Broadcaster.
Born at McAuley on 7 April 1929, daughter of Anna and David Wiebe, her family moved to Gardenton when she was a child. She attended Purple Bank School to grade 10, the Mennonite Collegiate Institute at Gretna for grade 11, and the Morris Collegiate (grade 12) when the family moved there. After receiving a teaching certificate from the Manitoba Normal School (1947-1948), she taught at Kenneth School (1948-1949) and Winkler School (1949-1951). In 1950, she married fellow teacher Victor “Vic” Penner and moved to Altona in 1951 where he became editor of the Altona Echo (later the Red River Valley Echo) and she cared for their two young sons.
In the early 1960s, she began doing live shows on CFAM radio such as “Ladies First”, “Hints for Homemakers”, and “The Garden Show”. She also co-hosted the morning show for 13 years. However, the program that won the hearts of many listeners was “The Children's Party” that aired at 4:00 PM every weekday. At a time when television sets were rare, children rushed home to listen to “Aunt Olly” and her puppet friend Gus. She retired in 1987 after almost three decades of broadcasting. She also wrote a weekly column in the Echo and was active in local community organizations, taught Sunday School at her Mennonite church, and published a cook book.
She died at Altona on 29 May 2015.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 2015.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Dawn Monroe.
Page revised: 26 November 2022
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