I was born on January 17, 1930; the fifth child (third girl) of Bill and Eva. Several of the local neighbour ladies, including Mrs. Odea Stenslund and my Aunt Ethel, assisted in labor and delivery but I’m not sure who assisted in my birth; perhaps my father being as it was in the middle of January. Though I was named Alice, I was called Shirley. Interestingly, Shirley was the eleventh most popular name for girls in North America in 1930.
Some of my earliest recollections include the following: My Dad owned six coyote hounds and he used the hounds to hunt coyotes in the winter. Selling coyote pelts was a major part of his income. Our neighbor Mr. Art Stenslund was also an avid coyote hunter but Dad and he did not hunt together. Another nice memory is the joy I felt sitting on my Dad’s knee as a young child, nothing was better than sitting on his knee. Mom and Mrs. Stenslund were good friends and, as children, we went over to Stenslund’s to play with their son, Richard (to keep him from playing on the road), and to shell peas.
Our biggest delight as children was playing outside, exploring the rolling hills that hugged our farm yard, picking crocuses and other wild flowers. We also spent many hours playing in the abandoned Kirby house, a grand vacant three storey house. The ornate oval glass door fueled our imaginations of what the Kirby family must have been like. For us it was the entrance to a castle. We were sure there were skunks in the basement so we never ventured down, but, even though the windows were boarded up, we perused the other three floors and curved stair case with gay abandon.
Our frequent chores included pulling weeds in the garden, trimming the caraganas, hilling potatoes and shucking many pails of peas. I loved being outdoors over being relegated to the house and household duties; luckily my older sister Betty enjoyed domestic duties. I, along with my sister Martha, helped Mom milk the cows each morning before school. I learned to sew out of necessity, and the sewing machine was never put away as I frequently had three sided rips in my clothing from climbing through the fences. It was expected that I mend my own clothing.
Our favorite horses included Larry, a bay and my first horse, Buster; boy, could he run. Then there was Martha’s horse Jimmy; he was a pacer. The Boys (brothers) hauled hay, fed the cows and the horses, and seeded and harvested the crops. We rode horses to school; if the horses were nursing colts, we walked the 3 ½ miles to school. We enjoyed running and exploring the vast prairie landscape that was our playground.
I recall when a caravan which included people of all ages, oxen, horses and wagons coming up the hill from the south; we kids ran up to the top of the hill to have a better look at them. They were pioneers that had settled in southern Alberta that couldn’t make a go of it, so they were heading to the Peace River Country. This was quite an event for us kids to witness.
I also remember one time when Auntie Alice came to visit; we three girls, Martha, Betty and I, found her makeup and we came downstairs all made up. Our Dad was not happy with our antics and the lip stick and other makeup was quickly removed.
Another memory is Aunt Martha being concerned that Wolf Hill wasn’t going to have a teacher one fall, and this was not sitting well with her, so she convinced me that we should head over to another country school Summer Hill, which was six miles from our home. We two rode our horses over and thought it was do-able, as not going to school was not part of our agenda. Luckily for us, Wolf Hill had a teacher come fall.
Picking potato beetles was another summer job, one which Betty didn’t enjoy. She preferred to flick the beetles off the plants instead of picking them and putting them into the jar. Dad was not happy with Betty.
I attended Wolf Hill School from Grades 1-9: three of my teachers were Miss Peacock, Mrs. Kenny, and our cousin Kathleen Knowles. Kathleen taught at Wolf Hill the year I was in Grade 9. The teachers boarded at the Spencer’s (Ross’ grandparents) as they lived close to the school (1 ½ miles). I enjoyed my school days at Wolf Hill and excelled in learning. Some of the teachers were not up to the challenges of one room school houses. Christmas concerts and community dances at the school house were highlights. Dad was not a dancer but he enjoyed the community fellowship.
For Grade 10, Betty and I went to live in Brooks with Mom’s brother Dr. Herbert Claxton and his wife, Marjorie (Herbert’s second wife, his first wife was Auntie Mac). Herbert had three children: Billy, Ruthie, and Herbert. We were the chore girls and the baby sitters in the Claxton home as Billy and Ruthie were babies. The stacks of diapers and laundry seemed never ending. Uncle Herbert imbibed liquor but, nevertheless, he was a successful physician held in high regard by his patients and the community.
For Grade 11, I moved to Castor and lived in the Student Dormitory; at that time the school was a multistory sandstone structure – the sandstone was from the Castor quarry. Mrs. Sharpe and Mrs. Mullins were the matrons at the dormitory during the time I was there. The girls slept upstairs and the boys in the basement; perhaps there were twenty students in total. My friends in the dormitory included my cousin Dorothy Knowles, and Irene Andrewchuk. Mrs. Mullins was very kind to all of us and a very good cook. I completed Grade 11 and half a year of Grade 12 in Castor but did not graduate as I had two courses left to complete Grade 12. I could not justify being at school, to complete two courses, so I found employment at the Bank of Montreal. I excelled as a teller under the tutelage of Mr. Tom Thompson, the bank manager, and Mr. Lyn Bradbury, the accountant, and later on in my life I was the treasurer for many community organizations. My peers at the bank included Ardena Unger (now Zinger), Lavina Meyer and Eva Marshall (they were sister-in-laws). Lavina and I lived together in as house along with our landlords Mr. and Mrs. Geiger (a wall separated us) in an area known as Geigerville, the slum area of Castor. This house was very cold but being young we made the best of it. My time at the bank was very enjoyable and holds fond memories of the many people that frequented the bank and I collected a few coins, some that I still have.
Our social life was very busy as community dances could be enjoyed both Friday and Saturday nights in Castor and the neighboring communities of Alliance, Halkirk, Fleet, and once we went to Coronation. Local Castor boys and friends of ours, Lawrence Zinger and Terry Thompson had cars and were happy to be our chauffeurs. Lavina hung out with Lawrence and Terry as, Lavina and Terry were dating. Lawrence and I were platonic friends who enjoyed each other’s company. Lavina enjoyed the multi-story bank as she could see what was happening at all times on the streets of Castor. One day she spotted a new man in town who she declared would someday be her husband and she ensured that he was.
We enjoyed skiing on the old Castor ski hill in Hatherley Valley. I was not an expert skier but enjoyed the comradery of the other young people and being outside.
After I made some money I moved from Geigerville into the home of George and Theresa Ray, they were very kind to me and I lived in their home until I married in 1953.
I met Willie Ries at the many dances that all we young people frequented. We were married on April 13, 1953 at the Catholic Church Rectory in Castor with Father J. J. O’Halloran officiating. A wedding reception was held later at my parent’s house and then we went to the United States for a short honeymoon. Our first home was the bunkhouse at George and Maria Ries farm (Willie’s parents). We then lived on the Sam Ries farm (Willies’ uncle) just north and west of the George Ries farm; by this time Sam had moved his family to Red Deer. Sam came back to visit and would stay with us at the farm. He was a quiet, kind man, a real gentleman, who loved our two small children Gordon and Marilyn, and he would reach out and pet their heads if they were in his vicinity. His wife, Aunt Annie, would, on occasion, come with him and no grass grew under her feet. She was constantly busy bustling around helping with whatever needed to be done.
With a growing family we decided to build a home in the yard of Willie’s parents. Willie was able to secure a small loan from the bank and Leo Kneller and Francis Hall, two local carpenters, were hired to build the house. Prior to moving into our new house we lived for a short time with Willie’s parents. They were very good to me and our children. In 1959 George and Maria left the farm and moved into Castor so that Maria could have running water, indoor plumbing, and central heating. By this time we had five children: Gordon William (1953), Marilyn Eva (1954), Barbara Elaine (1955), Howard George (1957), and Carol Elizabeth (1959). Our older children missed having their grandparents close by as they were always welcome in their home. Lady, Maria’s dog, was also part of our family.
The mid 50’s and early 60’s were very busy with six small children, Michael Herbert arrived in 1961. Diapers were washed daily and hung on the line to dry in both winter and summer and I can still remember carrying arm loads of stiff, frozen diapers from the clothes line into the house to dry. I also milked a cow and had chickens and a large garden. Willies’ dad helped me around the yard and garden and herding the kids.
in front of Grandpa and Grandma Ries’ house
In 1968 Richard Paul arrived on the evening of November 3. Willie was over at a neighbours house at a 4-H meeting that evening, but came quickly home to get me to the hospital. He missed being born on WIllie’s birthday by a mere two hours.
Nola Maria, our eighth child arrived, early on the morning of May 2,1972. Willie’s mom, Maria had died early morning on May 1 and Grandpa was so disappointed that Nola was not christened Maria, and in fact Grandpa pretended that he could’t hear that her name was Nola and he called her Maria for the first year of her life. Gordon was already away from home attending NAIT when Nola arrived and Marilyn left home that September to attend college in Calgary. I had eight children in just less than nineteen years, and many of our neighbours in south Castor had as many kids or more so we all fit in.
I was involved in the 4-H Sewing and Horticulture clubs along with my children, and the kids’ school activities kept us busy.
Later on I served as a Councillor for the County of Paintearth for two terms, this was a very enjoyable time for me with the kids grown and out on their own, I was able to have more time for community service. I also volunteered at the Castor Museum, which I continue to do several Saturdays a year.
A few years ago I tripped and fell in the Home Hardware store striking my head and breaking my knee cap. We paid attention to my knee injury but in retrospect we should have paid more attention to my head injury. I now have memory impairment both short term and long term , but continue to live with Willie on the farm. Willie has stepped up and ensures we eat, have groceries, and get into visit his sister Margie at the Lodge frequently (which we both enjoy).
