Omer ‘Albert’ Spencer is young at heart. Last Friday, Spencer celebrated his 100th birthday with friends and family. Despite his age, Spencer maintains an independent lifestyle at a long-term care facility in his home of Rouyn-Noranda, a small mining town in Quebec’s north-west. “I feel good,” said Spencer. “I don’t feel 100.”

Spencer was born on Calumet Island on April 29, 1922. He was the second youngest of eight children.

Spencer recalled the community-driven nature of . . .

the island, with many residents helping and taking care of each other in time of need.

Spencer’s mother passed away when he was 10-years-old, leaving his father to raise the family.

At the age of 12, Spencer had started working with his father in the bush.

In the winter, Spencer and his father would travel throughout the island, cutting down and collecting logs. In the summer, they would haul these logs to the Ottawa River for lumber mills downstream.

At 18, Spencer was conscripted into the army to serve in the Second World War. Spencer reflected on the dread he faced after his conscription.

“The worst day of my life was when I left home to go into the army,” he said. “You didn’t know if you were going to come back alive.”

Like many, Spencer was sold on the promise that he would get to travel around the world and see the unimaginable.

Although technically true, Spencer admitted that the horrors he saw during his time in Europe was far from the idealist image portrayed by the military.

After attending multiple training camps throughout Canada, Spencer was shipped to London to be deployed.

Spencer fought in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany as a private with the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders.

After the war, Spencer helped occupy West Germany for six months. Exhausted by the pain and turmoil he witnessed during the war, Spencer was anxious to find a way home. “When I was in Germany, I was tired,” he said. “I wanted to come home.”

Despite this, Spencer had preemptively volunteered to fight in Japan.

He was sent back to London for deployment, but was instead sent home after the Japanese surrendered.

After returning to Canada, Spencer found himself unable to settle. “I was glad, but I didn’t know how to stop right away,” he said. “I couldn’t stay in one place for too long. I had to move around.”

He sold his family home on Calumet Island and moved to Temagami, a mining town known for its gold, silver and copper in northeastern Quebec with his older brother’s family.

After a few months, the mine shut down. “One morning, I went to work and the mine was finished,” he explained. “There was a lock. We had no job.”

Spencer and his brother then relocated to Rouyn-Noranda to work for another mining company.

Spencer admitted that he had lost the desire to mine by the time he arrived in Rouyn-Noranda, but felt that it would be the most viable career for him. “I came here and I knew how the job was done,” he said. “I got used to it.”

Throughout his career, Spencer mined for ore, operated elevators and handled explosives. He would also try his best to contrast the often-bleak work by sharing jokes with his coworkers.

In Rouyn-Noranda, Spencer met his soon-to-be wife at a community dance. He asked for her hand in marriage on a park bench in front of the scenic Lake Osisko.

They married in 1950 and decided to stay in Rouyn-Noranda to raise a family.

They adopted their first child in 1953 from an orphanage in Quebec City and their second child from a local orphanage in Rouyn-Noranda in 1960.

Spencer continued to work in mines until 1984, when he retired at the age of 62.

In his retirement, Spencer decided to buy an old antique home to renovate. He taught himself how to paint and install flooring.

Aside from renovating, Spencer also spent a lot of his time travelling across Canada with his wife. Throughout his travels, Spencer met much of his extended family.

Now, many of the cousins, nephews and nieces that Spencer has met over the years, along with his immediate family, have travelled to Rouyn-Noranada from across Canada to celebrate his centennial.

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