Bridget Moran
Bridget Moran (Nee- Drugan) was born on September 1st 1923 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Shortly after, her family immigrated to Success, Saskatchewan in Canada’s middle prairie province. Growing up in Canada’s dust bowl in the 1930’s was no doubt where Bridget got her free spirit and assistive attitude.
After completing traditional school and some advanced education, she taught school in rural Saskatchewan until 1944 when she joined the Woman’s Royal Canadian Service. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and English with Honors, graduating as a gold medalist from the University of Toronto after she was discharged from the Navy in 1946. She began work on a Master’s Degree in History, but was unable to complete this venture because the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (who was funding her education) refused to pay as no women were teaching at the History Departments across Canada. It was a disappointing setback, but opened the door to a rewarding career in BC’s North.
In November of 1951, Bridget moved to Prince George BC to begin her career as BC Government Social Worker. In 1955 she married Pat Moran and bore 4 children. In 1964, the BC Government suspended her and 4 other social workers for their public criticisms of child welfare services, including an open letter to then BC Premier W.A.C. Bennett. She fought and ultimately won the right to keep her Social Worker status, but she could not work for the government again. She worked after that as a social worker for the PG Regional Hospital, University Of Victoria Social Work department and from 1977 to 1989 for the PG School District.
After her retirement in 1989 she became interested in the death of a stony creek (reserve near Vanderhoof BC) first nations woman, Coreen Thomas. At the girls’ inquest into her death, she met first nations’ elder, Mary John, Sr. who became the inspiration to Bridget’s first book, “Stoney Creek Woman”. In addition to that book, Bridget wrote “Judgment at Stoney Creek”, inspired by Coreen’s death, “A Little Rebellion” about her life as a provincial Social worker and “Justa, A first Nations Leader” about then Stoney Creek Chief, Justa Monk. Her final book “Prince George remembers” was based on interviews conducted just after her arrival in Prince George in the 1950’s. She passed away in August 1999, just before her 77th birthday.
In her later years Bridget served on the boards of the Collage of New Caledonia, the Legal services society of BC and the “Yinka Dene” Language Institute (Aboriginal culture retention). She received many honors for her writing, including the LT Gov’s Medal for historical writing and the Jeanne Clark Memorial Award for Local History. In addition to that, she was an honorary member of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, & she was decorated with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from UNBC in 1995 and the U of Victoria in 1996. In 2003, the city commissioned a statue of her and erected it at the corner of 3rd and Quebec Street in front of Intersect Youth Services. She will always be remembered fondly for her consistently fighting on behalf of the weak and underprivileged in BC’s Northern frontier.
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