In Memoriam – Margaret Main October 10, 1935 – July 15, 2020
October 26, 2020
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Wild Lands Advocate article by: Sean Nichols, AWA Program Specialist
Click here for a pdf version of the article.
It is with great sadness and fond memories that we say goodbye to Margaret Main, longtime volunteer and dear friend to AWA. Those of us who have participated in AWA events in and around Calgary over the past several decades will surely recall on numerous occasions being greeted by her warm smile and helped by her omnipresent cheerful enthusiasm.
She has been always present, and always ready with a helping hand at our talks program, the erstwhile Masters of Teaching program, the Martha Kostuch Annual Wilderness and Wildlife Lecture, AWA’s annual Wild West Gala, and many more events. As those events developed and evolved over the years, one constant was always Margaret’s presence. Her name is nearly synonymous with the Climb for Wilderness especially during the 14 years of the Wilderness Mural Competition at the Calgary Tower.
Margaret spearheaded the mural initiative in 2003 to broaden the activities surrounding the Climb for Wilderness. The results were quintessentially Margaret. Over the following decade and a half, the drab concrete stairwell on the inside of the Calgary Tower was transformed under her guidance into a place of joy and beauty, with figurative flowers blooming in a place of monotony. Thanks largely to Margaret’s efforts, year after year, to keep the contest going and the paint flowing, climbers at the tower were able to truly enjoy their outings in the tallest art gallery in the world. In this way, with over 140 murals completed in the tower, Margaret truly and literally, made her mark on the Calgary landscape. We are honoured to have known her, learned from her, and will remember her forever.
If friends so desire, Margaret’s family would like to remember her passion for wilderness and wildlife with memorial donations to Alberta Wilderness Association.
