Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Kakisa (Aug 25/00) - Who says life doesn't begin at 80?

Norman Vandell, who became an octogenarian on Aug. 7, hasn't let age slow him down. Well, not too much anyway. He once knew nearly a dozen jigging steps, but now he's using only a couple.

"Two is enough," he said, smiling.

The important thing is that he's still kicking up his heels. His youngest of five sons, Michael, admitted that Norman's relatives were caught by surprise when he performed an impromptu jig at his 80th birthday party in Lac St. Ann, Alta.

"All of our family was amazed he could still get up," Michael said.

Norman recalled the event fondly.

"There was a woman there 83 years old. They played a tune and she walked across the room and asked me to dance. Well people started to holler and laugh."

Successful duos

Laugh or not, he hasn't stopped since. He and his wife Margaret combined to capture second place in the Mackenzie Days jigging competition earlier this month.

Then he and Caroline Bonnetrouge took the stage in Kakisa and went on to win third place in that contest.

"I figured third place. There were a lot of good jiggers there," Norman said the following day.

Even though it was 12:15 a.m. before they finally got to show their stuff at the Kakisa talent show, they stuck it out.

Bonnetrouge said she had originally hoped to dance with Norman at Mackenzie Days, so she wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity in Kakisa no matter how long she had to wait.

"Norman asked me to dance, so I didn't think about sleeping. If anyone asks me anything, I've got to do it. That's the kind of person I am," she said. "Norman's a good jigger ... I was happy."

He wasn't about to call it quits either -- he said he was looking for a partner for the Gateway Jamboree a few nights later in Enterprise.

Norman, it seems, comes from a lineage of durable legs. It was his grandmother, Victoria Calhoon, who taught him how to dance.

"I used to jig with her every night in her house. She had a gramophone you used to wind up. I was good for 11 steps," he said.

Together, they won first place in a competition at the Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton. At that time, he was 16 years old to her 104. So, now 80, he still has a way to go. We'll be watching for you in 2024, Norman.