Throughout her career as a Realtor, Carol Taphorn has witnessed a change in attitude toward women although she said she was always treated fairly.
“When I started in 1973 there were mostly men and only about four of us women and we all worked for different companies,” Taphorn said. “[There have been] changes in attitude for the better.”
Born in Glastonbury, England, Taphorn moved to Canada at age of five as her father had been a Canadian Army engineer, stationed in England in the Second World War.
She grew up in West Vancouver and often spent summer vacations in the Cariboo because her grandfather was a civil engineer who put through the Pacific Great Eastern Railway in the Cariboo.
One of the places she visited often was the Springfield Ranch because her father had gone to boarding school with the owners’ son and they were good friends.
“I liked horses and came up to do some horseback riding and met my future husband and the rest is history. Don was logging at the ranch.”
After they married, the Taphorns lived in Quesnel for three years, a year at Horsefly and then moved to Williams Lake in 1965 where they raised three children. Her husband died in 2008.
She was a stay-at-home mom until she decided to go into real estate.
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“It was a good job when my children were growing up. I could set my own hours,” she recalled.
If one of her children had a basketball game, she’d book off a couple of hours to drive them and arrange to see a client later.
“You have to be very dedicated, and if you don’t know how to set your own hours, don’t go into real estate. B.C. law states you have to work under a broker, but you are still your own boss.”
Presently she is the managing broker for Interior Properties owned by Susan Colgate and continues to love her work.
“It’s a good job for women as there is no difference in the pay — absolutely none.”
She also volunteers for the Cariboo Memorial Hospital Foundation which she helped form 20 years ago, the Catholic Women’s League and the Williams Lake Hospice Society.
When asked if she is thinking about retiring, she said she is asked that often.
“When Don passed away, I thought, ‘what was I going to do with myself.’ I’m really a people person. I don’t have a lot of hobbies — I volunteer and work.”
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