UM, away from their family farms in Treherne and Elgin, Manitoba. They married the year they graduated, and immediately began chasing their dreams. In 1989, Donald and four senior managers bought Labatt’s wine division, renamed it Vincor and subsequently developed and launched the Jackson-Triggs brand, building it into the darling of Canada’s wine industry. In 2006, Elaine and Donald along with their daughter, Sara, founded a premium boutique winery, Culmina Family Estate Winery, in the Okanagan Valley south of Oliver, BC.

Now, the Triggs have decided to express their gratitude for the institution that gave them their start, the University of Manitoba. Today we sat down with Donald and Elaine Triggs to see how their love for each other, and for UM, has only gotten better with age.

WHY WAS IT SO IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO MAKE THIS GIFT?

Elaine: We’re fairly humble. We never do these things to get accolades. It’s our own inner feelings of doing the right thing, and knowing these gifts will help students who really need help to lead stronger and better lives.

Don: Opening the door to education is one of the most powerful things in the world. To be able, in our small way, to contribute to that is the jewel for us.

YOU ATTENDED UNIVERSITY TOGETHER, IN THE EARLY 60S. WHAT WAS YOUR UM EXPERIENCE LIKE?

Elaine: I was the first in my family to go to university. Both our parents were very grounded so it gave us the confidence to do whatever we wanted to do. I stayed in residence at Taché Hall and took English and organic chemistry, but most of my courses were within the Faculty of Home Economics. I was one of the first graduates of the honours program. To this day the friends I met within the first week of living in residence are still friends I keep in touch with.

Don: The thing that blew me away was the growth and exposure to different people. The guy next door was an architectural student and we had a chap down the hall doing a PhD in chemistry. That cross-fertilization of ideas and the opening of the mind that came with that was the most exciting part of university for me.

YOUR STORY TOGETHER ACTUALLY STARTED AT A UM DANCE. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT MEETING EACH OTHER?

Elaine: They had dances between the male and female residences in Taché Hall. During first term Don asked me to dance with him. He was cute. He was a great dancer – a lot of fun. But I wouldn’t go out with him, can you believe it? So he went on to date someone else for two years. We didn’t start dating until third year.

Don: I remember she was a great dancer and I thought she was smart and very attractive but the timing wasn’t right.

BUT THERE WAS A SPARK THERE.

Elaine: What attracted me is he’s smart. Don has a great sense of humour; he loves to laugh and have fun with life. And he’s kind. He’s humble.

Don: When I think about Elaine I think about someone who is adventurous, beyond belief. She’s never seen a challenge she wasn’t ready to grab. She has enormous energy and concern for other people. Most of all, she balances me, because I am a bit of an extreme optimist. It doesn’t hurt to slow me down now and then.

THE WINE INDUSTRY IS A CHALLENGING BUSINESS TO BE IN. HOW DID YOU KEEP MOTIVATED?

Elaine: I think there’s always been confidence we’ll work things out. When Don went to Western (for his MBA) we had no money. I had a job, but that’s it. For two years we had no furniture. We saved enough to go to Europe for 10 weeks by living on $5 a day. So we’ve always been ones that did without so we could afford to get what we want.

Don: My mother’s favourite saying was “Can’t is a coward too lazy to try.” How do you know you can’t do it if you haven’t tried? A fundamental in our lives is we really did believe in the art of the possible. I’m an eternal optimist: I see the cup half full all of the time, even if it’s only a quarter full. I really see the potential for change and for better things.

Elaine: I’m a realist, sometimes to counteract the over optimism. But Don’s right: we had good health, both mental and physical, positive attitudes and a real work ethic. We’re blessed with energy, especially in our last business which we didn’t start till we were age 62. We worked for what we got. We gave it energy, we gave it time.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR STUDENTS TODAY AND THE CHALLENGES THEY’RE FACING?

Elaine: Change will always be with us. So being able to adapt and move with change is going to be an even bigger factor. I’ve had three or four different careers in my lifetime. I was a teacher for quite a number of years. I went back to school and at age 48, I became a chartered accountant. I even helped design wineries. Just find your happiness, and not what someone else wants you to do. You’ve got to follow your own heart and soul.

Don: Don’t give up and do not let people tell you it can’t be done. Yeah, there’s big changes right now but reading through history, whenever there’s huge change, there’s not only higher risk but there are also opportunities because it throws all the balls up in the air.

WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO MAKE YOUR BURSARIES AVAILABLE TO ALL STUDENTS?

Elaine: For me, education in any discipline is so important. I’m a big believer in a liberal arts education which is getting less and less funding. So that’s why we definitely did not want to allocate this bursary to specific disciplines or faculties. They need to be a good student, well rounded and really get something big out of this that they otherwise would not be able to.

Don: I qualified for a lot of bursaries and scholarships which were critical support to me through the entire four year program. I feel very, very rich in the sense of the great education and growth that sort of set me on my way. Our family grew up with a social conscience. In the farm community we really believed in trying to help our neighbours when they needed help. We’ve always had this sense that when you have a chance to share, you do.

The first Donald and Elaine Triggs Bursaries will be offered in 2021-2022. Their endowed gift will support, in perpetuity, a growing cohort of students who will be the beneficiaries of the Triggs’ kindness and generosity.