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Margel, Joan
Person · 1932-

Joan Margel, a Canadian folklore collector, educator, volunteer, and community activist, has dedicated her life to preserving cultural heritage, promoting education, and positively impacting her community. Born Joan Bayers in 1932 in the Prestville area east of Rycroft, Alberta, she has deep roots in Kulivtsi and Verenchanka in Bukovyna, Ukraine. Her ancestors, the Rudeichuk, Kushneryk, and Bayers families, made their journey from that region to Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With immense pride, Joan refers to herself as the proud granddaughter of the pioneering homesteaders who opened up the Peace River country in the mid-1920s, playing a crucial role in establishing a new province.
Joan's early years were marked by personal loss when her father, John Bayers, a Bukovynian German, tragically passed away from pneumonia when she was only two and a half years old. Her mother, later marrying Jack Sandul, relocated the family to Jack's Yellow Creek homestead. In 1942, they moved to the Village of Rycroft, where Jack Sandul was involved in the trucking business, contributing to the construction of the Alaska Highway through his company, "Sandul's Transport."
Joan's passion for education and her commitment to learning began early in life. After attending Naramata Bible School in 1950 and graduating, she enrolled in the one-year teaching course at the University of Alberta in 1951. Joan began her first teaching position in 1952 at the age of 19 at the one-room Blueberry Mountain School in the Peace River Country. This small school, located ten kilometres from her childhood home, presented unique challenges. Joan taught students of all grades, ranging from 1 to 7, living in the back room of the school without running water and environmental hardships.
Joan wrote to the Ministry of Education requesting a teaching position in Ontario. Her request was granted, and in 1953, at the age of 20, she began teaching grade 2 at John McCrae Elementary School in Windsor, Ontario, till 1957, when her first son Donald was born. During this time, she met her future husband, Joseph (Joe) Margel, a former refugee from the Hungarian socialistic regime. He left the country after WWII in 1946 and came to Canada shortly after. In August 1956, Joan and Joseph married in Rycroft and returned to Windsor. After having two sons and ten years living in Windsor, the Margel family returned to Rycroft, where they started a small but successful T.V. business. During this time, Joan continued to pursue her passion for teaching, dedicating a year to teaching grade 2. Two daughters were born there.
In 1967, the Margel family made another move, settling in Edmonton, Alberta. Joan and Joseph pursued their studies at the University of Alberta full-time from 1967 to 1968. In the fall of 1968, Joan returned to the field after a 12-year hiatus from the teaching profession, joining Afton Elementary School. Joseph got a job teaching High school electronics. They both got teaching jobs while still completing their 4-year education degrees. Joan graduated in 1971, and Joseph in May 1973 or 1974. In 1981, Joan furthered her educational pursuits by attending the University of Alberta's Elementary Library Education program. She then embarked on a remarkable journey, teaching as a Multicultural Library teacher at both Princeton Elementary School and Norwood Elementary School for a year (1982-1983). Her dedication to fostering cultural diversity continued as she taught full-time at Norwood for two more years (1983-1985). Joan's expertise led her to Glenrose Hospital School in 1985, where she served as a Teacher Librarian until her well-deserved retirement in December 1986.
Retirement didn't slow Joan Margel's fervour for collecting folklore and oral history narratives. In the 1990s, she immersed herself in gathering stories of the Rycroft area and her family. Inspired by the teachings of Dr. Andriy Nahachewsky and Radomir Bilash on Ukrainian culture and folklore at the University of Alberta, Joan expanded her knowledge of fieldwork methods, interview indexing, storytelling skills, and archiving communication. Volunteering at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village open-air museum and contributing to the Local Culture and Diversity on the Prairies project, she played an instrumental role in preserving and celebrating cultural heritage. Joan Margel's unwavering commitment to community involvement extended beyond her teaching career.
Active in numerous projects from 1990 to 2010, she contributed her time and expertise to initiatives such as the Alberta Women's Memory Project, Northern Alberta Women's Archival Association, Alberta Genealogical Society, Federation of East European Family History Societies, Ukrainian Pioneers Association of Alberta, Treaty 8 Centennial Commemoration, and various ecological and mental health projects. Furthermore, Joan showcased her musical talents by participating in the Ukrainian Choir Dnipro and spearheading the Edmonton chapter of the Raging Grannies after hearing about the Vancouver group. In 2022, Joan Margel continued to reside in Edmonton, Alberta, using her professional experience to inspire and enlighten others through presentations like "Leave a Verbal Legacy."