My maiden name was Daisy Alberta Heath. I was the tenth child of Arthur John and Ellen Heath. I was born in the Lacombe District of Meadowbrook. We lived there until the early spring of 1927. When I was not yet five years old, we moved to the coal mining town of Canmore where Daddy got work in the mine.
I remember very little of the time on the farm, but one thing I remember is when a cyclone funnel appeared in the sky one day. I recall Mom and Dad hustling us kids down into the cellar, and the panic they experienced wondering how to get Grandma down into the cellar, too.
The only other thing I know about the farm days was told to me by Daddy. As a baby, I had developed double pneumonia and Daddy had gone the many miles into town to bring the doctor out to see me. Dad said that he, Mom, and Dr. Sharp were working over me on the kitchen table until finally Dr. Sharp went over and sat down and said to Mom, “Leave the baby be, Nell, you can’t bring her back. She’s gone.” Daddy told me, “Your mom wouldn’t give up.” Finally, I gave some sign of life, and Dr. Sharp jumped up and came back to the table and decided I wasn’t dead after all. Daddy always told me that I owe my life twice over to Mom – besides giving me life at birth, she wouldn’t give up on me, even when the doctor said I was dead.
As a child, I often had rheumatism in my legs and I recall the many times my family would form the “hot towel brigade” and wrap hot towels around my legs. As each towel cooled, another sister or brother would be there with a hot one until my “pain ache,” as I called it, would be better.
There were lean times in Canmore when the mine would only work one or two days a week. Mom supplemented the income by baking and selling goodies to the people in town.
It was on Darrel’s twelfth birthday that Momma died – September 25, 1936. I finished the school year and turned fifteen in July. From then on, I kept house for Daddy and the boys. When I was sixteen, I started going with Buck and married him two years later in May, 1941. Buck immediately went into the Army. A few months later, he was shipped overseas and I didn’t see him again until September of 1945.
We have three wonderful kids. Kerry was born in September, 1946, Carol in April, 1949, and Karen in 1957. Kerry married Heather Wellington in May, 1968; Carol married Ron Lakusta in February, 1969; and Karen married Doug Brown in December of 1979 – our family had increased by three. In March of 1973, Brent, our only grandchild, was born.
I’ve lived quite a quiet, uneventful life, just being a wife and mother. My bout with pneumonia left me with very bad lungs, and, in January of 1953, I had my right lung taken out. In 1969, I was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses – the best decision I ever made in my life. The loving thing I could do for my extended family would be to urge them to learn what the Bible is all about – God’s Kingdom. It has certainly given purpose and hope to my life.
Mom Was Always Very Quiet
By Carol Kaleta Lakusta
Most children just cannot wait to grow up and get away from Mom and Dad. I was one of those typical kids. However, like most kids, I learned – often the hard way – the wisdom of Mom’s words: “Life is not a bed of roses”.
Mom was always very quiet, but when she spoke, her eyes and tone said volumes. The thing I remember most is that she was always there. It didn’t matter what time it was, we could count on her to be at home. She was never at the neighbour’s for coffee or just visiting friends on the phone – she was always there for us. To this day, I am so thankful that I had that kind of parental direction as I was one of those kids that just seemed to need a lot of directing.
I remember when Mom went to the hospital to have her lung removed – not a hint was given us kids that it was a serious thing she was going to have done. Kerry and I stayed with Auntie Joey and Uncle Spud, and I am still amazed that after our visit, they still wanted children!
I have tried very hard to have the quiet inner strength Mom had but have never come near. I feel this must have come from having survived so many of life’s problems, problems she tried to shield us kids from. The greatest thing Mom ever gave me was when she became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses – she encouraged us kids also to look into the Bible. This I did and have joined her in her faith.
In Canmore Seniors at the Summit, ed. Canmore Seniors Association, 2000, p. 123-124.
