THEBACHA/FORT SMITH - For Fort Smith's Louise Fraser, retirement has meant becoming even more deeply involved in the community.

Louise Fraser, a volunteer in Fort Smith, enjoys working with people and giving back to the community. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Fraser, 68, said her volunteer efforts keep her pretty busy.

She said she was taught by her parents and grandparents about the importance of volunteering. "If you want things to happen in the community, you have to help."

For the past 10 years, she has been president of the Circle of Friends, a group she and several other friends created. Each year, the Circle of Friends, which now consists of eight women, raises about $10,000.

"One hundred per cent of that goes back into the community," she said, noting the group has no administrative costs.

The Circle of Friends helps people who Fraser said have "fallen between the cracks," such as those who can't access income support, children who need money for sports, or mentally-challenged children who need help to go to camp.

The Circle of Friends raises its money through an annual LobsterFest, she said, noting the members are very hardworking and committed.

Fraser is also on the St. Joseph Parish Council, a board member of the Fort Smith Metis Council for the past six years and part of the recently-formed Ecumenical Group, which has created a food bank and is in the process of establishing a soup kitchen.

"I just want to be one of the gophers," she said of her role in the Ecumenical Group.

However, she is co-ordinating the soup kitchen, until she finds a younger person to take it over.

The soup kitchen won't start until the volunteers take a food handling course, she noted. "I hope we can start in the fall."

Fraser believes volunteering allows a person to meet a lot of interesting people and give back to the community.

"I enjoy working with people," she said. "I guess, in general, I like people."

She noted she volunteers with a group of friends about her age, who all love what they do.

Fraser, a Metis from Fort Chipewyan, Alta., came to Fort Smith in 1959.

"I just loved it," she recalled of first arriving in Fort Smith. "I said this is going to be home for me."

She stayed until 1961 and left until she returned for good in 1968.

Fraser and her husband raised six children and a grandchild in the community.

Until she retired in 2001, Fraser was a nurse in Fort Smith and in southern Alberta for a time.

She became a nurse in 1970, after being a ward aide for 11 years. A ward aide assists nurses and doctors in caring for patients.

Fraser said there is much she loves about Fort Smith – the scenery, her friends, the tranquility and more.

"It was the right-sized town for me," she added.

However, despite the quietness of the town, she said there is still lots of activities to take part in, she said, noting that includes everything from exploring the Salt Plains to enjoying the Slave River to picking cranberries to learning about the community's history.

"There's just so much to do," she said, noting she can't understand how anyone could ever say the town is boring.