In my last news report of August 3, 2011, I made a name mistake in the Vernon Custer 90th birthday STORY. Joyce's maiden name should have read Joyce Besse of Wilson Lake and not Blanchard. Sorry to all concerned.
Sympathy to Jack Alm and families of Battleford on the recent passing of his wife, Beatrice Alm. Jack and Beatrice farmed in the Bjelde Creek area on the old Alm farm, later selling the land and moving to Battleford. They were both musical people and sang and played the guitar at many social functions. Beatrice was buried in the Willowmoor Cemetery.
Stanley and Dorothy Mills spent 10 days on a holiday trip to Penticton, B.C. They visited with Dorothy's penpal Hilma Johnson and her daughter Shannon of Okotoks, Alta. They then met their daughter, Elaine Theriault, in Calgary. Elaine had just completed a pedal bike marathon from Vancouver, B.C., to Calgary along with 20 other bikers from all parts of Canada. They also met their granddaughter Madeline Pishori and her friend Caroline of Mississauga, Ont., at the Calgary Airport.
From there they all motored on to B.C, stopping for a sight seeing tour at Lake Louise. After spending the night at Golden, B.C., they woke up the next morning to find the whole city and valley of Golden without any power.
There is a lot of mountain highway construction taking place to widen and twin the highway through the mountains.
They then motored on to Penticton, B.C. to visit with Stanley's and Dorothy's son and daughter-in-law, Glen and Donna, and grandsons Devin and Brayden Mills. They visited with Donna Mills' parents Douglas and Doreen Bargholz of Summerland. Douglas has been confined to Summerland Health Medical Centre for the past six months after suffering from a stroke in late 2010.
On the return trip home they stopped at Alberta's badlands near Drumheller to visit both the historic little white church on the Drumheller dinosaur north trail and the museum of the land of dinosaurs. Then it was on to the hoodoos to spend a little time walking through the area. Wherever possible, a little geocaching was done with some interesting little finds.
Elaine spent a few days at the Mills farm and then went on to a quilt show in Moose Jaw, before taking daughter Madeline and her friend Caroline to meet the airplane in Saskatoon for their trip back home to Mississauga, Ont. Elaine came back to the farm and spent some time visiting with her brother Walter (and Olive) Mills of Westpark, Battleford. She also took in the first day of the Rowlands family reunion, Battleford, before returning home to Mississauga, Ont.
Those Were the Days was back on the weekend, after not being held for the past three years. Stanley Mills spent the two days helping Neil Milman with the old tractors at the Western Development Museum. He was needed to drive an older tractor in the parade. Due to weather conditions, the Sunday parade was cancelled. The event was well attended and people are all pleased to see Those Were the Days return. So many volunteers came out to make the two days special. We hope to see more held in the years to come.
