Ruth Irene Buchanan has led a remarkable life as a teacher, feminist, mother, world traveler, and proud longtime resident of Naramata. She can now add 鈥減ublished author鈥 to her impressive list of credentials. At 82, Buchanan has just released her new memoir entitled Travelin' Light, which she describes as a 340-page humorous account of her life鈥攂eginning with her childhood in Lethbridge, Alberta, raising three children, and working as a teacher at various levels. The book also includes many engaging stories about her time living in the South Okanagan, including 13 years in Naramata, where she successfully ran a bed and breakfast business.
After selling that business, Buchanan went on to operate another bed and breakfast in West Kelowna, near Mission Hill Winery, for several years before retiring. 鈥淪ince I retired, I've gotten into a lot more writing and promotion,鈥 she said.
Buchanan, a warm and charming woman, said she had long wanted to write a memoir, following in the footsteps of her father, Carl J. Buchanan, who wrote his own memoir, Under the Hunger Moon: The Saga of an Alberta Homesteader, 15 years ago. 鈥淚've been a writer for more than 50 years,鈥 she said proudly. 鈥淚 was a teacher. You name it, I鈥檝e done it. I taught elementary school, junior high, university and college, and even taught literacy at a jail in Alberta for two years.鈥 She also contributed numerous articles to the Penticton Herald over the years.
Her teaching career began in Lethbridge, where she taught adult upgrading and English as a Second Language for eight years before taking on a position teaching inmates at a prison. During that time, she struck up a friendship with Paul Byrne and eventually became editor of Lethbridge Magazine, while still teaching full-time. 鈥淲e won Western Magazine of the Year in 1985 with a part-time staff,鈥 she noted.
Byrne eventually relocated to the Okanagan and began a 30-year run as publisher of Okanagan Life magazine. Buchanan helped him launch that publication in the 1990s, serving as its original editor. 鈥淲hen I was editor of Okanagan Life, I was destitute because I had lost my teaching job. Paul could only pay me a small wage鈥攚e had just started, and it was quite a struggle to survive,鈥 she recalled.
In addition to magazine work, Buchanan became a well-known freelance humor columnist, contributing to newspapers and magazines across Canada, including the Edmonton Journal, Lethbridge Herald, AMA Magazine, and Lethbridge Magazine.
Her father moved to Penticton in 1972 after a serious sawmill injury made it impossible for him to continue farming in Alberta. With more free time and a desire to write, he pursued his dream of authoring a memoir after Buchanan gifted him a typewriter. 鈥淗e moved to Penticton and took a writing course from R.L. Gordon, a renowned Canadian novelist who also lived here,鈥 she said. 鈥淗e had real talent鈥攈e even sold stories to Reader's Digest. I had just started writing and was jealous he had reached such a high market.鈥
Buchanan later published her father鈥檚 book through a small publishing company she founded called The Last Leaf. She re-released the book a few years ago, adding a chapter titled 鈥淭he Big Kill,鈥 which tells the story of her father shooting the second-largest moose ever recorded in Canada back in the 1960s.
Humor plays a central role in Travelin鈥 Light, and Buchanan hopes her stories bring joy to readers. 鈥淎 large part of the book is about the 13 years I ran the bed and breakfast in Naramata,鈥 she explained. 鈥淚 write about a lot of the really crazy and funny things that happened. It鈥檚 a travel book, a humor book, and a memoir.鈥
The memoir also includes a chapter on how the Village of Naramata got its name and another on the Camp Creek Station on the Kettle Valley Railway. This station was part of a network of relief camps created during the Great Depression to provide work for unemployed men. While these camps were often criticized for their harsh conditions, Buchanan notes they also fostered a positive atmosphere鈥攅specially through their popular soccer team.
One of the book鈥檚 most gripping chapters covers the so-called 鈥淣aramata Water Fight,鈥 a highly publicized dispute between local ratepayers and a developer that gained both provincial and national attention. Buchanan was the head of the Naramata Ratepayers Association at the time, in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
鈥淭he people who lived in Naramata were badly screwed,鈥 she said. 鈥淎 developer sued the community because the local water board obstructed his development. We didn鈥檛 know how crooked our water board was or what they had promised him.鈥 The result was a $6 million lawsuit that lasted six years. Although the Naramata Irrigation District was named in the suit, all 800 local ratepayers were also included.
鈥淭he judge ended up awarding $2 million,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen eventually took over the irrigation district, and the NDP government passed legislation that stripped ratepayers of any say in the matter. The regional district was given the power to resolve the issue.鈥
Buchanan said the legal bills were staggering. In the end, Naramata residents had to shoulder the burden, with members of the Ratepayers Association paying more than $400 annually on their property taxes for 20 years. 鈥淚t was like stealing a portion of your pension for two decades for something that was really the government鈥檚 fault,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat saga is told in one of the chapters in the book. I used humor to explain what happened, but it wasn鈥檛 funny at the time.鈥
Buchanan said she鈥檚 enjoyed her life immensely, and the book reflects her desire to share key moments with honesty, humor, and passion. 鈥淭his is a memoir detailing the story of my life,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 chronological and covers the homestead I grew up on in Alberta, going to university, my teaching career. It鈥檚 my memoir of my 82 years on this Earth. Each of the 35 chapters details another chapter of my life.鈥
Travelin鈥 Light was released in March and has been selling well, thanks in large part to Buchanan鈥檚 tireless promotional efforts. The book is published by Amazon and is available through its website. She has also secured shelf space at major bookstores, including Chapters, Coles, and Indigo. 鈥淚鈥檝e spent a lot of my time making sure the book has a physical presence in stores across the Okanagan and all across Canada,鈥 she said.
Amazon has been printing the book on demand, and Buchanan said she鈥檚 thrilled with both the sales and the public鈥檚 response. 鈥淚鈥檓 not in it for the money 鈥 it鈥檚 the satisfaction of having this done and seeing my book on bookstore shelves,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 want my children, grandchildren, and the people I care about to be able to see it.鈥
Buchanan is delighted by the feedback she鈥檚 received. 鈥淭otally, totally satisfied,鈥 she said. She鈥檚 planning a trip to Belize in the fall and is considering writing another book over the winter.
Travelin’ Light is dedicated “with much love to my three children, Donna, Tony, and Robert.” To order the book, visit .