LIFE OF MY FATHER - 13

CAMPING OUT IN NORTHERN ALBERTA

My grandfather's new job with the Province of Alberta involved travel throughout northern Alberta assessing the value of farmland. My aunt Jacqueline told us that occasionally he would take her and my father with him. They would camp at various lakes such as Moose Lake, Lac La Biche and Lesser Slave Lake. She enjoyed doing this very much. Sometimes it would be a vacation for the whole family. Often, however, only my father would go while she remained at home helping to look after her brother Albert, who was nine years younger. She recalled having feelings of resentment over this. She also mentioned that the only vacations people had in those days were camping trips.

The first photo is of camping at Lac La Biche in 1927, the second is of my grandfather resting by the side of the road in 1927 (notice the briefcase on the wagon), the next two are of Lesser Slave Lake in 1927, the last is at Good Fish Lake in 1928.

LIFE OF MY FATHER - 11

CALDER

When the family moved to Edmonton, they lived in Calder, a community located on the northwest edge of the city. At that time, Calder was physically separated from Edmonton by a large undeveloped tract of land owned by the Hundson's Bay Company. The community grew up where it did because of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway which had a roundhouse, repair shops and a shunting yard there.

The distance from Calder to the downtown - approximately five miles - and its separation from the rest of the built-up area would have made rents there relatively affordable. Streetcar service was provided by Edmonton Radial Railway. The company, formed in 1908, began service soon after that in Edmonton and later to Strathcona and Calder. Even so, I remember being told that living in Calder involved a lot of walking.

My father and Jacqueline attended St. Joseph's, a Catholic High School located at 109 Street and 108 Avenue. My mother, who knew them at school, said that from the way they dressed it was obvious they were poor.

My grandfather worked at La Survivance for a while, but soon got a better job as a land assessor with the Alberta Government's Department of Municipal Affairs. His initial responsibility was to visit farms in northern Alberta and assess land values for taxation purposes. Later, he was promoted to Supervisor of Field Services. There was a recession in Alberta from 1913 to the mid-1920's. The family likely benefited from the improvement in the economy in the late 1920's, but I don't believe they were ever very well-off.

In the photos are McDougall United Church, for a long time a landmark in downtown Edmonton; St. Joseph's High School; and a streetcar operated by the Edmonton Radial Railway.