Spend a Little Time "With Georgia"
First Board of Directors of The Friends of the Galt Museum & Archives. Left to right: Mary Oordt (vice president), Georgia Green Fooks (treasurer), Roland Mair (president), Garry Allison (secretary), Lorne Darlington (fundraising), Glenn Coulter (gift store fundraising).
Courtesy of Galt Museum & Archives, 20021029000.
The legacy of Georgia Green Fooks reaches throughout this city. Fooks was a pioneer in Lethbridge media and a dedicated storyteller, who endeared herself to the community throughout her career. She was also an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Georgia Green Fooks grew up and lived in Lethbridge, volunteering for organizations throughout the city, including as a seminary instructor for the Lethbridge Stake of the LDS Church. In 1955, Fooks entered the local television scene as the host and producer of the children's program, With Georgia, on CJLH-TV. Her show won the 1957 Liberty Magazine Showmanship Award for best children's show in Canada. The show was so popular with its audience that it regularly received over 200 letters per week from fans.
One particularly exciting episode inspired children to send over 500 letters to the studio! The episode centred around a request from a viewer asking Fooks to help find new homes for three puppies. Fooks invited children to write in about why they wanted a dog. The letters poured in from southern Alberta, B.C. and even from Montana. Some children wrote in asking Fooks to find new homes for more puppies, while others wrote that they wanted to replace their siblings with a new dog! The event wrapped up with over 100 animals finding new homes. The Canadian Broadcaster Magazine covered the success of the episode in their August 14, 1958 issue.
The show ran for seven years and delighted children across the country. Fooks went on to earn degrees in Education and a Master’s degree in Communication Arts from Brigham Young University. She worked as a journalist at the Lethbridge Herald and taught journalism at Lethbridge College for 23 years. She sat on the board of many local organizations. Her passion for local history led her to author and co-author many books and to serve on the Galt Museum & Archives and the Lethbridge Historical Society boards. Dedicated to her community, family and faith, Fooks’ legacy lives on in Lethbridge.
The Galt featured stories about Georgia Green Fooks’ life in two different exhibits in 2021: Lethbridge Stake: Celebrating 100 Years and Don't Touch that Dial!.