This had been quite a year. In mid-summer Dad moved Mom, Doris and me from the farm into Calgary. They were determined that we were going to have a chance to get a good junior- and high-school education. A suite was rented a half block from Haultain, a junior high, and a few blocks east of Central Collegiate Institution, a high school. All of this produced major changes in our lives – urban living, rented suite instead of the comfortable farm home, large schools instead of a one-room school with a handful of students. Nothing, absolutely nothing, was familiar save our parents’ love, encouragement, and the belief they had embedded in us of the importance of “an education”. It was a very steep learning curve, but we gradually became comfortable in our new life.
However, Christmas was almost here and we could hardly wait. All our lives we had celebrated Christmas Eve with our neighbours. We gathered at the home of Dagmar and George Nygaard, as did Emil and Hansene Dam, Chris Dam, and sometimes a few others. Dagmar, Emil and Chris were siblings, so it was a close group. The plan to attend was wonderful, but fate stepped in. To our dismay Dad developed a flu/cold condition complete with a fever. The doctor ordered him to go to bed and stay there until his temperature returned to normal. Between worrying about Dad and trying not to show our disappointment, Doris and I were a sad pair. Continue reading