At 87-years-old Prince George resident, Clarence Boudreau is capturing life in northern B.C. through song.
He’s a singer-songwriter who sometimes goes by the name Penny Slim. He gets the name from his hometown Penny, B.C., where he was born and lived with his wife Olga until they moved to Prince George seven years ago.
Penny was once a thriving little town located between Longworth and Dome Creek on the northeast side of the Fraser River about two hours east of Prince George.
Although Boudreau has been playing music since he was five-years-old, he garnered a lot of attention this year when he wrote a song about how sick he was of the smoke from the 2018 wildfires.
“We were stuck indoors most of the summer. We weren’t supposed to go out,” says Boudreau, who says he and his wife live near the Nechako River and couldn’t see across to the other side because of the heavy smoke.
“I got thinking about it and I thought somebody should write a song about that and maybe it’s me – and I did.”
He even performed it for a large crowd at the Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Celebration in September.
“We were there and Shirley Bond was on the mic and she said my dear friend Clarence Boudreau wrote a song about the smoke and I wonder how many people would like to hear it,” he explains. “There were 750 people there and I sang it twice.”
Boudreau also knows a thing for two about fires, as he worked as a fire warden for about 30 years.
“I’d like to say that my wife helped me a lot,” says Boudreau of the song, noting that Olga printed the lyrics out for him as he has trouble reading his own writing.
You can now find the wildfire song and other Clarence Boudreau originals on his very own YouTube channel.
He has also uploaded the first song he ever wrote which is a ballad called Full Moon. He wrote the song in 1955 as a tribute for Olga. They have now been married for 67 years.
“Full moon, full moon, I’ll be humming the tune as we walk hand in hand by the river,” sings Boudreau in the chorus. “She says I love you. I say I love you too. We will love each other forever.”
So far Boudreau has written about 17 songs and is showing no signs of stopping. His latest song is his very own Christmas carol.
“It’s gone over really well,” says Boudreau. “It’s the story of a trapper that couldn't make it home for Christmas and Santa picked him up and brought him home.”
To keep-up-to-date with Boudreau’s music you can subscribe to his YouTube Channel here.
Prince George Faces is an occasional feature PrinceGeorgeMatters does, featuring people we meet in the community in random ways. If you know someone who has a story, email us at [email protected].
