Dossier F5 - Diaries 1968-1974

The file contains three diaries from 1968, 1969, and 1970-1974. They are a daily record of Maxine's experiences being the first and only woman in the Forestry program at the BC Institute of Technology (BCIT). They span just before graduating high school, including her application and acceptance into Forestry at BCIT, the daily events, in some detail, of her two years in the program, and her first job in the field after graduating. Maxine wrote in the journals daily (small pages) about her day at school: field trips, lectures, labs, and being helped in school. Maxine states “The diaries have a “secret code”: on the days I had my period, I made a special mark. Those days were especially important to me, as someone in their late teens, surrounded by men, often not near a proper bathroom.” Maxine was 18 – 20 years old in a program of men in their 20s – 30s, most of whom were married.