Beth practised veterinary medicine for fifteen years from a small clinic built into the Cruikshank farm home. Her practise dealt mainly with livestock, although it also included pets as well as occasional injured or orphaned wild animals.

Beth (Johnston) Cruikshank enjoyed growing up with her two brothers in the northern mining town of Lynn Lake, Manitoba. The forests and lakes surrounding the town provided wonderful opportunities to hike, canoe, build forts, and enjoy the long sub-Arctic summer days.

After graduation, Beth went on to the University of Manitoba for her Bachelor of Science in zoology. In 1972 she went to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to take her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, while her new husband Don remained behind in Miami, Manitoba to care for their grain farm and farrowing operation.

Don and Beth's family expanded to include three wonderful daughters, Lauren, Chrissy and Arli. Beth was side-tracked into a career in Education when the small rural school which their daughters attended was threatened with closure. She ran for a seat on the regional School Board, was appointed by the Manitoba Trustee's Association to a provincial task force on distance education, helped write the task force's report, and in 1990, was offered a job with the Department of Education to implement the recommendations of that report. This turned out to be easier said than done and kept her busy for several years.

Beth and Don with their three daughters, Arli, Lauren and Chrissy, who became the inspiration for Laura Cruikshank. See our Real Places feature for more info about the farm.

In 1999, Beth left the Department of Education and took a position as coordinator for Computers for Schools, a Canada-wide non-profit program that collects and refurbishes donated computers and provides them to schools and other non-profit organizations across Canada.

As the Cruikshank children left home, she found more time to dedicate to her long-time sideline of freelance writing, mainly humorous feature articles and short stories. The many interesting moments of her veterinary career, years in the bureaucracy, and life down on the farm with a madly ingenious handy-man husband provided plenty of real-life experience to work with.

Beth and Lynn pose with Don Cruikshank, Beth's husband and the man who inspired FBorFW's Uncle Danny, owner of the Manitoba farm seen here in our Real Places feature.

"Beth is also known for her series of articles about farm life written for a Manitoba newspaper; it's almost as funny as she is in person. Beth is a talented storyteller who keeps her "audience" wanting more. With her natural gift for timing and comic expression, she has developed her skill as a writer of fact and fiction.

It's a genuine joy to be able to work with her as a valued contributor to our website. How fortunate I am to be related to Beth. Without the family ties, we wouldn't have become creative collaborators!"

Beth contributed research and text to both The Lives Behind the Lines and Suddenly Silver.

Beth has, from time to time, collaborated with Lynn on FBOFW writing projects. Most recently she helped with the "Suddenly Silver" 25-year anniversary book.

Beth's current project is researching and writing the stories for the expanded "Who's Who" section of the FBorFW website. She is enjoying the chance to delve deeper into the rich and varied lives of the many characters outside the Patterson family who have added depth, humour and insight to the FBOFW strip over the years.

Since Lynn has peopled her cartoon world with over 100 such secondary characters, Beth expects to be busy searching out their stories for some time to come.