the black community in Canada.

Mrs. Packwood, 94, who left Bermuda in September, 1905, recently received the "Wazee award'' in her home city of Ottawa, which honours her lifetime of service to the community.

Wazee is a Swahili term of respect referring to society's elders. Mrs.

Packwood has spent many years helping others. She has been a kindergarten teacher, a secretary of the UNIA Literary Club, and tutored children with problems. She has also assisted in programmes for the needy, served on several boards, and received numerous awards from the City of Montreal and its black community.

After receiving the regional award for Quebec, Mrs. Packwood along with four other honourees were shown excerpts from the film, "Fields of Endless Day.'' The National Film Board documentary about the black experience in Canada explores what the spirit of endurance is all about.

Associate producer and writer/researcher was the late Jennifer Hodge, Mrs.

Packwood's granddaughter.

Knowing a good source when she saw it, Miss Hodge included clips of Mrs.

Packwood in the film. With humour and quiet determination, she talked of the trials and joys of an earlier time.

She recalled the impact of the Montreal black community in the 1920s and of the crusading Marcus Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Mrs. Packwood said he was like "a Moses come to lead his people through the wilderness . ..'' "You learned to be proud of your blackness. You marched to the drum that had a different beat.'' Mrs. Packwood was seen reading a poem called "My People'' by black poet Langston Hughes. She has carried on a lifelong love affair with poetry and the power of words. During the ceremony, Mrs. Packwood's daughter, retired librarian Lucille Cuevas, read one of her mother's favourite Langston Hughes poems -- "I've Known Rivers.'' One memory that Mrs. Packwood treasures is her 1940 arrest. It took place after Quebec women won the right to vote. She went to cast her ballot and scrutineers thought she was impersonating someone else. They knew that she was suppose to be a Negro, but felt her skin colour was too light. Police officers gave her the right to make one phone call, which she used to call a neighbour, so her children would be taken care of.

Other memories Mrs. Packwood recalls are those of her early years in Bermuda.

"I remember bathing with my cousins at the beach, with all the salt water. I loved to eat the bay grapes that use to grow nearby.'' When asked what contributed to her strong awareness of being a black woman she said: "I went to an AME church in Bermuda, and of course you were taught to be proud of the fact that you were black.

"Twice a month the district superintendent, who was responsible for certain groups of African Methodist Episcopal churches, would come to the Sunday school and quiz us on the origins of the church so that you knew who Richard Allen was.

"You knew why Richard Allen founded the church, you knew who worked with Richard Allen and you knew why the church was founded. It made you take pride in yourself because Richard Allen's picture was hanging there on the wall and he was a black man. Next to Richard Allen were other bishops.

"You knew and were proud of the fact that these men would stand up and be counted. And you left Sunday School wanting to be counted as well. You held your head high going down the street. That feeling continued when my father brought me to Canada.'' MRS. ANN PACKWOOD -- recalls with fondness her early days in Bermuda.