Ode to an Older Time - Margaret Lynt

“A song that we’ve always loved, both my husband (Richard Hoover) and I, would be a John Denver song, ‘Country Roads, Take Me Home,’ because we both went to school in West Virginia (and) we love the countryside. We are rural people at heart; we both grew up in the city.” Margaret Lynt, age 78, is a resident of Colville. “I was born in New Brunswick, N.J.,” she explained, “As a baby, (our family) moved to Washington D.C. until I was 12, then moved into Silver Spring, Md., and lived there with my family until I went to college. (I) went to West Virginia for college for four years, then got married, and my husband was in the Air Force.” Lynt detailed her early life and fond memories as a child. “My school years were good, I loved learning, so I really enjoyed school, good experiences there.” During her childhood, Lynt said she spent quality time with her family, enjoying the outdoors. “We did a lot of camping when I was growing up in the parks around the area, the East Coast is beautiful once you get out, the cities are actually pretty too.” Her family also had a passion for music, which Lynt said she enjoyed. “Music was a big deal in our family. I was involved in musical groups, through high school and college, and probably my best memories are with friends that I made, through music.” She said, “In addition to enjoying music, it is great to have a positive sense of humor in life; it gets you through some hard times. You can see the sense of humor in whatever situation you’re in; those are two things that I would not want to be without.” Lynt and her husband have been married for 57 years. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she said, adding, “We met in college, I was a nursing student, he was a biology major, and we got married while we were still in college.” Lynt continued to pursue a career in nursing. She said, “I spent time in (obstetrics), and spent time working for an oncologist, and then I spent a lot of time in psych.” Her family moved often throughout the years due to her husband’s Air Force career; Lynt said she has lived in Georgia, California, Utah, Hawaii, and Arizona, as well as outside of the U.S. in Spain and Japan. She said her travels had an impact on her life. “We loved traveling, and getting involved in other cultures was particularly good; we had two boys. They really appreciated the time that they had in other cultures. It was a very broadening experience for all of us. It’s a wonderful learning experience and gives a different perspective.” Lynt said she went on a new journey to discover more about her family’s ancestral history and was fascinated by her findings. She shared that she visited Alaska to learn history about her topographer grandfather, who was part of a dog sledding expedition that took place in 1923 to look for oil reserves. Lynt also remembered a family story she came across in tracing her ancestry. She said she had found a note in the family Bible that said her great-great uncle had died in 1863 by falling through the roof of the Library of Congress. There was no further explanation. With some assistance, she was able to discover that he was helping to restore the Capital Dome when he slipped on some scaffolding tiles and fell 18 feet to the floor of the Library of Congress and died. Lynt also spoke about the community of Colville. “We’ve seen a lot of businesses come and go. The area has grown, seems to be a lot of people like us – lots of retired people moving here over the years. It’s a gorgeous area. I understand them wanting to come here. The people have always been very friendly, and we have always enjoyed our time here very much.” Looking back now on her experiences and accomplishments in life, Lynt said, “Well, I think we have raised two men that we’re very pleased how they turned out. We have been able to do a lot of things in our life, (and) we feel very fortunate that we had the life that we have had. Family is very important to us, probably because we moved around so much. The four of us, we’re pretty close. That’s a really good feeling. They’ve done well with their lives so far and we feel very blessed.” Lynt’s message to future generations: “Savor all the new experiences and enjoy the people that you meet, enjoy every moment of your life, it goes way too fast. There are a lot of wonderful things out there to appreciate – people among them number one – but a lot of things to put a smile on your face when you get up. We’re to that point where we are just happy to be alive every morning when we wake up.” She added, “Life is an adventure to be savored with an open mind and heart. Appreciate each day you are given and the people around you with love. You never know how many more moments you have.”