Terry Hume was born in Drumheller, Alta., in 1955 to Cal and Marie Hume. He is the third child in the family, with an older sister and brother, and another sister born after him. His father was the local milkman and his mother was a cashier at the local grocery store.
“We had all the milkman jokes growing up,” says Terry with a laugh.
Growing up in Drumheller had its benefits, and Terry remembers collecting dinosaur bones with his siblings in the local hills. They would then sell their collections to tourists. Their favourite spot to set up shop was outside of a little church, similar to the tiny church in Blairmore, Alta.
After graduating from high school in 1973, Terry made the move to Sparwood and says it was natural for people to come to the Elk Valley for work. Drumheller was a coal mining town, and Sparwood was known to the locals as the best place to make money in the industry. His older sister also moved out at that time, as did some friends of his.
Terry worked at Teck for 20 years and then took a job with SMS Equipment in Elkford, where he worked for another 20 years before retiring in 2012.
In 1983, Terry was best man at his friend’s wedding, and he had the opportunity to walk down the aisle with Shelly Taylor, who was the maid of honour.
“As I was walking down the aisle, I thought, hmm we might have to do this again,” he says. Shelly has roots in the Sparwood area, as her grandfather was the first boy to be born in Michel Natal and later served as mayor of Sparwood.
The two were married in 1985 and have two children: Jeremy, who was born in 1988, and Cailey, who came two years later. His son Jeremy is about to have his first child, a boy, due at the end of October. Terry says he is beyond excited and cannot wait to spoil his grandson. Jeremy is now an electrician for Enmax in Calgary and Cailey just returned home after going to university in Victoria to be a teacher.
Terry says he is into a little bit of everything. His hobbies include mountain biking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. He also became an avid skier after moving to the Elk Valley, and had a season’s pass at Fernie Alpine Resort for many years. He describes his athletic abilities as being 20 years ahead, meaning, “when I was 20, I skied like I was 40, and when I was 40, I skied like I was 60.”
Terry admits that Shelly is more active than he is. She works at the Sparwood pool as the Aquatic Supervisor and is an avid mountain biker.
“I’m the klutz and she’s the athlete,” jokes Terry.
One of Terry’s favourite hobbies is to write. He says his favourite topic to write about is life as a human, and the situations he finds himself in, and he prefers to write in a humourous style. He has belonged to writing groups in both Fernie and Elkford and has worked with local authors including Keith Liggett and Angie Abdou.
Complementing his love for writing, Terry is also an avid reader, but doesn’t really have a genre preference. He says he will read most anything people recommend to him.
Terry and Shelly actively travel. Last year, the two went to China, as Terry wanted to visit the Great Wall. Next year, they are planning a trip to the United Kingdom, to show off the new grandchild to their daughter-in-law’s family.
After living in Sparwood for 43 years, Terry knows the Elk Valley like the back of his hand. This is what makes him an interesting “Face of the Valley.”