I have lived in Canmore since 1953-54. Before that I lived in Stavely, Alberta, where I was born at home. I was one of eight children, second youngest. We had a great childhood in Stavely. I went to a little red brick schoolhouse which had grades one to twelve. Every room had three grades in it so we had the same teacher for three years. Stavely was a little town with one bank and two stores. At recess we played games outside, sometimes accompanied by the teacher. One day a big windstorm came up so my brothers came to school to take my sister and me home because we would be blown away. The dust was terrible. This was in the dirty thirties. My dad was in Lodge and the Lodge put on parties for Valentines and Christmas and special occasions. There were dances for the older children. My dad played every instrument and played for dances, etc. In the States dad had been a log roller. This made him very light on his feet so he was very nimble, a beautiful dancer. He was also a cooper, a barrel maker. We children watched with fascination as he demonstrated the making of a barrel. Cancer took his life at the age of sixty.
We, my mom and three children, moved from Stavely to Calgary when I was twelve years old. My dad had died in 1935. Because he belonged to a Lodge he thought we would be helped financially. In those days there was no assistance – no welfare, no pension, no help. We lived on thirty five dollars a month, money that had been sent home by my brother who was overseas. Life was hard. Mom was a strong lady and she lived until she was ninety-nine and a half years old. All of us kids admired my mother very much.
Calgary was a small city. We took my sister who was in a wheelchair to the parks. The wheelchair had been built by my uncle with parts from the dump. It had balloon tires. One time when we were in Woolworth’s one of the tires blew. The people thought someone had fired a shot. The sister in the wheelchair was a barrel of fun. When we visited St. George’s Island, she quickly gathered a circle of people who enjoyed her company. She, Ruth Wanless, started the Handicapped Association in Calgary. She has a cabin in Kananaskis at William Watson Lodge. It has her name on it. A plaque inside tells about her. Mom helped in the Handicapped Association as well and worked at bingo games and all sorts of crafts. Our family was and still is, good at crafts.
My mother and I moved to Vancouver in about 1958. A friend of my mother’s had a babysitting bureau and my mother started working there. My mother moved in with me on Commercial Drive. I was an usherette and cashier at the Lux Theatre. I had taken a hair dressing course but my certificate was only good in Alberta.
I met my husband, Paul Pinet, at the theatre. I loved living in B.C. We stayed there about two years then I moved to Quebec City. I was married in Vancouver. After we moved to Quebec, I had two children: Rene and Michel. Both were born in Quebec City. We stayed there three or four years, then the Korean War came along. Of course Paul went to war. He was a paratrooper in the Royal 22nd Regiment. He was part of the Van Doos. He was gone for two years.
When he returned I moved right across Canada with two babies, moving to Calgary. I lived with my mom for a while. My rent money really helped my mom. Paul got out of the army while we were in Calgary and we moved to Canmore. Two more children were born here: Marcel and Denise. Paul worked at Exshaw as a powderman. He handled dynamite. He worked there until one of the first layoffs. Then he worked for the government in Banff for a while. We stayed in Canmore for quite a while. My husband built sidewalks where there were no sidewalks. Then we lived in Grande Cache for two years where Paul was a foreman. Paul was strip mining. Earlier he had worked in a strip mine in Canmore.
Back to Canmore we came and we have been here ever since. All my children have come back at one time or another. Three are still here. Michel is married to Pat. Marcel was married to Liz. Michel owns Bowcore Welding; Marcel, who was born in Canmore, works for Michel. Denise, who was born in Banff, works at the laundry. Marcel has a daughter, Leisha, and Michel has a son Travis. Leisha is a teacher here in Canmore for the hearing impaired. Paul passed away in 1990. Denise lives with me.
I do cross-stitch pictures, afghans, anything that is crafty I try. It keeps me busy and out of trouble. I go uptown once a week and have coffee with the ladies. My daughter-in-law Pat, Michel’s wife, comes twice a week and takes me out for coffee with her family. Once in a while we go to Red Deer and visit my sister Bernece.
One son, Rene, lives in Blackfalls. He phones me often.
Paul and Lois Pinet
Paul Pinet and family, Lois’ mother
In Canmore Seniors at the Summit, ed. Canmore Seniors Association, 2000, p. 223-225.
