Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(8)

Friday, Nov 17, 2023

Today I’m supposed to fill out a chart showing the first four generations of myfamily tree. I copied this from Ancestry.


I am then asked for the names and birthdates for my parents and siblings.



It makes me very sad to look at that family information and see that one of my siblings has a death date.

Were You Raised In A Household With Both Of Your Biological Parents?

Yes, I am very blessed with two loving parents who were faithful and close to their Lord.

What Is An Essential Life Skill Our Parents Taught You?

My parents taught me how to work and to get the job done. Even when it gets miserable, through fatigue or just boredom, you finish the job.

Have You Ever Visited The Home Where Your Mom Or Dad Lived As A Child?

I have returned to our old farm a few times and we drive by it everytime we go to Waterton but I’ve never able to go inside the house.

After my parents died, my sister bought the house in town and I have been back to that home many times. Even after Fara sold the house I was able to return once with most of my kids. We were driving through town on our way to Waterton one time and I drove by the house just to take a look at it. It looked like it was empty so I tried the doors and they were unlocked.

I took Lisa and the kids all through the house showing them my lab downstairs and my bedroom and everything. It was rather fun.

Where Did Your Mom Grow Up?

My mom grew up in Glenwood but for a few years their family moved to Cold Lake to try and homestead. Things weren’t working out there so they moved back to Glenwood.

Glenwood is about twenty miles northwest of Cardston. They have an elementary school there but the older kids bus into Cardston.

Where Was Your Mom’s Childhood Home?

I never knew where my mom lived in Glenwood until a few years ago. I had my cousin show me where it was. The house is gone now but I was able to look at the foundation that still remains. I felt like an archeologist. I brought home a piece of the foundation but who knows where it is now.

As best as I can remember, their house was about where the ‘x’ is on the map. I could have it on the wrong road but that is close.

Was Your Mom A Homemaker, Or Did She Work Outside The Home?

Up until I was an older teenager my mom was a homemaker and I loved it. I loved coming home to the smell of cookies baking or of home made bread.

For about a year in High School she took a job working in a store downtown. I hated it but I would go down to the store quite often just to see her.

After the kids were all gone, she worked in the Steadmans store that we bought for Fara and Curtis to work in but since they couldn’t make a go of it, mom ran the store for a year or two before they sold it.

What Was Your Mom’s Occupation?

My mom did what ever had to be done and she did it well. She was a famer, a sheep rancher, a homemaker, a hotel manager, a sales clerk, a store manager and later towards the end of her life, an apartment building manager.

What Do You Remember Most About Your Mom?

This may sound weird but what I remember most about my mom is leaning against her. Even though mom was slim as a young woman, I always remember her as being on the pudgy side. If I was sitting next to her at church or at home I would lean into her and snuggle a little bit. I found her soft body very comforting.

Where Did Your Dad Grow Up?

My dad grew up in Leavitt. I’m a little confused exactly where but one of my sisters told me that he grew up in the same house as I did on the farm. It may also have been in the farm where my Uncle Devere lived.

Where Was Your Dad’s Childhood Home?

See above

What was your dad’s occupation?

Just like my mom, my dad did what he had to do and did it well. As a newly wed man he was a farmer and sheep rancher. He later managed the bulk Esso Oil dealership in Cardston, but he always found odd jobs for carpentry work. He built and managed the Motels in Waterton and then he built and sold houses. He bought stores and managed them and then they moved to Edmonton where him and mom manged apartment buildings. Even in Edmonton he found a shop that he rented and continued to do carpentry work.

After mom died, he married Maurine Williamson and ended his life as a farmer and rancher.

The one theme through his entire life was carpentry. He always had a shop where he did carpenty and he always upgraded what ever home he lived in.

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In 1961 we spent $2,800 (adjusted for inflation) per student and had an average of 27 students per class, in 2011 we spend $10,000 per student and we have an average of 16 students per class. Arguably, the education system isn't that much better. 

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