WEYBURN – Ruth Schultz feels it was “a great honour” to be chosen to represent war mothers at the Remembrance Day service for the Weyburn branch of the Royal Canadian Legion on Friday, Nov. 11.
As War Mother, she will lay the first wreath at the service, which will be held entirely inside at the Weyburn Legion Hall. Following the service, Ruth and her family will be the special guests at a luncheon to be held downstairs in the Legion Hall.
Her husband Albert and his two brothers served in the Second World War, along with many of their neighbours and friends.
Albert was born in the Lang district in 1919, the oldest of six children, and lived there until the family purchased land in the Cedoux area. World War Two was underway at that time, and Albert enlisted in the army at the age of 22.
His two younger brothers, Ernie and Walter, enlisted in the years following. The three brothers travelled different paths in their army postings, and it was a difficult time for their parents as their sons went off to serve their country.
Albert was stationed at various training camps in Canada, including in Prince Albert and Vernon, B.C. In 1943, he was a member of the B Company, Third Irish Fusilliers, at Camp Vernon, B.C. Although he never served time overseas, he was away for months at a time.
Ernie was 21 years old when he enlisted in 1942 in the army, and served with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles Regiment. He was sent to Camp Sussex, N.B. in 1944, with the Pictou Highlanders Regiment, and later was sent overseas to England, before sailing home in February of 1946.
Walter joined the army in 1944 at the age of 21, and attended training camps in Canada before he was deployed overseas to Europe.
During the war years, Albert met Ruth. Her family was farming in the McTaggart area, and they met through mutual acquaintances. They married in September of 1943 when Albert was on leave.
They were able to rent a home in a farm yard close to the Schultz family, and lived there for the next five years.
Ruth lived with the Schultz family for a time while her husband was serving in the army, and recalled she occasionally received letters from him.
When the war ended, Albert and his brothers were discharged from the army and all returned home safely.
After the war, Albert worked on the family farm before he started working for CN Railway, maintaining the rail lines. They moved to Cedoux and lived in the CN section house, later buying their own home in Cedoux where they raised their two daughters, Diane and Joanne.
Albert loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter, fisherman and trapper. He made annual hunting trips to Hudson Bay in the 1970s, and worked for two summers as a fishing guide in northern Saskatchewan at Jan Lake.
Albert and Ruth moved to Weyburn in 1992, and in 1996, Albert passed away.
At the age of 102, Ruth is enjoying good health and still lives independently in her own apartment.
She loves spending time with her family, including three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
She has seen many changes over the years, but recalls the war years as being some of the most difficult years because of so much uncertainty and the hardships families had to cope with.
