Yellowknife (Mar 03/03) - Even in the chill of February, Carolyn England gets up and goes to work.

England is 81, but she shows no signs of slowing down. As office manager at Home Hardware, she is a feisty keeper of the dream -- a dream her family has been weaving since the 1940s when they started their hardware business in Old Town.

Carolyn England, 81, moved to Yellowknife in the 1940s and still enjoys working at Home Hardware. - Kathleen Lippa/NNSL photo

That old store is now a duplex, where she lives with her daughter and son-in-law.

When she leaves for the day, she wraps a fine scarf around her neck and puts on a flattering shade of lipstick.

She feels the aches and pains that come with age.

The bitter cold nips at her bones, especially this month, and tests her every step.

But she perseveres, showing the same level of determination that has got her through over a half a century of winters here and kept her family chugging along in their business.

"If you've got something to do like I have, it gets me out of the house. I don't have to punch a clock. I can do whatever I want to do. I'm my own boss."

England is responsible for the book keeping, accounts receivable, and accounts payable at the store.

"I used to say when the computer comes in the front door I'm going out the back."

But England now praises the computer system for keeping her on her toes. Having to constantly adjust to change is hard, she said, but one of the things that keep a person youthful.

Years ago, England considered retiring in Hawaii. But that idea doesn't appeal to her anymore.

"I think I want to be somewhere we have changing seasons."

England turned 82 last June. She looks much younger than her age.

"I think when I stop enjoying it I'll stop working," England said with a warm smile.

When asked about her age, she says it is in her genes, mentioning her grandmother who lived well over 90 years and a great-grand-father who lived to be 94.

"Until the day he died, he was very active," she said.

"I think you've got to keep active," she said. "You spend most of your life working. If you're not happy doing it, then do something else."

England is part of a growing trend of seniors who work.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2001 there were 355 seniors (age 65 and over) in Yellowknife and 26.8 per cent of them were working. Out of the 250 people age 60-65 in Yellowknife in 2001, 70 per cent of them still had a job.

The national average pales in comparison to our numbers, with just 8.4 per cent of people 65 and over still working in 2001.

But the numbers may paint a less rosy picture of life in Yellowknife, suggested MLA Brendan Bell. Bell said that even his father is part of that growing trend of seniors who work.

Without the research in front of him, Bell said he knows anecdotally that more people are working into their golden years. But we shouldn't kid ourselves about this -- the high cost of living in Yellowknife often forces this to happen.

"People can't afford to retire," Bell said.

But if a person is healthy, there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to work if they want to, said Bell.

That is just what the GNWT's Department of Education, Culture and Employment has been directed to look into.

In a report titled "Report on the Review of Programs and Services for Seniors" tabled at the legislative assembly in June, the department was asked to look at the working world in the NWT and re-evaluate how seniors should fit in to it.

They are expected to have answers in March.

But while the government dithers over age restrictions, and who should be eligible to work, Gladys and Albert Eggenberger put in some time at their pet and hobby shop.

The couple moved to Yellowknife in 1961 to start a dairy business. Five kids later, they still make their presence known at JJ Hobbies, a business they started in 1977.

Their daughter now runs things there, but Gladys and Albert are always ready to step in.

Sitting in a back office, decked out in a colourful zip-up fleece vest, Gladys, 68, completes some paperwork. Not even the occasional teasing from her daughter about her advancing years gets to her.

"She says to me, 'Mom, you're losing it! You can't remember from day to day what you're supposed to be doing!' " Gladys said with a laugh.

"It's always good to keep on learning," said Gladys. "I would like to stay at home and get a tea, or sit in the sunshine in my living room. But I like to keep learning. And if you keep on learning new things it keeps you young, keeps your brain working!"

When Gladys first entered the workforce, there was an innocence in her, she said.

Her outlook has broadened, and she's gotten tougher.

"I think I'm maturing now."

But she still feels 18.

"I don't know how 68 is supposed to feel," she said laughing. "I don't feel old."

Seventy-year-old Albert, Gladys's husband, said age doesn't matter.

"It's been fun. I haven't had a job I didn't like yet," he said, leaning back in a swivel chair. "I didn't stick with one I didn't like.

When they had me moving dirt from one place to another, and I didn't know what the hell it was for, I quit."

Albert said he thinks working well into your senior years has far-reaching benefits.

"It stops your hair from falling out!" he said, letting out a laugh that reverberated through the office.

The couple thinks that older workers may even be better employees than younger people because they are more committed to their jobs.

"More loyalty," said Gladys. "You don't run from job to job."